Shakira Maxwell recently defended her PhD in Social Policy from The University of the West Indies. Her research explored the historical development of Jamaica’s reproductive health policy. She is the current President of the Board of Directors of the Jamaica Family Planning Association, one of the longest serving NGOs in the island which provides safe sexual and reproductive health services to some of the most vulnerable in society. An advocate for gender equality and social justice she has made presentations seeking to make impactful changes on the lives of both men and women in a number of fora including those hosted by the International Planned Parenthood Federation, UNWOMEN, local and international conferences and was the lead presenter before a joint select committee of the Jamaican Parliament seeking to legalize abortion. She has published in both academic and administrative journals and presented papers in both of these fields, locally and internationally.