Som leads the Advocacy Unit at PIC, where she provides cross-cutting advocacy support across programs and projects. She also anchors the Purple Diaries, PIC’s multisectoral advocacy platform, which examines a wide range of social issues through a gender and social inclusion lens. 

With a background spanning health, gender, nutrition, and the social sciences—particularly behavior change and communication—Som brings depth and clarity to PIC’s mission of bridging social disparities and advancing the rights of vulnerable and marginalized groups, especially women, youth, and people with disabilities. Her work has focused on women’s health advocacy, women’s economic empowerment, gender-based violence prevention, and, more recently, poverty alleviation and job creation for young Nigerian women. 

Before joining PIC, Som was Coordinating Manager at African Food Changemakers (an affiliate of Sahel Consulting). She also spent time in academia, teaching public health and nutrition, before fully transitioning into development practice. She holds a PhD in Public Health from Oregon State University and a Master’s degree in Nutrition, with a minor in Communications, from Tufts University.