, Professor of Molecular, Cellular

& Developmental Biology at Yale University, has been an

activist concerned with overpopulation for a long time. While

he was on the Board of Planned Parenthood of Connecticut,

he met PMC’s President, Bill Ryerson, and started serving on

PMC’s Program Advisory Board. Bob said, “I knew right away

that PMC had a fantastically effective program.” At the end

of last year, Bob made an extraordinary gift to PMC, one that

will help us shape the future.

“Bob’s magnificent contribution allows us to support some

very high priority programs in Nigeria, Nepal, Haiti, and

Guatemala,” says Bill Ryerson. “The good this gift will

accomplish will be measured in dramatically improved lives

for women and children in all of these countries.”

Many years ago, Bob and three other scientists started a biotech

company. The first experiments were done in his basement.

Eventually, that firm developed a modern, molecular biology

method for making vaccines, replacing the method of growing

live viruses in chicken eggs. Their flu vaccine, Flublok, is now

widely available. Last year, the company was bought out and

Bob’s founder’s shares became quite valuable.

“I donated the proceeds to PMC. Rather than buying some

fancy toys, I get much more, and more lasting, pleasure

knowing the wonderful progress for the world that PMC will

achieve with the funds.”

Over the years, Bob and Bill have often connected over their

mutual concerns. Bill regularly gives guest lectures to Bob’s

class on Population Growth at Yale. The course centers on

the importance of addressing human population growth to

alleviate both human and environmental misery.

“The world’s population has been growing at the amazingly

constant rate of a BILLION people every dozen years since the

1960s. Each of these people needs to live somewhere, needs

food from somewhere, their wastes have to go somewhere,

they need a school, a job, some energy source, and maybe even

some outdoors recreation somewhere. All these ‘somewheres’

are the environment,” says Bob.

“I ask my students to imagine the environmental footprint

of an extra billion people every dozen years. Then, I ask

them to compare this with the total achievements of the

environmental movement in the same period. My reckoning

is that population growth swamps the environmental efforts.

Environmentalism is a losing battle unless population growth

is moderated. That is why I think PMC’s work is so crucial.

I’m a scientist. I cut right to the fundamental issues and

deepest questions. We can’t have healthy environmental

outcomes with ongoing rapid population growth, and PMC’s

use of emotionally compelling stories to change attitudes,

behaviors, and social norms around the population issue are

right at the cutting edge of innovation and effectiveness.”

Most gifts come when someone writes a check or makes an online

donation. Bob’s gift was in the form of shares of stock. There are

many vehicles for making gifts: charitable trusts, gift annuities,

life insurance policies, real estate, and bequests to name a few.

While we cannot give legal advice, the PMC Development Office

is happy to discuss options and find what is right for you. n

SPOTLIGHT: PAYING IT FORWARD

Population Media Center (PMC) is a leader in

entertainment-education, dedicated to women’s

rights, population stabilization, and the environment.

POPULATIONMEDIA.ORG

30 KIMBALL AVENUE, SUITE 302 | SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT 05403 USA

www.PopulationMedia.org

O

NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2018

TOGETHER, WE WILL GO FAR IN GUATEMALAn March 5, 2018, Guatemalans began listening to a new

156-episode radio show that will broadcast until September

2019. Toma Mi Mano (“Take My Hand”) follows Population

Media Center’s (PMC) methodology for entertainment to deliver

social and individual change. It addresses reproductive health,

teen pregnancy, rape, and gender-based and gang violence.

PMC has partnered with the Guatemalan advertising agency

Lafábrica&jotabequ, subsidiary of GREY International, to promote

and create the show.

Broadcast began on March 5, but people have been hearing about

the show in the press since February 22. That morning, members

of the media and other associated guests were invited to a launch

event unlike most press events.

The morning sun filtered through the glass domed roof as

attendees realized they were in Toma Mi Mano’s fictional town of

San Juan Renacimiento. They visited fictional

storefronts, listened to neighborhood stories,

got their pictures taken under the town sign

(souvenirs to take home), and found themselves

laughing beside the pen of goats who munched

fastidiously on hay.

As everyone sat down to breakfast, the emcees

prepared attendees to be transported to San

Juan Renacimiento and asked everyone to close their eyes and put

on the Toma Mi Mano eye masks. With their eyes blindfolded, the

story began to play, introducing the characters and the lives that

will unfold in San Juan Renacimiento.

“We have developed communication strategies for different NGOs

and the way PMC approaches the topics and the methodology was

fascinating,” says Natalia Cereser, Director of Professional Services

of Lafábrica&jotabequ. “We both will bring this radio play together

that could change lives in Guatemala in a totally different way.”

The project’s advisory committee includes organizations such

as Plan International; Planned Parenthood Global; the United

Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); the Association Generating

Equity, Leadership and Opportunities (ASOGEN); and Fundacion

América Latina en Acción Solidaria (ALAS). The project funders

include the Weeden Foundation and the Erik and Edith Bergstrom

Foundation.

“We are delighted with this alliance,” said Wendi Stein, Program

Manager for PMC-Guatemala. “La Fábrica’s understanding of

the market and their talented team will contribute to a new radio

program that will help to improve the lives of some of the people

in most need in Guatemala.” n

“PMC’S USE OF EMOTIONALLY COMPELLING STORIES TO CHANGE ATTITUDES, BEHAVIORS, AND SOCIAL NORMS AROUND THE POPULATION ISSUE ARE RIGHT AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF INNOVATION AND EFFECTIVENESS.” – Bob Wyman

Above, Professor Robert Wyman. A long-time donor to PMC,

Robert recently donated a large number of shares of stock.

ROBERT WYMAN

EMPOWERING PEOPLE WITH ENTERTAINMENT.

HELP US REACH MORE PEOPLE: WWW.POPULATIONMEDIA.ORG/DONATE

PMC is saddened by the loss of David

Poindexter. Knowing David as colleague

and friend for 47 years, Bill cites David’s

mentorship as what enabled him to make

PMC successful. We will miss him terribly.

REMEMBERING DAVID’S LEGACY

David Oldham Poindexter, a Methodist

minister who championed the use of

radio and television serial dramas to

promote family planning, gender equity,

and protection of the environment, died

February 8 at a hospital in Portland,

Oregon. He died from the effects of a stroke.

Poindexter was born in Hood River, Oregon

on January 30, 1929.

After receiving a Bachelor’s of Art at

Willamette University in 1951 and both

Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Theology

at Boston University (where he became

friends with Dr. Martin Luther King,

Jr.), David served as pastor of Parkrose

Heights Methodist Church in Portland for

eight years. He then moved to New York

City to work with the National Council

of Churches for five years as Director of

Utilization of the NCC’s Broadcasting

and Film Commission and then Director

of Promotion Services, during which he

established close ties with the Hollywood

community.

At the request of his bishop, David became

Director of the Communication Center of

the Population Institute from 1970 to 1985. In

the early 1970s, he collaborated with John D.

Rockefeller III to hold a meeting of the three

network CEOs – a meeting also attended

by then UN ambassador George H.W. Bush

and Senator Robert Packwood – to discuss

treatment of gender, reproductive health,

and family planning issues in television. He

convinced the three major networks to host a

large gathering in New York of key network

entertainment producers and writers.

Following that event, he organized annual

awards ceremonies in collaboration with the

National Academy of Television Arts and

Sciences to recognize the best entertainment

shows addressing those issues.

Poindexter’s outreach to Hollywood led to

a long-standing relationship with Norman

Lear and his head of drama, Virginia Carter.

At Poindexter’s suggestion, the character

Maude, in the series by the same name,

had a mid-life abortion – six months before

the Roe vs. Wade decision by the U.S.

Supreme Court. As Norman Lear later put

it, “David got Maude pregnant.” Similarly,

he suggested the vasectomy of Rob Reiner’s

character, Michael, on All in the Family.

During his work in Hollywood, Poindexter

worked closely with Mary Tyler Moore, who

was a great supporter of his work, which

helped to bring about the discussion of

sexism in the workplace on the Mary Tyler

Moore Show.

In the mid-1970s, Poindexter began

working in Mexico, where he discovered

and promoted the work of Miguel Sabido,

a well-known television producer who

became a pioneer in entertainment-

education. As Vice President of Televisa,

Sabido produced six telenovelas in the

late 1970s and early 1980s, modeling family

planning use for Mexican audiences.

During that time, Mexico experienced the

most rapid decline in fertility rate of any

developing country in the 20th century

up until that time. These programs had

similar effects when they were broadcast

in several in Spanish-speaking countries in

Latin America. Thomas Donnelly, then with

USAID in Mexico, wrote, “The Televisa

family planning soap operas have made the

single most powerful contribution to the

Mexican population success story.”

In the early 1980s, Poindexter took Sabido

to meet with Indian Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi, and following a training

program they organized, the country

began broadcasting India’s first social

content soap opera in July 1984. Research

conducted by the Annenberg School for

Communication and Journalism of the

University of Southern California found

dramatic impacts on audience attitudes

about women’s rights and ideal family size.

The program spurred over 400,000 people

to write to the Indian Television Authority.

In 1986, Poindexter helped to organize a

second serial drama in India. A Rockefeller

Foundation-funded study showed that

viewers, contrasted with non-viewers,

changed significantly in their attitudes

regarding the ideal age of marriage and the

acceptability of women in the work place.

At the Population Institute, and later

as founder and President of Population

Communications International (1985-1998),

Poindexter worked to bring about similar

programs in numerous countries. Following

retirement in 1998, Poindexter served as

Honorary Chair of Population Media

Center, where he helped establish new

programs and continued to support PMC’s

work until his death.

Poindexter chaired the U.S. NGO

Committee for the UN Population

Conference in 1974. He also served as

Convener of the NGO Planning Committee

for the 1984 Population Conference, and as

Convener of the NGO Planning Committee

for the 1994 UN Conference on Population

and Development, the largest NGO forum

in UN history. He received numerous

awards from public and private institutions.

Poindexter’s life and work are captured

in his autobiographical book, Out of the

Darkness of Centuries, published in 2009.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years,

Marian Sayer Poindexter, and his son, Jim.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested

memorial contributions may be made to PMC.

*Remembering David’s Legacy is an excerpt

from David’s obituary. David’s passing was

covered in the February 19 edition of The

New York Times. n

DAVID POINDEXTER: FRIEND & COLLEAGUE

PMC PEOPLE

PMC PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

REVEREND ITANG YOUNG JOINS PMC’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Reverend Itang Young tends to be drawn to big

challenges. That’s why she has dedicated much

of her time and talents toward advocating for

youth, environmental justice, and women and

girls in marginalized communities. She has

built her personal and professional life around

a unique view of the interdependency of faith

and science and the universal value of creating community.

“I’m looking forward to working with PMC to change social

perceptions,” says Reverend Young. “This is in alignment with my

personal and professional goals. I’m excited about the opportunity to

share and bring a different perspective to the work.”

Reverend Young began her career working for The Goodyear Tire

& Rubber Company before pursuing her theological education at

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. She currently

serves as the Assistant Minister for Youth at The Abyssinian

Baptist Church in Harlem as well as the Executive Director of The

Abyssinian Fund, Inc., which works to reduce poverty in Ethiopia.

For Reverend Young, the transition from engineer to reverend

reflected the complimentary nature of science and faith. n

REPROS FIGHT BACK: A PODCAST FOR EVERYTHING SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS

The first year of the Trump/Pence administration brought with it

incredible attacks on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

With policies, both international and domestic in scope, that are

impacting the health and lives of people around the world, our sister

organization Population Institute has launched rePROS Fight Back.

Its host, Jennie Wetter, says it’s a podcast on “all things ‘repro’.”

“Everything related to reproductive health care is under assault:

birth control, maternal health care, rights of the LGBTQ

community, and immigrant access to reproductive health care

services,” Wetter says of the U.S. administration. “Our podcast

gives listeners a chance to learn about a wide range of sexual and

reproductive health and rights (SRHR) issues and what they can do

to fight back.”

rePROS Fight Back episodes are released every other Tuesday. You

can listen on their website, through traditional sources like iTunes

or Google Play, and follow them on Twitter.

“The information we provide leads to active engagement on these

issues,” says Wetter. “This is no time to be sitting on the sidelines. If

you are, you must act.” Visit www.reprosfightback.com. n

EAST LOS HIGH FINALE NOMINATED FOR DAYTIME EMMY On March 21, 2018, the National Academy

of Television Arts and Sciences announced

East Los High as a nominee for “Outstanding

Directing Special Class.” This is the sixth

Daytime Emmy nomination for the East Los

High series, which finished its U.S. broadcast

in December 2017. The conclusion of East Los

High on Hulu marks a bittersweet moment

for PMC, which was behind this popular

show.

“East Los High marked a turning point for

PMC,” says Bill Ryerson, PMC President

and Founder. “It was our first foray into the

U.S. market. The impact of East Los High

affirmed that we have a responsibility to work

in the U.S. and we’re pleased to have recently

hired Lisa Caruso as our new Head of U.S.

Programs.”

PMC creates entertaining shows to address

social and environmental issues, and it has

broadcast shows in more than 50 countries.

East Los High’s first season launched in June

2013. Following PMC’s methodology, it was

based on formative research that at that time

revealed more than 50 percent of Latinas

under 20 had at least one pregnancy. The high

rate of teen pregnancy was also contributing to

high rates of high school incompletion.

The resulting show, set in a high school in

East L.A., was Hollywood’s first series with

an all Latino cast and one of Hulu’s top 10

shows. It was featured in publications like

the American Journal of Public Health for

its impact on issues like adolescent sexual

and reproductive health. StayTeen.org’s

website traffic doubled on the day East Los

High launched and 22 percent of Planned

Parenthood’s total visits to “the check” widget

during the first season were accessed through

the East Los High website. n

MORE THAN 350,000 CONGOLESE TUNED IN WEEKLY FOR PAMBAZUKOAn estimated 350,000 Congolese listened

at least weekly for 1.5 years to Pambazuko

(“The Dawn”), an entertaining radio show

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

(DRC) that was designed to educate as well

as entertain.

“Pambazuko brought powerful and fun

storylines to life,” says PMC Program

Manager Lindsay Reid. “Our first rule

is that we need to be some of the best

entertainment on the air. But Pambazuko

also provided information, or corrected

misinformation, about a variety of issues.”

Pambazuko ran for 1.5 years, broadcasting

156 episodes over 14 radio stations in

Swahili. When the broadcast ended,

PMC began conducting a national cross-

sectional survey that was representative

of the target population. The survey

sample collected information from more

than 2,500 individuals on demographic

factors, key programming indicators, as

well as exposure to the show. The depth of

information allowed researchers to conduct

multivariate comparisons to confirm that

differences between listeners and non-

listeners were statistically significant

because of the show and not because of

other factors, such as sex, age, education,

religion, and others.

Some of the results included finding that

listeners were 2.4 times more likely than

non-listeners to approve of family planning.

They were 2.4 times more likely to say that

they could ask their spouse or partner to use

contraception if they wanted to.

When probing about girls’ education and

gender equality, researchers found that

listeners were 3.2 times more likely than

non-listeners to state that girls should be

encouraged to pursue their education to a

high level, and they were 2.1 times more

likely to agree that investing in a girl’s

education benefits the entire family.

On environmental topics, listeners were

1.7 times more likely than non-listeners to

agree that poachers who traffic in protected

species should be reported to the police,

twice as likely to say they have been involved

with planting trees, and they were 2.9 times

more likely to say they have been involved in

protecting animal species such as gorillas.

More results can be found at

populationmedia.org/projects/pambazuko. n

People crowd around Pambazuko’s producer, Mathy Babaka, during a press conference.

WELCOMING KIREN BANSALWe are pleased to welcome Kiren Bansal as Associate Vice

President of Development. Kiren oversees PMC’s development

team and the strategy for philanthropic contributions.

WELCOMING LISA CARUSOWe are pleased to welcome Lisa Caruso as Head of U.S. Programs.

Lisa oversees all content development and production for the

U.S. market.

WELCOMING SUSAN JONESWe are pleased to welcome Susan Jones as PMC’s Finance

Associate. Susan manages project accounting in all countries

where PMC operates.

WELL-WISHES TO PAUL UGALDEWe are sad to announce the departure of Paul Ugalde, PMC’s

Director of Development for the past 12 years. We wish him the

best of luck at Vermont’s Shelburne Museum.

PMC CURRENT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

YOU MADE THE #GETREEL CAMPAIGN A SUCCESS

PMC launched its #GETREEL campaign in the fall of 2017. The 6-week

effort was designed to increase awareness about the realities faced by

women and girls and raise $200,000 for addressing gender inequality

around the world. #GETREEL succeeded in reaching thousands of

people, raising more than $240,000 from more than 130 donors.

“The #GETREEL campaign was a great opportunity for PMC to

show current and potential donors how our unique approach to

entertainment can #ChangeHerStory,” said Jeff Burrow, PMC Board

member and Development Committee chairman. “We can empower

women and girls around the world to live happier and healthier

lives.” n

Together, we raised more than $240,000.