On a mission to smash the menopause taboo by empowering women with evidence-based education, care & community.
Our Philosophy
50 million women are currently navigating menopause in the US. While this transition is a universal female experience, it’s shrouded in stigma, shame, and secrecy. We believe it’s time to change this outdated narrative.
Elektra is built around one simple mission: smashing the menopause taboo. We’re creating a movement to reimagine menopause as the beginning of a new chapter, one that is powerful & transformative.
We provide deep expertise & science-backed solutions alongside community support & guidance to give you agency over your hormonal health. Our approach is holistic and integrative, and it starts with education from trusted experts.
We believe women deserve better. Join our movement to ensure every woman lives a bold, fearless & thriving menopause, and beyond.
Meet the Team
For our female-founded team, menopause is personal. We’re committed to empowering women with honest, science-backed expertise & solutions that we want for ourselves.
Alessandra Henderson
Co-founder & CEOAlessandra Henderson kicked off her career in tech as the sixth employee at Artsy, where she built the content partner business from the ground up. From there, she went on to found and serve as Executive Director of the MIT NYC Startup Studio and VP of Network at Human Ventures. She holds a BA from Vanderbilt University and MBA from Sloan MIT. Her work has been covered by The NY Times, Fast Company, Techcrunch, and the Financial Times. Alessandra is passionate about community, Mexican cuisine, and all things art.
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Jannine Versi
Co-founder & COOJannine Versi has spent her career in healthcare, tech, and government, including roles at Google, in the Obama Administration, and White House. She was on the founding team of Cityblock Health and was an early hire at Valera Health. She's an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School, and was a Fulbright Scholar and a Blavatnik Fellow at HBS. In her spare time, she can be found researching new restaurants to try in the neighborhood or hanging out with her husband, twin son and daughter, and extended family.
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Anna Barbieri
MD, FACOG, NCMP | Founding PhysicianDr. Barbieri is a board-certified gynecologist, integrative medicine physician, and a specialist in menopause certified by the North American Menopause Society. She is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai Health System and is a member of the Mount Sinai Excellence in Gynecology menopause program.
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Jacqueline Giannelli
FNP-BC, NCMP | Founding Nurse PractitionerJacqueline Giannelli is a board-certified family nurse practitioner specializing in women’s health with a special focus in menopause, urogynecology, and women's sexual health. Jacqueline is a North American Menopause Society-certified practitioner. She earned her nursing degrees at NYU and San Francisco State University, and BA from Georgetown University. When not at work, Jacqueline enjoys tennis, hiking, cooking for her family, and hunting for treasures in New York City.
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Laura Stratte
RN, BSN | Operations & Program ManagerLaura Stratte is a registered nurse with over a decade of experience in breast cancer care before joining Elektra in 2020. As an oncology navigator, she guided patients through treatment and developed a survivorship program focused on health and wellness during and after treatment. As a cancer survivor and advocate, she’s worked with organizations on education and outreach covering sexual health, cancer and the environment, and more. She earned a BFA from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and a BSN from Cardinal Stritch University. Currently navigating perimenopause herself, Laura loves power walks, 80s music, and her husband and two teenagers — especially when they vacuum without prompting. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Grace Veras Sealy
HHC (IIN), Holistic Perinatal Doula | Menopause DoulaGrace Veras Sealy is a perinatal and holistic health counselor, with many years of experience as a postpartum doula and lactation counselor. She’s passionate about women’s health in general and helping people understand the process of perimenopause and menopause in particular. Grace was born in the Dominican Republic and has lived in New York City since the mid-80s. She now lives with her husband and 2 daughters in Brooklyn, NY. She loves warm weather, hiking in nature, and trying out new crafts.
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Beth Braun
RN, BSN, WHNP-BC | Menopause DoulaBeth Braun has over 30 years of experience working in women’s health, including gynecology, prenatal care, and midlife services. She’s taught teen sex education in schools and worked as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, birth doula, and practitioner in an LGBTQ clinic in the 90s. Beth has resided in Wisconsin and California and currently lives in Madison, WI with her family. When not working, she enjoys the outdoors (especially recreational sports like pickleball!), her E-bike, walk and talks with friends, and anything having to do with water.
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Subomi Olaniyi-Dada
Analytics & Operations ManagerSubomi [shoe-bow-me] spent the past 4+ years of her career in the tele mental health startup space at Quartet Health and Cerebral, focused on patient operations, strategy and analytics.As a young child living in Nigeria, Subomi asked her dad why the government couldn’t give everyone money to help alleviate poverty. While young Subomi didn’t understand her dad’s answer, it motivated her to learn how to help people prosper by pursuing a degree in Economics at Florida International University. Subomi graduated magna cum laude and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.Subomi loves watching movies and listening to music from around the world. One of her favorite things to do is visit the places in her favorite books and movies.
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Pooja Jethani
MD, MS | Clinical Operations InternPooja Jethani graduated from Columbia University with an MD/MS in Biomedical Engineering in June 2022. Subsequently, she worked as a Product Manager at an early-stage mental health tech startup in NYC. In her free time, she enjoys editing funny home videos, taking group fitness classes, cat sitting, and going out dancing with friends.
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Pornjittra (Kathy) Rattanasirivilai
MD | Clinical Operations InternKathy Rattanasirivilai trained and practiced in Family Medicine with NHS UK and is pursuing an MPH degree at Columbia University. During her medical career, she led quality improvement projects in the hospital and community, presented and published research at international conferences, and co-founded a medical education consultancy in Thailand. She is passionate about leveraging digital health technology and innovation to address health equity challenges and improve public health.Kathy received her medical degree from Cardiff University School of Medicine in the United Kingdom. Outside work, she is on the executive board of Columbia Healthcare Ventures and enjoys indoor cycling, golf, and exploring restaurants and art galleries in New York.
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Nikita Roy
MPH | Clinical Operations InternNikita Roy is a medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She has a passion for achieving health equity through health education via digital platforms. This interest propelled her to earn her Master’s in Public Health from the University of Connecticut and travel to Sydney, Australia on a Fulbright Scholarship where she expanded her knowledge of equitable care. In medical school, she developed a passion for women’s health and breast cancer treatment and prevention. She is an aspiring breast oncology surgeon with a special interest in women's health autonomy and justice.She lives in Manhattan with Mango, her puppy. In her free time, she buries her nose in a book, catches a dance class, or drops in to a concert in the city!
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Alberto Escarlate
CTO & Head of ProductAlberto Escarlate is a repeat founder, 0-1-scale CTO, product executive, investor, and professor who has worked in the startup community for nearly 20 years. Previously, he served as the founding CTO of Skylyte, founder of Hugo Labs (where he was Entrepreneur-in-residence at Human Ventures), and founding CTO of Throwing Fruit.Alberto holds degrees in Self-Driving Engineering and Deep Learning from Udacity, a degree in Computer Science from The Pontificia Universidade Catolica in Rio de Janeiro, a Masters in Computer Engineering from The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and was a faculty at Parsons School of New Design for eight years. He currently co-heads the Startup Studio at Cornell Tech.In his downtime, you can often find him watching Brazilian soccer, cooking for his family, or sweating it out in a CrossFit box.
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Caitlin Klauer
Product Design AssociateCaitlin Klauer has worked on design and branding for a number of startups ranging from skincare to sports news to sparkling water. However, her true passion lies in women’s health where she feels there is the most potential for innovation. Caitlin graduated from Stanford University in 2021 with a BS in Product Design and is a former synchronized swimmer who competed for Team USA and on Stanford’s Varsity Synchronized Swimming team. She now brings that competitive spirit to triathlons and hopes to one day compete in an Ironman.
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Emily Boschwitz
Marketing AdvisorEmily Boschwitz is a senior marketing executive and advisor. Most recently, she served as CMO at Cameo, partnering with tens of thousands of the world's top actors, athletes, and influencers to create the most authentic and personalized fan experiences in the world. Previously, Emily led the marketing team at hims & hers, pioneering the direct-to-consumer telehealth industry and bringing the business from launch to IPO (NYSE: HIMS). She has also held marketing positions at Nest, Google, Boosted, Invoice2Go (Bill.com), and Dropcam. In her free time, Emily enjoys adventures with her pack of mythical beasts, Griffin ( 👦) and Monster ( 🐶).
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Jacqueline Parisi
Marketing LeadJacqueline Parisi kicked off her career at HelloFresh as the first US copywriter before transitioning to Journy, an early-stage startup incubated by R/GA Ventures, where she led all things content (SEO, email marketing, long-form writing, content partnerships, copywriting…you name it). She holds a BA in English and French from Boston College and MA in French Studies from NYU. When not working, she can usually be found doing yoga, watching French Netflix, or reading for the one-too-many book clubs she’s a part of.
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Lila Nachtigall
MD, NCMPDr. Nachtigall is one of the world’s leading reproductive endocrinologists, widely recognized for pioneering medical research on hormone therapy, estrogen, and menopause. She has authored over 500 articles in medical journals and 3 books, and is currently a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at NYU Medical School where she also completed her training. Previously, Dr. Nachtigall served as President of the North American Menopause Society.
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Chitra Akileswaran
MD, MBADr. Akileswaran is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, and is concurrently Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Cleo, a venture-backed digital health platform that supports working parents to grow their families and their careers, as well as serving as the Vice Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Alameda Health System in Oakland, California. She also holds a Lecturer appointment at Harvard Medical School.
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Tina Opie
PhDDr. Opie is an Associate Professor of Management at Babson College, and an award-winning teacher, researcher, speaker, and author of the 2022 book, Shared Sisterhood: How to Take Collective Action for Racial and Gender Equity at Work. Dr. Opie provides organizations with strategic direction on how to create more diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplaces. Her research has appeared in such outlets as O Magazine, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and Harvard Business Review.
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Wulf Utian
MD, PhD DScDr. Utian is Executive Director Emeritus and Founder of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). Dr. Utian is considered to be one of the most significant authorities on menopause and women’s health issues. He has written over 250 papers related to women’s health, and has authored five books on menopause. His latest is CHANGE-YOUR-MENOPAUSE. He is the Editor Emeritus of Menopause, NAMS’ official scientific journal. He is one of the three original Founders in 1976 of the International Menopause Society.
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Omisade Burney-Scott
Omisade is a social justice advocate focused on reproductive, gender, and healing justice. She is the founder of the multidisciplinary culture and narrative shift project, Black Girl’s Guide to Surviving Menopause (BGG2SM). They engage in culture and narrative shift work through centering the menopause stories and realities of Black women, women-identified, and gender-expansive people. She is a founding member of the cultural organizing and healing justice organization SpiritHouse South and currently serves on the Wisdom Circle of the Acorn Center for Restoration and Freedom.
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Honore (Nora) Lansen
MDDr. Lansen is a primary care physician with a breadth of experience in healthcare, leadership, and clinical operations. After completing her family medicine residency, Nora joined One Medical where she held numerous leadership roles over 8 years, and focused on the development of full-spectrum reproductive health services. Nora moved on to lead the digital clinical team at Galileo Health, overseeing the growth of a practice that delivers high quality healthcare in the digital space.
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Sarah Ahmad
Sarah Ahmad has worked in healthcare for over 25 years, most recently as Senior Vice President, Health & Wellness at Shoppers Drug Mart. Previously, Sarah worked as the Chief Innovation Officer at Magellan Health and SVP, Innovation & Transformation Strategy at Highmark Health. She also held various leadership roles in product development, clinical operations, network development, and innovation at Humana across a 22-year tenure. Along with her husband, Sarah has a full house with 2 teenagers and 3 dogs. As someone navigating her own menopause journey, she's uniquely passionate (both professionally and personally) about the work Elektra is doing.
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Elizabeth Poynor
MD, PhDDr. Poynor is a gynecologic oncologist and advanced pelvic surgeon with over 20 years of experience in menopause, sexual health, and cancer. She is a graduate of Princeton University and UPenn, and holds a PhD in cell biology and genetics from Cornell. Previously, she served as Director of Translational Research for the Gynecology Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where she also completed her fellowship training. Dr. Poynor enjoys rock music, creative cooking, and experiencing nature through dressage.
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Tessa Gould
Content, Brand & StrategyTessa Gould is a mission-driven wellness enthusiast who helps businesses grow, scale, and succeed. She brings over a decade of strategy, ops, and monetization leadership experience to her current role as SVP of Growth at Kinship. Previously, she worked at the likes of SoulCycle, mindbodygreen, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, and Verizon Media Group.
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Alison Moore
Content, Brand & StrategyAlison Moore is an executive with extensive media, tech, and consumer experience. Currently CEO of Comic Relief, Alison was previously the Chief Business Officer of the Beauty Collection at Condé Nast, where she oversaw brand strategy, monetization, and operations for women-focused publications such as Glamour and Allure. Earlier in her career, she held senior positions in tech (Soundcloud) and media (NBC Universal, HBO).
Click for full bioOur Values
We are committed to provide women with the latest information from trusted sources with the best care available, and changing the culture around menopause.
Celebrate growth and (The) Change
We proactively seek continuous growth and learning. We embrace change with open arms, even when it's uncomfortable.
Elevate women
We believe in a world where every woman has the agency and empathy she deserves. Our community and its needs are at the center of everything we do.
Embrace dialogue
We strive to build a safe, supportive space where stories are shared and honest, open conversations flourish.
Value science and evidence
We believe in expertise and evidence, and we work tirelessly to bring this truth to light.
Challenge the status quo
We’re reimagining an outdated model of menopause. We thrive by coloring outside the lines and proactively seeking new ideas & perspectives in pursuit of a better tomorrow.