About Us
© Ipas Bolivia
Ipas Europe is a nonprofit organization registered as “Stichting Ipas Europe” in the Netherlands. Ipas Europe is a member of the global Ipas network, which is committed to a shared vision and mission.
Our vision:
A world where all people have the right and ability to determine their own sexuality and reproductive health.
Our mission:
Ipas Europe builds resilient abortion and contraceptive ecosystems using a comprehensive approach across sectors, institutions, and communities.
We center our work on the needs and perspectives of individuals who seek abortion care, and we strive to better center the needs and perspectives of all people who can become pregnant. Our approach addresses all the factors that impact a person’s ability to access abortion.
We are working toward a sustainable abortion ecosystem, a dynamic condition in which resilient local stakeholders and systems are actively accountable and committed to abortion rights and responsive to everyone’s abortion needs. We know that to achieve this, we must work through effective, equitable and intersectional partnerships, integrating abortion into the broader health, gender equality, and social justice movements.
Contact:
Caroline Hickson, Director, Ipas Europe
Sloterdijk Teleport Towers, Kingsfordweg 151, 1043 GR,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Our Leadership
Ipas Europe is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board oversees the Director of Ipas Europe, who leads and manages the operations of the organization. The Board has the following members:
Heather Barclay
Chair
Heather has over twenty years of experience working in gender equality, social justice and human rights but her passion for a fairer world has driven her from a young age. Throughout her career, working in the UK and internationally, she has supported change through advocating for legislative reform, policy development, and the setting of global norms in multilateral systems. Never one to shy away from difficult issues, stints at the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Girls Not Brides have deepened her commitment to ensuring that every person, everywhere has the final say over their bodies and lives. She brings to Ipas deep systems experience, including as an independent consultant guiding organizations in defining their core values and strengthening their governance, strategies, and program designs.
Annika Malmborg
Treasurer
Annika Malmborg is currently director of the International Department at RFSU – Sexual and Reproductive Rights for All (the Swedish member association of IPPF). Annika has over 30 years experience of working with human rights within the civil society sector, with 15 years in management positions at Save the Children, Plan International and now RFSU. Her experience ranges from heading work on global policy and civil society engagement to resource mobilisation and grant management. Annika has been president of the board of the Swedish NGO platform Concord, as well as represented as an independent expert on the advisory board of AmplifyChange.
Kathryn Andersen
Chief Strategy and Technical Officer
Dr. Kathryn Andersen leads Ipas’s strategy, integrating technical and programmatic expertise and strategic thinking across our global network. Throughout her almost 20 years at Ipas, her commitment to reproductive justice has helped shape our global work to create a world where all people have the right and ability to determine their own sexuality and reproductive health.
A respected systems thinker, researcher and global health leader, Andersen has played a central role in advancing Ipas’s evolution as a leading, evidence-driven public health organization. She leads multidisciplinary teams that generate critical research, translate evidence into practice, and strengthen efforts to build resilient abortion and contraceptive ecosystems. She also works to ensure the alignment of Ipas’s external relations with our technical expertise and contributions to the sexual and reproductive health field.
Prior to her current role, Andersen managed Ipas’s major research initiatives and provided technical leadership to Ipas researchers and program teams throughout Africa and South Asia. In addition to her work at Ipas, she is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and a consulting editor for the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health.
Caroline Hickson
Director, Ipas Europe
Caroline Hickson has dedicated her career to advancing human rights, gender equality and social justice through building strong organizations, effective advocacy and thriving civil society movements. With more than 25 years of leadership experience across Europe and globally, she brings a deep commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights and a belief that lasting change happens when communities, advocates and institutions work together to expand rights and opportunity.
Throughout her career, Caroline has helped organizations strengthen their influence, build powerful partnerships, and mobilize the resources needed to advance equitable and sustainable change. She is passionate about creating the conditions for organizations and movements to thrive, particularly at a time when sexual and reproductive health and rights face growing challenges around the world. Her work has focused on connecting strategy, advocacy and funding to help organizations protect hard-won gains and accelerate progress toward reproductive justice and gender equity.
Prior to joining Ipas, Caroline served as Regional Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN), where she led efforts to strengthen and expand the movement for sexual and reproductive health and rights across Europe and Central Asia, as well as globally. She also held senior leadership roles with Fairtrade International and Concern Worldwide. Hickson holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Dublin City University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish and History from Trinity College Dublin.
Read Stichting Ipas Europe’s Policy Plan