Answer - Staff Biographies

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Answer Staff

SUSAN N. WILSON, MS.Ed.
Senior Advisor
Susan N. Wilson, MS.Ed., served as executive coordinator of Answer for 23 years and is now its senior advisor. Her history with Answer is detailed here. Ms. Wilson is a state and national leader in the fight for effective sexuality education and the prevention of adolescent pregnancy. She has received local, state and national awards for her work, authored many articles on sexuality education and appeared on numerous radio and television shows. Currently, Ms. Wilson serves on the Board of Trustees of the Princeton Area Community Foundation, working as project coordinator of its Community Experience Partnership: Engaging Older Adults for Civic Good. She was recently named one of two Progressive New Jerseyans of the Decade by New Jersey Policy Perspective, and was named a Policy Fellow at the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers University’s Douglass College.

NORA GELPERIN, M.Ed.
Director of Training and Education
Nora Gelperin, M.Ed., oversees Answer’s Sexuality Education Training Initiative. She is also founder of the organization’s annual Training Institute in Sexual Health Education (TISHE), and a sexuality expert for the weekly live chats on the Sex, Etc. Web site, Sexetc.org. Ms. Gelperin develops, markets and conducts training workshops for teachers and professionals in New Jersey and nationwide, including Answer’s new online professional development workshop, "Sexuality ABCs (Abstinence, Birth Control and Condoms)." Ms. Gelperin has taught undergraduate sexuality classes at Temple University and is currently teaching a graduate course at Montclair State University. She earned her Master of Education in School Health from Temple University and was awarded the 2008 Mary Jo Young Health Teacher of the Year award from New Jersey AHPERD.

RANA E. BARAR, M.P.H.
Program Manager
Rana E. Barar, M.P.H., oversees all planning, implementation and monitoring aspects of Answer’s national Teen-to-Teen Sexuality Education Project, which is comprised of the Sex, Etc. magazine and Web site, Sexetc.org. She is also responsible for the integrated marketing strategy for the magazine, Web site, strategic partnerships and campaigns. Prior to joining Answer, Ms. Barar was senior program officer for the Averting Maternal Death and Disability (AMDD) Program at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. After finishing her M.P.H. in population and family health in 2006, Ms. Barar took over the administrative management of the AMDD Program, specifically focusing on strategic planning and launching AMDD’s new look and Web site. She has a strong background in international relations, which has been enhanced by her substantial experience in Europe, Russia and Africa.

JUDY LONG
Director of Development
As Answer’s director of development, Judy Long is responsible for implementing the organization’s fundraising strategy for foundations and individual donors. A graduate of DePauw University and a published author, Ms. Long brings strong writing and editing skills to the position from her years as a children’s book editor in New York and as a grant writer. Her prior development experience includes fundraising for the Morris County (NJ) Park Commission and, most recently, for the New Jersey Historical Society.

ELLEN PAPAZIAN, M.A.
Senior Editor
Ellen Papazian is senior editor of the Teen-to-Teen Sexuality Education Project’s main components—the Sex, Etc. national magazine and Web site, Sexetc.org. She also manages Answer's strategic partnerships with MTV, gURL.com, Scenarios USA and other national youth media outlets. Prior to joining Answer, Ms. Papazian spent three years as associate managing editor of Ms. magazine. She was also a freelance researcher for Ms., Out and Working Woman magazines. A graduate of New College at Hofstra University, Ms. Papazian was granted their 2001 Young Alumnus Award. She holds a master’s degree in English with a Women’s and Gender Studies concentration from Rutgers University-Newark. Her short fiction appears in the anthology The Long Meanwhile: Stories of Arrival and Departure (Hourglass Books).

LUCINDA HOLT, M.A.
Managing Editor
Lucinda Holt, M.A., manages Sex, Etc.’s teen editorial staff and national contributors and edits the Sex, Etc. national magazine, the Sex, Etc. Web site, Sexetc.org, and the teen editors’ column for MTV’s think: Sexual Health campaign. Prior to joining Answer, Ms. Holt worked as a freelance editor. She has also worked for Condé Nast Publications and such youth organizations as Prep for Prep and the Columbia University Liberty Partnership Program. Ms. Holt graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College and holds a Master of Arts in Anthropology degree from Columbia University. Her essay appears in the anthology What Your Mama Never Told You: True Stories About Sex and Love (Graphia Books).

DAN RICE
Program Coordinator
Dan Rice is responsible for the ongoing maintenance, development and content initiatives for the Sex, Etc. Web site, Sexetc.org. He is also a trainer for Answer’s Sexuality Education Training Initiative and provides sexual heath training to the Sex, Etc. teen editorial staff. Prior to joining Answer, Mr. Rice was coordinator of a drop-in center for LGBTQ teens, where he gained experience in crisis-intervention counseling. He worked as a counselor for incarcerated youth in a juvenile correctional facility and has also been a community educator in public schools to raise awareness of sexual orientation issues. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Wagner College.

TODD SLAWSKY, M.Ed.
Training Coordinator
Todd Slawsky, M.Ed., coordinates the logistics of Answer’s Sexuality Education Training Initiative, which trains more than 3,000 participants per year. He has been a resident director for Rutgers Cook College, where he promoted a secure environment for college residents and conducted a series of educational programs to teach residents about topics relating to sexuality education, safety, study habits and communication. Mr. Slawsky has also worked as the assistant director of the Rutgers Student Legal Information Center, where he managed a staff to aid Rutgers students and employees with legally related issues and developed programs to educate students about the most common types of legal problems. He holds a Master of Education in Learning and Teaching degree from Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education.

ALEX MEDINA
Web Associate
Alex Medina updates content for the Sex, Etc. Web site, Sexetc.org, and publishes the weekly Sex, Etc. e-newsletter. He also maintains Sex, Etc.’s presence on social-networking sites, like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. Mr. Medina researches Web 2.0 technology and follows current trends in popular teen culture. Previously, he was an intern at Answer. He discovered Answer while he was an undergraduate Peer Advisor on Sexuality and Queer Issues at Rutgers University and participated in a panel discussion for the Sex, Etc. teen editorial staff. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Psychology from Rutgers University.

Photographs by Julie Walton Shaver Photography