Origins and
Objectives
Origins and
Our Team
OUR MISSION
The Pad Project’s mission is to create and cultivate local and global partnerships to end period stigma and to empower women and all menstruators worldwide.
OUR VALUES
Agency
The Pad Project’s pad machines and washable cloth pad programs utilize a social enterprise model. Instead of simply distributing products, these programs employ women to run their own businesses by making and selling menstrual pads. Our programs also involve implementing menstrual hygiene management workshops, all of which are created and run by our nonprofit partners to fit the needs of their community members.
Collaboration
The Pad Project isn’t alone in the fight for menstrual equity. We partner with domestic and international nonprofits to make sure our programs fit the individual menstrual hygiene needs of each community where we work. We also founded the Ambassador Program to connect and engage menstrual equity activists around the globe.
Education
The Pad Project believes that educating people about menstruation is a necessary part of the menstrual equity movement. We created the documentary Period. End of Sentence. to raise awareness about period poverty, and we’ve included menstrual hygiene management education as a key component in all of our international programs. We are also committed to using education to debunk myths about menstruation and combat menstrual stigma around the world.
Equity
Lack of access to affordable and hygienic menstrual products is a global problem. The Pad Project learns from our NGO partners and then funds a variety of programming to meet the access needs of different individuals and communities. Our goal is to help each community provide adequate menstrual health to menstruators, which, according to Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, requires “complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in relation to the menstrual cycle.”
Inclusivity
Not all women menstruate, and not all menstruators are women. At The Pad Project, we are dedicated to supporting all menstruators, and we want to make sure our fight for menstrual equity is gender inclusive. We use the term “menstruators” to refer to all people who experience menstruation, including cisgender, transgender, nonbinary, and genderfluid individuals. However, we as an organization are still learning and growing, and we welcome all feedback. If you see a way for us to be more inclusive, let us know at info@thepadproject.org!
OUR STORY: THE CAMPAIGN
The Pad Project was started in 2013 by a youth-driven community of students and educators convinced that menstruation matters for everyone. What began as a documentary film project highlighting a single village has expanded to an organization with global reach. In 2019, that documentary film, Period. End of Sentence., won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short, and since then, The Pad Project has continued to grow.
We’ve placed 9 pad machines in 2 countries and are working to place 7 more pad machines in 4 countries. We’ve launched 8 washable pad programs in 6 countries and are working to launch another washable pad program soon! In the U.S., we’ve started two programs to combat period poverty: Pads for All and Pads for Schools. So far, we’ve partnered with 10 NGOs and grassroots organizations in 8 states and 5 schools and school districts in 4 states to provide menstrual products to those in need. We also launched The Pad Project’s Ambassador Program, which is designed to unite menstrual equity activists around the world!
Meet the team
behind the movement
OUR STAFF
Melissa Berton
Co-Founder/Executive Director
Los Angeles, CA
Sorelle Cohen
Director of Development, Marketing & Communications
Los Angeles, CA
Rachel Wilson
Associate Director of Domestic Programs
Los Angeles, CA
Nicolette Harutunian
Education Programs Manager
Los Angeles, CA
Tanya Mahajan
Director of International Programs
New Delhi, India
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Executive Director
Melissa Berton English Teacher, Writer, Speaker
CFO
Bob Gatto Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Business Development, Nestle
COO
Garrett Schiff Writer, Producer
Secretary
Anissa Siegel Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Artist
General Board Member
Bonnie Abaunza Social Impact Producer, Human Rights Activist
General Board Member
Dr. Tamyra Comeaux M.D.
General Board Member
Nicole Sharma Jain Education Policy Advocate and Advisor
General Board Member
Stacey Sher Film Producer
General Board Member
Lisa Taback Vice President of Awards & Talent Relations, Netflix
General Board Member
Rayka Zehtabchi Film Director
ADVISORY BOARD: Oakwood High School Graduates
Sophie Aschiem Strategic Partnerships Coordinator, Yale University
was an executive producer on the film, Period. End of Sentence., and a founding member of The Pad Project. A member of the class of 2022 at Yale University, she hopes to major in Global Affairs.
Carly Gatto University of Michigan
was an executive producer on the film, Period. End of Sentence., and has been a part of the Pad Project since 2014. She currently studies nursing at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor class of 2022.
Natalie Geismar Washington University in Saint Louis
was an associate producer on the film, Period. End of Sentence., and a founding member of the Pad Project. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2019, where she earned her B.A. in International Development.
Alden Sabah Scripps College
has been a member of The Pad Project since 2017 and is majoring in Gender Studies at Scripps College, class of 2022.
Ruby Schiff Kenyon College
was an executive producer on the film, Period. End of Sentence., and a founding member of the Pad Project. She double majors in Women & Gender Studies and Psychology at Kenyon College, class of 2021.
Avery Siegel Community Outreach and Social Media Coordinator, Tulane University
was an executive producer on the film, Period. End of Sentence., and a founding member of The Pad Project. She is majoring in communications and double minoring in Public Health and Social Innovation at Tulane University, class of 2021.
Charlotte Silverman Brown University
was a co-founder and liaison to Action India on the Pad Project, as well as an executive producer on Period. End of Sentence..She studies Visual Arts, Urban Studies, and Gender/Sexuality Studies at Brown University class of 2022.
Claire Sliney Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator, University of Pennsylvania
was an executive producer on the film, Period. End of Sentence., and a founding member of The Pad Project. She double majors in Philosophy, Politics & Economics and Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, class of 2021.
Helen Yenser Scripps ‘17, University of Southern California MFA ‘19, Cinematic Arts
was an executive producer on the film, Period. End of Sentence., and a founding member of The Pad Project. Now a graduate of Scripps College, where she earned her B.A. in Honors English, and a graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she earned her M.F.A. in Writing for Film & Television, Helen writes about women whose self-transformation challenges society to change.
YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD: Current Oakwood Students
