2025 North America Cohorts

WomenLift Health has selected the emerging leaders below to participate in the sixth 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

Alden Nouga-Ngog

Alden Nouga-Ngog

Senior Partnerships Advisor, USAID Global Health Bureau/Office of Population and Reproductive Health

Alison Koler, Deputy Director, Orphans and Vulnerable Children and DREAMS, Pact

Alison Koler

Deputy Director, Orphans and Vulnerable Children and DREAMS, Pact

Amarynth Sichel, Senior Digital Health Advisor, USAID

Amarynth Sichel

Senior Digital Health Advisor, USAID

Amy Finnegan, Deputy Director, Data Science, IntraHealth International

Amy Finnegan

Deputy Director, Data Science, IntraHealth International

Anna Kalbarczyk, Assistant Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health

Anna Kalbarczyk

Assistant Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health

Anna Temu, Associate Director, Clinical Project Management, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (JJIM)

Anna Temu

Associate Director, Clinical Project Management, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (JJIM)

Anne Njoroge, Digital Health Informatician, International Training and Education Center for Health (ITECH), University of Washington

Anne Njoroge

Digital Health Informatician, International Training and Education Center for Health (ITECH), University of Washington

BERYNE ODENY, Assistant Professor, Washington University in St. Louis

Beryne Odeny

Assistant Professor, Washington University in St. Louis

Bhakti Hansoti, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Bhakti Hansoti

Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Eileen Dunne, Senior Director, Scientific Affairs and Epidemiology, Pfizer

Eileen Dunne

Senior Director, Scientific Affairs and Epidemiology, Pfizer

Elizabeth Kohlway, Director, Global Community Engagement & Applied Learning, Sabin Vaccine Institute

Elizabeth Kohlway

Director, Global Community Engagement & Applied Learning, Sabin Vaccine Institute

Farnaz Malik, Senior Technical Advisor, Vital Strategies

Farnaz Malik

Senior Technical Advisor, Vital Strategies

Frances Ilika, Director, Health Systems, Palladium Group Global

Frances Ilika

Director, Health Systems, Palladium Group Global

Janani Vijayaraghavan, Health Advisor, Plan International Canada

Janani Vijayaraghavan

Health Advisor, Plan International Canada

Jennifer Guertin, Chief of Growth, Zenysis

Jennifer Guertin

Chief of Growth, Zenysis

Jessica Backman-Levy, Associate Professor of Practice, Washington University in St Louis

Jessica Backman-Levy

Associate Professor of Practice, Washington University in St Louis

Jessica Celentano, Management Lead, UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences

Jessica Celentano

Management Lead, UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences

Joanna Skinner, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Lead, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Joanna Skinner

Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Lead, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Katherine Bliss, Senior Fellow and Director, Immunizations and Health Systems Resilience, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Katherine Bliss

Senior Fellow and Director, Immunizations and Health Systems Resilience, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Lesley Park, Senior Research Scientist; Executive Director, Stanford University School of Medicine

Lesley Park

Senior Research Scientist; Executive Director, Stanford University School of Medicine

Lisa Saldanha, Senior Nutrition Specialist, World Bank Group

Lisa Saldanha

Senior Nutrition Specialist, World Bank Group

Lisa Smith, Global Program Leader, Market Dynamics, PATH

Lisa Smith

Global Program Leader, Market Dynamics, PATH

Mariam Zameer, Director, Health Systems; Immunization Lead, VillageReach

Mariam Zameer

Director, Health Systems; Immunization Lead, VillageReach

Megan McHenry, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine

Megan McHenry

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine

Nikita Boston-Fisher, Associate Director, Laidley Centre for Business Ethics & Equity, McGill University

Nikita Boston-Fisher

Associate Director, Laidley Centre for Business Ethics & Equity, McGill University

Sameera Hussain, Director, Public Health Agency of Canada

Sameera Hussain

Director, Public Health Agency of Canada

Shelby Cash, Health Scientist, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Shelby Cash

Health Scientist, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Shibani Kulkarni, Health Scientist; Lead Demand for Immunization Team, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Shibani Kulkarni

Health Scientist; Lead Demand for Immunization Team, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Stephanie Watson-Grant, Project Director, JSI

Stephanie Watson-Grant

Project Director, JSI

Ucheoma Nwaozuru, Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Ucheoma Nwaozuru

Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Cohort B

Abbey Kocan, Deputy Director, Bay Area Global Health Alliance

Abbey Kocan

Deputy Director, Bay Area Global Health Alliance

Catalina González Marqués, Physician _ Associate Director of Emergency Health Systems, Brigham and Women's Hospital_ Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

Catalina González Marqués

Physician _ Associate Director of Emergency Health Systems, Brigham and Women's Hospital_ Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

Chibuzor Onyenuobi, Senior Program Specialist, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)

Chibuzor Onyenuobi

Senior Program Specialist, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)

Desiree LaBeaud, Professor, Associate Dean, Stanford

Desiree LaBeaud

Professor, Associate Dean, Stanford

Dominique LaRochelle, Director, Gender Equality Strategy, Save the Children Canada

Dominique LaRochelle

Director, Gender Equality Strategy, Save the Children Canada

Elizabeth Doggett, Senior Technical Advisor, Gender, Jhpiego

Elizabeth Doggett

Senior Technical Advisor, Gender, Jhpiego

Francelle Kwankam Toedtli, Technical Specialist, sexual and reproductive health and rights and maternal health, UNFPA

Francelle Kwankam Toedtli

Technical Specialist, sexual and reproductive health and rights and maternal health, UNFPA

Juliana da Silva, Team Lead, Viral Suppression Team, CDC - Division of Global HIV and Tuberculosis

Juliana da Silva

Team Lead, Viral Suppression Team, CDC - Division of Global HIV and Tuberculosis

Katy Ashe, Design Director, YLabs

Katy Ashe

Design Director, YLabs

Kelly Young, Associate Director Program, Planning & Evaluation, UCSF

Kelly Young

Associate Director Program, Planning & Evaluation, UCSF

Kelly Zongo, Senior Director, Programs, The END Fund

Kelly Zongo

Senior Director, Programs, The END Fund

Kerry Thomson, Research Scientist, University of Washington, Department of Global Health, I-TECH

Kerry Thomson

Research Scientist, University of Washington, Department of Global Health, I-TECH

Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, Assistant Professional Researcher, University of California San Francisco

Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan

Assistant Professional Researcher, University of California San Francisco

Mabel Carabali, Assistant Professor, McGill University

Mabel Carabali

Assistant Professor, McGill University

Maria Carrasco, Sr. Implementation Sciences Research Technical Advisor, USAID

Maria Carrasco

Sr. Implementation Sciences Research Technical Advisor, USAID

Mary Kante, Founder and Principal, Eau Claire Consulting (ECC)

Mary Kante

Founder and Principal, Eau Claire Consulting (ECC)

Megha Kumar, Senior Strategy Manager, Medtronic

Megha Kumar

Senior Strategy Manager, Medtronic

Mehr Manzoor, Founder & CEO, BeyondParity

Mehr Manzoor

Founder & CEO, BeyondParity

Nikki Tyler, Director of Partnerships, U.S. Department of State, President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

Nikki Tyler

Director of Partnerships, U.S. Department of State, President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

Petra Heitkamp, Community Manager, TBPPM Learning Network

Petra Heitkamp

Community Manager, TBPPM Learning Network

Pooja Yerramilli, Health Specialist, World Bank

Pooja Yerramilli

Health Specialist, World Bank

Robin Mohr, Senior Research Manager, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

Robin Mohr

Senior Research Manager, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

Robyn Iqbal, Global Health Strategy, GSK (previous)

Robyn Iqbal

Global Health Strategy, GSK (previous)

Sara Baumann, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh

Sara Baumann

Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh

Shannon Prudhomme, Senior Technical Advisor, Partnerships - MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience Project, Corus International

Shannon Prudhomme

Senior Technical Advisor, Partnerships - MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience Project, Corus International

Sun Cotter, Deputy Director, University of California Global Health Institute

Sun Cotter

Deputy Director, University of California Global Health Institute

Uche Ralph-Opara, Chief Health Officer, Project HOPE

Uche Ralph-Opara

Chief Health Officer, Project HOPE

Yashodhara Rana, Associate Director, Eleanor Crook Foundation

Yashodhara Rana

Associate Director, Eleanor Crook Foundation

Yemelaknesh Wolde, Health Financing Advisor, Open Development

Yemelaknesh Wolde

Health Financing Advisor, Open Development

Zinat Begum, Senior Humanitarian Advisor, Jhpeigo

Zinat Begum

Senior Humanitarian Advisor, Jhpeigo

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