USA News

foundation human nature USA was incorporated in June 2003 in California. In May 2004, we were approved as a 501(c)3 organization by the US Internal Revenue Service. Therefore, all donations to fhn USA are tax-deductible. Our tax-exempt EIN# is 11-3704324.

Board of Directors:
    • Jessica Levy, M.P.H.- President
    • Karin Friederic, M.A.- Vice-President
    • Erin Lunde, M.D.- Secretary
    • Lilian Friederic- Treasurer
    • Jason Cross, J.D.
    • Rebecca Giguere, M.P.H.
    • David Hamsher, J.D.
    • Jared Hestetune
    • Tara Hopkins
    • Daniel Kselman, Ph.D.
    • Lucas Merino
    • Ghazaleh Samandari

fhn USA Volunteers:
We, at fhn USA, would also like to express our gratitude to all our volunteers and supporters for their sustained commitment to fundraising and international collaboration! 

Executive Board Member Biographies,
foundation human nature USA 

Jessica Levy, M.P.H  Co-founder and the current President of fhn-USA.

For over six months in 2002-2003, Jessica volunteered as fhn’s first gender health outreach coordinator.  Since then, she has gone to Ecuador numerous times and continues to work closely with the women of the El Paramo region on issues related to domestic violence, reproductive health, and family planning.  Jessica received her BA from Smith College in 2000 with a double major in Neuroscience and Psychology.  In 2006, after working for 4 years in the public health field, she received her Master of Public Health (MPH) at the University of North Carolina, School of Public Health (UNC-SPH).  Currently, Jessica is a Ph.D. candidate at UNC-SPH, in the department of Maternal and Child Health. Her focus is international policy reform and family planning.

Karin Friederic, M.A.         Co-founder, current Vice President of fhn-USA, and International Volunteer Coordinator, fhn International.

Karin has volunteered in La Y de la Laguna almost every summer since the year 2000, both before and after the foundation's incorporation.  In 2001 and 2002, Karin coordinated the health survey that laid the groundwork for foundation human nature's project in Ecuador. In 2005, she completed an evaluation of fhn’s health and community outreach programs. She received her BA from Colorado College in 2001 and her MA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Arizona in 2003. From 2003 to 2006, she was selected as a National Science Foundation Research Fellow. Currently, she is in her final year of the Ph.D. program in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Arizona (with a concentration in Medical Anthropology). With funding from the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, PEO Scholars, and the Harry F. Guggenheim foundation, she is completing her dissertation on family violence, human rights, and women's health in Northwest Ecuador.

Erin Lunde, M.D. Secretary of fhn USA and Medical Volunteer Coordinator for fhn Ecuador.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Erin worked in La Y de la Laguna for eleven months (August 2003-July 2004).  She was the region’s medical doctor, while also working on women’s health issues and family planning. Erin received her B.A. in Biology and Women's Studies from Wellesley College in 2000, and her M.D. from Harvard University Medical School in 2005.  In June 2008, Erin completed her residency in Family Medicine at the Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency Program in Santa Rosa, CA.  Currently Erin is a fellow in Maternal, Child, and Reproductive Health at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.  She is also working towards a Masters in Public Health at the University of New Mexico.

	Lilian Friederic, M.B.A. Co-founder and the current treasurer of fhn USA.
Lilian played a key role in fhn USA’s incorporation, and made possible the foundation’s 501c3 status.  Lilian received her M.B.A. from Göteborg School of Economics, Göteborg, Sweden.  She has worked over 30 years in corporate finance positions.

Extended Board Member Biographies, foundation human nature, USA

Jason Cross, M.A., JD Co-founder and current member, Extended Board fhn-USA.

Jason spent five months as a volunteer in Ecuador in 2002-2003, launching fhn’s education program in La Y.  He returned to the region in 2005 to volunteer and complete a two-month evaluation of clinic and outreach operations.  Jason completed his J.D. at Duke Law School, where he focused on intellectual property and access to medicines issues. He worked with the Washington DC law office of Thelen Reid LLP, and is currently advising the Ministry of Public Health of El Salvador on medicine policy reform. Jason is completing a Ph.D. in legal anthropology at Duke University, focusing on democratization and development reforms in Central America.  Jason also has a graduate certificate in International Development Policy from Duke’s Sanford Institute of Public Policy, and a M.A. in History and Philosophy of Science, from the University of Pittsburgh.

Rebecca Giguere, M.P.H. Member, Extended Board fhn-USA.

As a board member, Rebecca assists with translations, newsletter development, and support for health and communication projects in La Y, Ecuador.  She is also the current leader of fhn USA's Public Relations Action Team. Rebecca received her Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her B.A. in Spanish and Sociology/Anthropology from Swarthmore College.  She has traveled extensively throughout Latin America and has worked as a paralegal on immigration cases with Central American immigrants and as a research assistant at a women's health clinic focusing on access to family planning.  She currently works as a project manager on several HIV prevention studies in New York City.