Our Staff

(608) 251-0139 x1 sara.finger@wiawh.org

Sara Finger, Founder & Executive Director

Since June of 2004, Sara has been leading the effort to ensure policy and systems change happen WITH us and not TO us.  Prior to assuming this role, Sara was the Northeast Director of Membership and Professional Relations for the Wisconsin Medical Society. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. She was a 2009 Mid-America Public Health Leadership Institute Fellow and is Past President of the Wisconsin Public Health Association. In 2010, Sara received a Champion of Women’s Health Award from the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation. In 2011, she was recognized by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault with a Voices of Courage Award. In 2012, Sara was honored with a HealthWatch Wisconsin Outreach Effort Award for her coordination work of the Save BadgerCare Coalition, an Outstanding Recent Alumni Award from UW Eau Claire, was named a Woman to Watch by BRAVA Magazine and was named a Champion of Change by the White House for her work related to the Affordable Care Act.  In 2015, The Business Forum of Madison honored Sara with an Athena Young Professional Award.

(608) 251-0139 x2 amy.olejniczak@wiawh.org

Amy Olejniczak, MS, MPH, Associate Director

As a public health professional and women’s health advocate, Amy dedicates the majority of her time to ensuring that women and girls in Wisconsin are able to reach their highest health potential. She earned a masters degree in Family and Consumer Communication in 2005 and a Masters of Public Health degree in May of 2010 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Amy worked for a number of years inside the health care industry at Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin where she was intimately involved in health communication and health promotion efforts before independently partnering with a number of non-profit and scientific research organizations to enhance their communications, outreach, and impact. Today, Amy is dedicated to her role as Associate Director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health where she also directs the PATCH (Providers And Teens Communicating for Health) Program. Amy has been recognized for her work in this role with the 2016 Barbara A. Lange Memorial Award, the Center for Child and Family Well-being 2014 Award of Excellence, the 2013 UW-Milwaukee College of Nursing Partnership Award, a 2012 Youth Ally Award from Diverse and Resilient, and honorable mention for the 2012 Ron Biendseil Youth Worker of the Year Award. Amy is currently an active committee member of the Wisconsin Public Health Association, and a member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison MPH Community Advisory Committee.

(608) 251-0139 x4 Erica.koepsel@wiawh.org

Erica Koepsel, MA, PATCH Program Implementation Director

Since Erica was 19, she has dedicated her time to improving health education for adolescents and young adults across the mid-west. She spent many years as a sexual health educator for diverse groups of adolescents in Topeka, Kansas and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Following graduation from Washburn University she spent one year living in a Cambodian village working for the Peace Corps. In Cambodia she taught about hygiene and nutrition in the local health center, started a village aerobics class in the rice paddy fields, and lead sexual health education sessions with village health promoters. In 2015, Erica earned a masters degree in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where her research focused on holistic, life-long approaches to sexual health education. She also worked in curriculum development with Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin during graduate school and played a vital role in revamping their sexual health curriculum. Erica is passionate about creating a community where people can relate to their individual sexuality in a positive way, and believes that flourishing sexual health is strongly correlated with overall health. Erica is originally from Rose Hill, Kansas and, coming from a rural community that would have greatly benefitted from peer educators, she is eager to work with the PATCH teen educators as they grow and empower others to take control of their own health and healthcare decisions!

(608) 251-0139 x5 Chelsea.aeschbach@wiawh.org

Chelsea Aeschbach, CHES, MPH, PATCH Program Development Director

With passion and zeal, Chelsea has dedicated her career to protecting the health and well-being of individuals, families and their communities through education, programming and advocacy. In 2011, she received a B.S. degree in Community Health Education and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the designation of Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). As a part of her degree, she studied public health issues in both Ireland and Argentina. In 2016, she received her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Her previous work experiences include: coordinating the School District of Onalaska’s Fit Kids, Living Healthy student wellness program; advocating health equity as a part of the University of New Mexico’s Pathways to a Healthy Bernalillo County Program; and promoting a culture of health and wellness at Riverside Center in La Crosse and the Independence Missouri Public School District. Most recently, Chelsea worked as a graduate student on a Wisconsin Partnership Program grant funded initiative addressing the racial disparities in Wisconsin’s infant mortality rates.  As PATCH’s Development Manager, she is committed to improving the health of future generations by growing and sustaining the innovative, teen-driven program.

Kadijha Marquardt-Davis, Director of Advocacy & Civic Health

Kadijha Marquardt-Davis obtained her Master of Social Work with a focus on health policy and administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020. She is passionate about creating radical systemic change through the use of macro and political social work. Throughout her career, Kadijha has been an unwavering advocate for progressive policies that promote social, racial, and reproductive justice. As part of the Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health (WAWH) family, Kadijha  serves as the Director of Advocacy & Civic Health, where she will oversee the development and implementation of WAWH’s statewide civic health program.