2024 North America Cohorts

WomenLift Health has selected the emerging leaders below to participate in the fifth North America Cohort of the Leadership Journey, a fully-funded leadership initiative designed to support women through the challenges and opportunities of advancing to senior leadership positions in global health.

Cohort A

Adele Waugaman, Senior Digital Health Advisor, USAID

Adele Waugaman

Senior Digital Health Advisor, USAID

Aleefia Somji, Principal Technical Advisor, Jhpiego

Aleefia Somji

Principal Technical Advisor, Jhpiego

Alison El Ayadi, Associate Professor, University of California San Francisco

Alison El Ayadi

Associate Professor, University of California San Francisco

Anna Rapp

Anna Rapp

Formerly Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Heather Anja Minnick, Health Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Anja Minnick

Health Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Belen Moran Bradley, Sr. Health Communication Specialist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Belen Moran Bradley

Sr. Health Communication Specialist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Chelsea Harris, Marketing Director, Public Health Programs, Cepheid

Chelsea Harris

Emerging Market & Private Sector Expert

Chelsea Polis, Senior Scientist, Epidemiology, Population Council

Chelsea Polis

Senior Scientist, Epidemiology, Population Council

Debra Prosnitz, Gender Equity Advisor, CDC Foundation

Debra Prosnitz

Gender Equity Advisor, CDC Foundation

Deliana Kostova, Senior Economist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Deliana Kostova

Senior Economist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Elizabeth Mziray, Senior Operations Officer, The World Bank

Elizabeth Mziray

Senior Operations Officer, The World Bank

Emma Mitchell, Associate Professor and Director of Global Initiatives, University of Virginia

Emma Mitchell

Associate Professor and Director of Global Initiatives, University of Virginia

Intissar Sarker, Private Sector Service Delivery Technical Advisor, USAID (Contractor: Public Health Institute)

Intissar Sarker

Private Sector Service Delivery Technical Advisor, USAID

Jennifer Vergeon, Associate Director-Clinical Research Manager, Merck

Jennifer Vergeon

Associate Director-Clinical Research Manager, Merck

Jessica Rodrigues, Senior Advisor, USAID

Jessica Rodrigues

Senior Advisor, USAID

Katherine Wolf, Senior Principal Technical Advisor, Jhpiego

Katherine Wolf

Senior Principal Technical Advisor, Jhpiego

Kavitha Nallathambi, Senior Advisor, Policy and Advocacy, Project HOPE

Kavitha Nallathambi

Senior Advisor, Policy and Advocacy, Project HOPE

Manuela Villar Uribe, Senior Health Specialist, World Bank

Manuela Villar Uribe

Senior Health Specialist, World Bank

Margaret Mutumba, Program Director, Western University

Margaret Mutumba

Adjunct Research Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Statistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University

Martina Gonzalez Gomez

Global Neurosurgery Program Manager II, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Melissa Ojemeni, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Partners In Health

Melissa Ojemeni

Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Partners In Health

Mohini Bhavsar, Director of Corporate Strategy, Grand Challenges Canada

Mohini Bhavsar

Director of Corporate Strategy, Grand Challenges Canada

Molly Baker, Associate Director, Finance & Operations, Infectious Disease, Research and Labs Teams, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc.

Molly Baker

Associate Director, Finance & Operations, Infectious Disease, Research and Labs Teams, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)

Muriel Mac-Seing, Assistant Professor of Global Health, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal

Muriel Mac-Seing

Assistant Professor of Global Health, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal

Nitika Pant Pai, Associate Professor, McGill University

Nitika Pant Pai

Professor, McGill University

OCHIAWUNMA E AKWIWU IBE, Director International Health Systems and Global Health Security, ICF

Ochiawunma E Akwiwu Ibe

Freelance Public Health Physician

Patience Afulani, Assistant Professor, University of California, San Francisco

Patience Afulani

Associate Professor, University of California San Francisco

Renee Heffron, Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Renee Heffron

Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Stephanie Garbern, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Brown University

Stephanie Garbern

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Brown University

Temitope Akintunde, Deputy Director, Technical Assistance Management and Delivery, Nutrition International

Temitope Akintunde

Deputy Director, Technical Assistance Management and Delivery, Nutrition International

Cohort B

Amita Mehrotra, Senior Technical Advisor, Capacity Strengthening, FHI 360

Amita Mehrotra

Senior Technical Advisor, Capacity Strengthening, FHI 360

Aparna Kamath, Portfolio Manager, Grand Challenges Canada

Aparna Kamath

Senior Portfolio Manager, Grand Challenges Canada

Christina Wakefield, Senior Advisor, Social and Behavior Change, JSI

Christina Wakefield

Senior Advisor, Social and Behavior Change, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc.

Ciara Sugerman, Team Lead, Immunization Delivery Science Team, Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, CDC

Ciara Sugerman

Team Lead, Immunization Delivery Science Team, Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Dianna Ng

Dianna Ng

Assistant Attending, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Emilia Carrera, Director, The Rockefeller Foundation

Emilia Carrera

Director, The Rockefeller Foundation

Emily Stong, PEPFAR Project Officer Team Lead, CDC

Emily Stong

PEPFAR Project Officer Team Lead, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Fatima Karaki, Physician, Refugee and Asylum seeker Health Initiative (RAHI)

Fatima Karaki

Physician, Refugee and Asylum Seeker Health Initiative (RAHI)

Heather Marlow, Senior Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc

Heather Marlow

Senior Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc.

Joan Muasa, Senior Director, Institutional Relationships and Program Review, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)

Joan Muasa

Senior Director, Institutional Relationships and Program Review, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)

Kate Onyejekwe, Director, International Division, Washington D.C, JSI Research And Training Inc

Kate Onyejekwe

Director, International Division, Washington D.C, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc.

Kristin Srour, Associate Director, Indiana University Center for Global Health Equity/AMPATH

Kristin Srour

Associate Director, Indiana University Center for Global Health Equity/AMPATH

Kyla Hayford, Global Medical Lead, Pneumococcal Vaccines, Pfizer Vaccines

Kyla Hayford

Global Medical Lead, Pneumococcal Vaccines, Pfizer Vaccines

Lauren Wall

Lauren Wall

Deputy Director, Capacity Strengthening, PATH

Leontine Alkema, Professor of Biostatistics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Leontine Alkema

Professor of Biostatistics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Louise Kathini Makau-Barasa, Senior Director, Programs, The END Fund

Louise Kathini Makau-Barasa

Senior Director, Programs, The END Fund

Moytrayee Guha, Program Director, Center for Health System Sustainability / Global Health Consultant, Brown University School of Public Health / World Bank

Moytrayee Guha

Program Director, Center for Health System Sustainability / Global Health Consultant, Brown University School of Public Health / World Bank

Nicole Brown, Director, Global Cause Partnerships, UNICEF USA

Nicole Brown

Director, Global Cause Partnerships, UNICEF USA

Niki Msipa-Ndebele, Deputy Director, RISE Project, Jhpiego

Niki Msipa-Ndebele

Program Director, USAID Strategic Partnerships for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK), International Institute for Education

Nilima Mehta, Innovation Advisor, USAID Center for Innovation and Impact (CII)

Nilima Mehta

Associate Director, Health Initiatives U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

Omotayo Bolu, Polio Eradication Branch Chief, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Omotayo Bolu

Polio Eradication Branch Chief, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Pamela Bayas, Chief Marketing Officer Vaccines and Pharma Latin America, Merck

Pamela Bayas

Chief Marketing Officer Vaccines and Pharma Latin America, Merck

Prarthna Desai, Director, Health & Life Sciences, Gates Ventures

Prarthna Desai

Director, Health & Life Sciences, Gates Ventures

Purba Chatterjee, Associate Director for Global Health Equity, University of California San Francisco, Dept. of OB/Gyn and Reproductive Sciences, Bixby Center

Purba Chatterjee

Associate Director for Global Health Equity, University of California San Francisco, Dept. of OB/Gyn and Reproductive Sciences, Bixby Center

Rachel Couper, Senior Principal Specialist for Global Health, DAI

Rachel Couper

Senior Principal Specialist for Global Health, DAI

Radhika Bhavsar, Senior Technical Specialist, Innovation & Global Health Lecturer, Global Communities & University of California, San Diego

Radhika Bhavsar

Senior Technical Specialist, Innovation, Global Communities; Global Health Lecturer, University of California, San Diego

Sarah L. Bosha, Director, Capacity Building & Health Law Programs, O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

Sarah L. Bosha

Director, Capacity Building & Health Law Programs, O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

Tracy Rabin, Associate Professor of Medicine & Director, Office of Global Health, Yale School of Medicine

Tracy Rabin

Associate Professor of Medicine & Director, Office of Global Health, Yale School of Medicine

Veena Sriram, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia

Veena Sriram

Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia

Waimar Tun

Waimar Tun

Senior Associate, Population Council

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