Program leadership
I guide strategy, research, and multi-partner initiatives from planning through implementation. I help define priorities, align budgets and timelines, and keep the work moving.
About the founder
Diana Santana, MA, PMP
Bilingual Strategist · Program & Operations Leader · Trusted Advisor
I help mission-driven teams turn ideas into clear, steady progress. I’m a bilingual (English/Spanish) program and operations leader with more than 20 years of experience supporting nonprofits, foundations, and community-based organizations. My work connects strategy, people, and systems so teams can move forward with clarity and confidence.
Extensive work and travel throughout Latin America has shaped how I approach partnership, research, and program design: by listening closely, learning from local knowledge, and staying grounded in how services and organizations work in practice.
What I do
Leadership that connects plans to practice.
People leadership
I support leaders and teams through growth and change. I coach staff, clarify roles, and strengthen communication so teams can work well together.
Operations leadership
I build practical systems that reduce friction, including work plans, program and funding processes, reporting structures, and tools that improve visibility and follow-through.
Experience
A career supporting organizations and communities.
Earlier in my career, I worked in research and capacity-building with international public health organizations. I later led an HIV prevention program at an Indigenous-led clinic in Guatemala serving 30 Indigenous communities.
For more than a decade, I held senior leadership roles at Planned Parenthood Global, leading cross-country teams and complex regional portfolios. Across the U.S., Latin America, and globally, I’ve partnered with nonprofit leaders and their teams to strengthen programs, organizations, and the systems behind their work.
My research and practice experience spans public and global health, reproductive health, community-based care, and organizational learning. Across this work, I’ve focused on documenting what we learn and translating it into stronger programs, services, and decisions.
Research & practice
Learning that informs action.
I use research and practice to understand what’s working, surface useful insight, and turn evidence into practical guidance for programs and organizations.
Research & learning
Qualitative and mixed methods, participatory research, survey design, and field-based data collection.
Models & knowledge sharing
Service and program models, implementation guides, briefs, practice notes, and practical guidance from research.
Reproductive health & rights
Abortion access and care models, provider support, health decision-making, climate and reproductive health, and cross-cultural care.
Organizations & people
Leadership and team support, organizational learning, and workforce well-being.
Selected publications
- Villar, K. V., Diaz, A. D., Atienzo, E. E., Filippa, S., Baum, S., Santana, D., & Tebbets, C. (2024). “Abortion Perceptions and Practices Among Traditional Healers in Peru.” International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 13(2), 114–131.
- Mosley, Elizabeth A., et al. (2020). “Addressing Abortion Provider Stigma: A Pilot Implementation of the Providers Share Workshop in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.” International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 46, 35–50.
- Tebbets, C., Santana, D., Silvestre, J. R., & Redwine, D. (2018). “Building Bridges: A Case for Community Health Worker Provision of Misoprostol-Only Abortion in the First Trimester.” Journal of Women’s Health, 27(3), 311–316.
Selected results
Work with reach and practical impact.
- Supported strategic planning for 50+ organizations.
- Managed portfolios reaching more than 5 million people.
- Oversaw annual budgets of $1.5 million and above.
- Helped develop and scale community-based health service models.
- Developed materials that supported advocacy and reduced stigma.
Approach
A thoughtful way to lead change.
I build trust, strengthen systems, and help teams turn priorities into shared, manageable steps. Plans reflect how the organization works and the resources it can sustain.
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