April 22, 2015
Advance Family Planning (AFP) joins Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) and the entire family planning and reproductive health community in mourning the loss of Valerie DeFillipo on April 16. Valerie was FP2020’s founding director and a committed leader in advancing women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world for many decades.
“When someone in the prime of their life is taken away from us, the loss is always more difficult to deal with and understand. Valerie DeFillipo’s untimely death is such a loss,” said AFP Director Duff Gillespie. “Valerie was a wonderful, much-loved colleague. She was also a passionate leader and was driven to find ways to have biggest possible impact on women’s lives.”
The AFP initiative benefited from not only Valerie’s never-ending support and collaboration, but would not have existed without her contributions to the development of the project. Back in 2007, Valerie and others put forth ideas behind an advocacy approach that was successfully ground tested during a pilot project in Nigeria, with a small grant from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. This experience led directly to the launch of AFP in 2009.
“We at AFP have not only lost one of the field’s most inspirational leaders, but a true friend,” he said.
Messages of condolences will be shared with her family and can be sent to RememberingValerie@familyplanning2020.org.