Lisa DeMaria

Lisa DeMaria has expertise in designing and implementing evaluations of health systems and health care quality, primarily in low- and middle-income settings, with a particular focus on maternal, neonatal, and reproductive health; family planning; and HIV/AIDS. She has also worked with foundations and non-governmental organizations to design and implement monitoring, evaluation, and learning platforms. Her experience spans Latin America, Central Asia, India, Africa, and the United States.

At Mathematica, DeMaria is directing a portfolio measurement activity for the family planning efforts of a large foundation. She is editing a special journal supplement reflecting on the past 20 years of sexual and reproductive health and family planning progress in Ethiopia. Prior to joining Mathematica, she was principal investigator for a large-scale impact evaluation of a youth resilience and sexual and reproductive health curriculum in Bihar, India, for CorStone. DeMaria has implemented monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities for USAID’s population, family planning, and reproductive health programs in Mexico, Guatemala, and Morocco; provided broad-based M&E support to UNFPA and foundations; and conducted strategic planning exercises for large foundations and service organizations. As associate professor and researcher at Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health, she helped design and implement assessments of quality of care within the context of the Oportunidades impact evaluations and was co-investigator for a series of studies—including randomized controlled trials—on midwifery care that informed national health policy.

DeMaria holds a doctorate in public health (Dr.P.H.) from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree in International Development from American University. She has published in Social Science and Medicine, AIDS, and Reproductive Health Matters, among other publications, and has co-authored chapters in the second and third editions of Disease Control Priorities.