Shay is a Research Associate at Resound Research for Reproductive Health. She brings expertise in project management of sexual and reproductive health clinical studies and in qualitative research methods, including study instrument design and data collection and analysis. At Resound Research, she supports projects examining contraceptive access, abortion care, and patient preferences and experience.
Shay has been a trained abortion doula for over 11 years and has supported individuals through their procedural and medication abortion experiences. Prior to joining Resound Research, she worked at Planned Parenthood North Central States in Minneapolis, MN conducting clinical trials and social science studies across various sexual and reproductive health areas, including contraception, abortion access, STI prevention and testing, and health care delivery for transgender and gender-expansive individuals. Shay is a previous recipient of the Emerging Scholars in Family Planning award from the Society of Family Planning and has extensively studied delivery of medication abortion via novel methods and understanding patient experience with these methods.
Shay holds a Master of Public Health in Maternal in Child Health with specialties in Sexual Health and Health Equity from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She believes deeply in the ability of qualitative data to provide valuable insights into and give voice to patient experience in order to inform person-centered care and improve access and outcomes for all, especially those historically marginalized in healthcare settings.