Reflecting on his extensive career in research, Dr. Creinin shares, “Research is exciting! I value the relationships with participants and the responsibility that comes with being an investigator. They give of themselves so we can learn…and make others lives better. Knowing how to do research correctly and communicate one’s findings clearly provides the most unique opportunities. I have always worked with the idea that I can help an individual patient and I can also help countless others with important research so we can all provide better care. I value that so much of the work I have done, with countless others, is present in how each of us provide abortion and contraceptive care.”

Dr. Creinin is the recipient of the Society of Family Planning Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a tenured Distinguished Professor and Director of the Complex Family Planning Fellowship in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California, Davis. He has formerly held positions of Department Chair as well as Director of Family Planning. Dr. Creinin completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco, followed by two fellowships, one in family planning and one in clinical research/epidemiology and biostatistics. Dr. Creinin has been at UC Davis since 2011, having previously spent 17 years at the University of Pittsburgh where he served as the Director of Family Planning and the Director of Gynecologic Specialties. He also held an appointment as a Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Dr. Creinin has received research funding from the NIH, USAID, WHO, CDC, private foundations and industry, and has enabled his continued involvement in abortion technologies and female and male contraceptive development, including medical and safety oversight of national and international trials. Dr. Creinin has been an innovator in abortion methodologies and miscarriage management. He has authored more than 300 peer-review papers, review articles, book chapters and books related to family planning and contraception, including the sixth edition of “Speroff & Darney’s Clinical Guide to Contraception.” Dr. Creinin is a founding member of the Society of Family Planning and served on the Executive Board from 2004-2011, including being Society President from 2007-2009.

Emphasizing the impact of fighting for equity in science, Dr. Perritt says, “As a physician and an advocate, I understand that there is power and privilege in the white coats we wear. This comes with responsibility. My hope, my obligation, my responsibility is to leverage that power to fight for the health and well-being of the communities I care for and care about. I came to medicine because I believe it can be a tool for liberation. Despite the chaos and dysfunction of the medical system, I still believe that. But I know it will not come without a fight. I fight the calls for us to be smaller, quieter, afraid. I refuse to participate in the destruction of our communities, of ourselves. I demand a world in which we ALL get to be well, not just cis folks, not just White folks, not just the able bodied, and not just the wealthy. I know that it must be all of us or it will be none of us.”

Dr. Perritt (she/her) is the recipient of the Society of Family Planning Beacon of Science Award. She is a fellowship-trained, board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist and President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health (PRH), a physician-led organization that mobilizes the medical community, educating and organizing providers, using medicine and science to advance access to reproductive health care for all people. She has a comprehensive background in family planning and has worked more than 20 years in the reproductive health, rights and justice spaces. She provides on-the-ground, community-based care focusing primarily on the intersection of sexual health, reproductive rights, and social justice. In addition to her work as a clinical provider in the Washington, DC area, she has led PRH since 2020. Dr. Perritt’s work as a passionate advocate for reproductive health, rights, and justice has allowed her to work closely with many organizations in support of access to comprehensive reproductive health care, including Advocates for Youth and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Dr. Perritt serves via Mayoral appointment as co-chair of Washington DC’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee. She is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and has served as Chair of ACOG’s Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women. She is a member of the Society of Family Planning, the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, the Black Maternal Health Federal Policy Collective and a founding member of Centering Equity and Racial Literacy in Family Planning (CERCL-FP).

Asked to reflect on the importance of mentorship, Dr. Lindberg says, “My academic journey — and eventually my career — was shaped by mentors who offered guidance and direction; this included sending me off for an internship at the Guttmacher Institute after my first year of graduate school. Growing into a mentor myself has been the most fulfilling part of my professional life, and it gives me optimism for the future. What makes this recognition especially meaningful is that my nomination included input from researchers at more than two dozen institutions. Being a mentor expands my world, letting me engage with new ideas, diverse perspectives, and incredible people.”

Dr. Lindberg is a recipient of the Society of Family Planning Mentor Award. She is Professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health, where she directs the program in sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. As a social demographer, Dr. Lindberg focuses on measuring the trends, determinants, and consequences of sexual and reproductive health in the US. Prior to joining Rutgers, she spent nearly two decades as a Research Scientist at the Guttmacher Institute. She is a founding member of Youth Reproductive Equity, a collaborative promoting equity in sexual and reproductive health access for young people. Dr. Lindberg’s current work includes efforts to expand access to abortion care in New Jersey and the role of social media and other information sources in shaping young people’s health knowledge and behaviors. She is the recipient of the New Jersey Health Foundation 2025 Excellence in Research Award as well as the Carl S. Shultz Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sexual and Reproductive Health section of the American Public Health Association. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with colleagues across disciplines and career stages, publishing with more than 160 co-authors. She received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and her PhD from the University of Michigan. When not thinking about data, Dr. Lindberg is thinking about the next Broadway show on her calendar! 

Asked about the importance of conducting research that is equitable, Dr. Mena-Meléndez says: “As a first-generation Latina immigrant from El Salvador, I know firsthand how systems can silence, exclude, or misrepresent marginalized communities. That lived experience fuels my commitment to building research that is linguistically inclusive, culturally grounded, and accountable to the people it is meant to serve. Professionally, I view research as a tool for change — one that can inform policy, guide providers, and strengthen advocacy. What drives me is the opportunity to create knowledge that uplifts immigrant, Spanish-speaking, and underrepresented voices and helps ensure reproductive health care that is equitable, evidence-based, and affirming for all.”

Dr. Mena-Meléndez, PhD, MA (she/her/ella) is the recipient of the Society of Family Planning Next Generation Award. She is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Department of Applied Health Science at Indiana University–Bloomington. A first-generation Latina immigrant from El Salvador, Dr. Mena-Meléndez is a bilingual, bicultural scholar whose work focuses on abortion attitudes, contraceptive use, abortion, health disparities, and policy knowledge across the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Her scholarship uses mixed methods, public opinion surveys, cross-cultural measures, and social media analysis to understand how structural, cultural, and linguistic barriers shape reproductive autonomy. She has published many peer-reviewed articles, and serves as PI, Co-PI, and consultant in multiple funded studies — including projects supported by the Society of Family Planning — on Latina/o/x/é migrants’ experiences with self-managed abortion post-Dobbs, abortion travel, and cross-linguistic challenges in abortion research. Dr. Mena-Meléndez’s work is intentionally translational. She partners with clinics, public health agencies, and community-based organizations to co-develop research questions, recruit, and collect data to ensure that findings are actionable and community-centered. She credits the Society as the single most impactful organization in her professional development. Through the 2023 Changemaker in Family Planning award, multiple research grants, mentorship opportunities, and Annual Meeting participation, as well as her service as mentor and reviewer, the Society has provided the platform for her to grow as a reproductive justice scholar committed to equity, inclusion, and diversity in abortion and contraception research and care.