Kyle Daniels, BA (She/Her/Hers) | United States

Kyle has a breadth of experience working in settings across the globe, spanning efforts focused on global malaria elimination, menstrual hygiene management in India, to domestic violence and sexual assault policies in California, and handwashing studies in the context of Ebola.

Professional experience: As part of a UCSF malaria elimination initiative, Kyle supported a range of projects on policy and advocacy, business development, and project management. She also stewarded the secretariat for the Lancet Commission on malaria eradication, helped develop and lead USAID’s malaria elimination portfolio, and managed partner relationships on operational research studies in Colombia, Madagascar, Senegal, and Zimbabwe. Kyle also worked in Liberia for Partners In Health (PIH) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health on rural healthcare service delivery, where she coordinated cross-departmental strategic initiatives to support establishment of a model for high-quality rural healthcare in pursuit of universal healthcare coverage. In addition, Kyle has expertise in qualitative research.  

Current and future interests: Kyle is working across the clinical development pipeline and global health research and development landscape, and is interested in promoting access to therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). She has focused on pathways to market for vaccines for neglected tropical diseases for a non-profit biotech company, as well as supported a new pan-African, disease agnostic initiative that seeks to facilitate increased African participation in the global clinical research ecosystem.  

 

Ikenna Onoh, MBBS, MS, MPH (He/Him/His) | Nigeria

Ikenna is a resourceful and results-driven public health physician and field epidemiologist from Nigeria with more than 10 years of multidisciplinary experience in public health research and practice. 

Professional experience: Ikenna has expertise in public health emergency management/pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.  He has excelled in disease outbreak preparedness from the health facility to national levels, outbreak response for important epidemic prone diseases such as Yellow Fever, COVID and Mpox, surveillance system evaluation, coordination of health system improvement projects and design and implementation of research and training agenda. He brings strong skills in written and oral communication, critical thinking and problem solving, epidemiologic research design, implementation and analysis and stakeholder mapping and engagement.  He has worked with the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the Epidemic Preparedness and Response team of the Exemplars in Global Health program at Gates Ventures and is currently working with the René Rachou Institute (IRR/Fiocruz Minas) in Brazil on a One Health oriented mobile genomic surveillance project in remote and hard-to-reach areas.

Current and future interests: Ikenna’s primary interest is in the intersection of health systems strengthening (particularly human resources for health development and management) and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and One Health. He is also interested in policy planning, implementation and evaluation and health systems, and workforce intelligence and transformation. He supports strategic allocation of resources to optimize global health security optimization and achieving horizontal, cross-cutting health system effects. Ikenna seeks opportunities to further cultivate strong practice- and value-based leadership skills and competencies in public health practice in resource constrained settings of both high income and low- and middle-income countries globally. 

 

Patience Komba, RCHN, BSN, MPH (She/Her/Hers) | Tanzania

Patience is a global health professional with 18 years of experience designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating health programs. She has worked in Kenya, Tanzania, Australia, and the USA and provided technical assistance to multiple African countries and the Caribbean, focusing on improving HIV/AIDS service delivery. 

Professional experience: Patience is interested in leveraging data and digital health technologies to strengthen health systems using quality improvement, research, and implementation science methods. She is also interested in digital health leadership and governance processes, particularly how governance structures can adapt to the rapidly evolving digital health landscape. During her doctoral training, Patience has co-led development of a multi-country monitoring and evaluation framework for a data modernization project aimed at strengthening policy, governance, workforce, and infrastructure for pandemic preparedness and response. She spearheaded the review and adaptation of a tool to assess the policy, public-health informatics skilled workforce, and effective health information systems landscapes in low and middle-income countries. Additionally, she led the development and scale-up of a continuous quality improvement (CQI) monitoring and reporting dashboard that is now used in eight countries. She is also developing a monitoring and evaluation framework for a digital health application (shared health record) supporting migrant populations.

Current and future interests: Patience is seeking opportunities to expand her expertise in digital health governance, collaborate with international partners, and manage digital health programs across multiple countries. She aims to work with global stakeholders, develop and evaluate digital health strategies, engage in policy-making, and lead initiatives that drive sustainable and impactful global health interventions.

 

Parigya Sharma, BA, MA (She/Her/Hers) | India

Parigya is a mental health and disability advocate from India whose 12 years of experience centers decolonial praxis and intersectionality and highlight lived experiences of vulnerable and marginalized groups. 

Professional experience: Parigya has worked with large philanthropic organizations, leading their grantmaking strategies, representing them on international funders’ platforms, and advocating for social justice-oriented funding. Managing community-based mental health programs, Parigya brought together women, marginalized castes and indigenous groups as partners in design and implementation, in conjunction with systemic issues like masculine power and privilege, early marriage and gender-based violence. She successfully expanded these programs to mainstream disability considerations, from sustainable livelihoods and water security to health, environment, climate change and the engagement of persons with disabilities in local political process. In her role managing grantmaking, Parigya focused on championing grassroots organizations working with or led by women, non-binary persons, and persons with disabilities. Taking a systems thinking approach, Parigya has successfully advocated for the inclusion of disability and gender justice in development work, including in her work on social innovation partnerships with the Government of India. 

Current and future interests: Parigya’s interests span mental health, disability, gender justice, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and her areas of expertise include designing and implementing community-based health programs, capacity building and training of communities and non-profits, designing curricula on SRHR with national level stakeholders, qualitative and community-based participatory research, and strengthening recovery-oriented models of care. In her doctoral journey at UW, Parigya is focusing on program design and partnership management with the mental health non-profit citiesRISE. With the Indian American Community Services, Parigya’s core work is on strengthening internal operations and developing process manuals for programs spanning elder care, crisis services, immigration support and legal aid while also serving as an advisory board member for the organization’s Youth Board - mentoring and supporting adolescents and young adults in their community-oriented service projects. Parigya hopes to continue building skills in program management and strategic planning in non-profits, organizational change management, community-based rehabilitation and recovery approaches and scaling-up culture-context specific solutions to care. 

 

Dr. Zahra Zeinali, MD, MPH (She/Her/Hers) | Iran

Zahra is a global health physician with a breadth of experience in health systems and policy research, gender equity and intersectionality, and academic publishing editorial processes. She has worked in both high and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and is an excellent cross-cultural communicator. She has been recognized and awarded for her dedication and thought leadership on advancing gender equity in health. 

Professional experience: Zahra’s career spans non-profit organizations, government agencies, multilateral organizations, and research institutions. She has demonstrated strong leadership through roles as director at the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), board member at the Emerging Voices for Global Health, vice president of the WHO Intern Board, and editorial board member at various journals including BMJ Public Health. She has co-authored several highly cited peer-reviewed publications and WHO reports and contributed significantly to the field of global public health including structural, social, and political determinants of health as well as health systems. Zahra has expertise in mixed methods and qualitative research, strategic planning, project management, and curriculum design and training. She has worked with the Disease Control Priorities Project on the FairChoices Tool, a policy analysis tool that supports the design of health benefits packages in LMICs, incorporating equity and financial protection considerations into health benefits package design. In this role she has served as a project manager and researcher, coordinating the work of the evidence team, designing an evidence appraisal methodology and contributing to the evidence base that spans 130 different health interventions. She has also received a certificate in International Development Policy and Management from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at UW. 

Current and future interests: Zahra is focused on advancing her strategic leadership and organizational impact skills. She aspires to lead gender-transformative health systems policies at multilateral and governmental agencies to enhance evidence-informed decision-making for improved health outcomes. She sees roles with philanthropies, funders, and multilateral organizations focused on different aspects of health systems or health policy making processes

Farah Bille Mohamed, MPH, MSW | United States

Farah is an accomplished public health professional with over a decade of experience in the US and East Africa. He is an East African native, fluent in Somali and with conversational skills in Swahili, and brings extensive experience working and collaborating with East African communities and community-based organizations.  

Professional experience: Farah has worked on a variety of public health issues, including maternal and child health (MCH), emergency response, health systems strengthening, and water sanitation and hygiene (WASH). He has specific skills in program development, monitoring and evaluation, community-based research, health communication, emergency response, and project management and has worked to develop and implement programs and strengthen health systems. 

Current and future interests: Farah is interested in projects designed to expand community-based health services to enhance MCH in low-resource settings, and he is particularly interested in expanding his global health experience with organizations working outside the US. He also has broader interests in collaborating with community-based organizations to improve health outcomes for underserved communities and addressing health disparities in sub-Saharan Africa.  In the future, Farah aspires to lead global health program development for MCH and other primary health care services in multilateral organizations and international NGOs.

 

Evelyn Ng'ang'a, DCMS, BSc, MSc in HSM | Kenya

Evelyn is a Kenyan clinician and health systems strengthening specialist with nearly 20 years of experience, supporting large-scale, integrated programs addressing HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH). 

Profession experience: Evelyn has worked with implementing partners supporting the Ministry of Health (MOH) and managing HIV and TB programs for USAID and CDC, efforts to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Kenya, and working on the Exemplars in Global Health for Gates Ventures focused on health systems and partnership & impact work streams. She has also worked with the International Program in Public Health Leadership housed at the  University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy to assist with the implementation and delivery of learning experiences for fellows from over 20 African countries. Her expertise spans program design and implementation, systems thinking, health leadership, clinical decision-making and leveraging data to drive programs and serve populations underserved by formal health systems. She also holds federal acquisition contracting officer's and agreement officer's representative (COR/AOR) level II certification. 

Current and future interests: Evelyn is interested in primary health care, HIV and TB, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention initiatives.  She would like to continue building on her experience leading quality improvement processes, integrated healthcare systems, health systems strengthening, global health policy, and effective health leadership. Her doctoral work focuses on optimizing the design of community health systems and enhancing the performance of community health workers within primary healthcare by investigating policy landscapes, health system drivers, and barriers to the success of community health systems. Evelyn aims to contribute to public health projects in policy development and analysis, program evaluation and organizational readiness for evidence-based interventions, and apply lessons learned using quality improvement approaches.

 

Akane Sugimoto, BA, DEM, MSc | United States

Akane is a clinically trained midwife and global public health and health system strengthening specialist, with over 20 years of experience working collaboratively with community-based, non-governmental, and governmental organizations. 

Professional experience: Akane has led projects and programming in the United States, Mexico, and Afghanistan in maternal and newborn health, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), and gender-based violence (GBV) outreach and prevention. She has expertise in providing competency-based clinical education and training, designing and implementing public health programs, conducting quality of care assessments, and strengthening community-based models of care through policy and curriculum development aligned to national and global standards. She has excelled in systems thinking, leadership, and management and aspires to lead global maternal health initiatives at the level of multilateral organizations, where she hopes to draw from her extensive experience working horizontally and vertically within health care systems, and incorporating cross-cultural diplomacy skills to support appropriate, effective, and responsive health systems.  

Future interests: Akane believes that her range of psychosocial, intercultural, and clinical expertise provides her with a unique perspective to optimize the design and implementation of health services. During the DrGH program, she plans to focus on scaling up community-based health services through midwifery-led care, concentrating on culturally relevant service design, health policy, and workforce development. She seeks projects aligned with her interests in maternal and child health, climate change and health, community health, and best practices in global to local public health. Akane also hopes to gain additional skills in monitoring and evaluation, data analysis, and cross-cutting health policy development. 

 

Mohammad Gazi, MSc, DVM | Bangladesh

 

Mohammad is a public health veterinarian and epidemiologist from Bangladesh, and an alumni of the advanced Field Epidemiology Training Program fellowship, supported by the CDC in Bangladesh, and the Fleming Fund fellowship on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance. 

 

Professional Experience: For over 10 years, Mohammad has held leadership roles in several governmental and non-governmental organizations, where he has worked to enhance health services for both animals and humans. He led containment efforts in response to outbreaks for Nipah virus, anthrax, cholera, and AMR bacteria. He also strengthened and implemented AMR and wildlife surveillance activities in Bangladesh, and assisted a team at UW I-TECH to develop and implement an avian influenza surveillance program in the country of Georgia. 

Mohammad works with the Task Force for Global Health, co-leading a systematic review on vaccine safety surveillance in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and is actively participated in developing data collection tools, conducting data analysis and interpretation, and disseminating findings. Additionally, he contributes to developing a mpox vaccine safety surveillance template protocol. He is also working on the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance project that is investigating the impact of substandard and falsified antimicrobials on AMR and patient outcomes.

Current and future Interests: Mohammad is interested in the prevention, detection, and control of emerging infectious diseases that threaten both animals and humans. He is particularly interested in implementing AMR interventions and policies, with a goal of developing transdisciplinary leadership skills to promote the One Health approach in surveillance and epidemic and pandemic response. 

 

Priyasha Maharjan, BPharm, MBA, MPH | Nepal

Priyasha has a decade of experience working for in the public health sector in Nepal with multiple organizations including academic institutions, government authorities, and non-governmental organizations. She is a first-generation doctoral student and proudly represents her identity and culture as a Newar, an indigenous ethnicity of Kathmandu. 

Professional experience: Priyasha is passionate about developing and implementing community-oriented, culturally sensitive public health programs aimed at health promotion and prevention. She led and served as the director of a non-profit organization, Samartha Nepal, managing health and education initiatives and disaster relief and rehabilitation programs which reached numerous communities throughout the country. She is also a former Fulbright Fellow and recipient of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO) Jean Negus Malmo Endowed International Peace Scholarship.

Current and future interests: Priyasha’s primary interests are in maternal, child, and newborn health, with a particular focus on non-communicable diseases and mental health. She is dedicated to creating future opportunities and empowering the youth of Nepal and aspires to broaden her influence by integrating global perspectives and knowledge into her local work. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, she aims to advocate for evidence-based policies that ensure equitable access to healthcare and strengthen health systems.

 

Novil Wijesekara, MBBS, MSc, MD | Sri Lanka

Novil is a medical doctor and public health practitioner with over 20 years of experience as a health emergency manager specializing in building resilience within health systems and communities. He has worked with the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka and collaborated with global health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), UNFPA, and the Sri Lanka Red Cross. 

Professional experience: Novil has applied skills in medicine, disaster management, and community medicine to lead numerous national and international initiatives. His expertise spans health emergency operations, drinking water quality surveillance, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) during emergencies, humanitarian standards, health geographic information systems (GIS), transformative approaches to address violent religious extremism through a public health lens, and community engagement, with a special focus on youth and faith leaders.  Novil also founded and led Resilience Research, Training, and Consulting, an organization which implements donor-supported projects, focusing on promoting community resilience at the intersection of health and disaster management. 

Current interests:  Novil is focused on conceptualizing and operationalizing the concept of synergistic resilience, and exploring the applicability of synergist resilience as it relates to climate change.  His scientific interests include synergistic and community resilience, climate-resilient health systems, health emergency management, and pandemic preparedness. He has worked with the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office on a WHO/ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) joint project on the health effects of climate change and on operationalizing the regional community engagement and resilience framework. He has also worked with the World Bank and Gates Ventures on developing climate-resilient health systems. 

Future interests: Novil is interested in expanding the use of synergistic resilience to other challenges, such as pandemics and conflict. He is also interested in developing a global alliance for synergistic resilience as an advocacy platform to foster cross-sector, cross-level collaboration and influence systems transformation through a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach, as well as mentoring future leaders on synergistic resilience. 

PHIONA MARONGWE | ZIMBABWE

Phiona Marongwe focuses on health system strengthening through building capacity of Ministries of Health and local NGOs to develop, apply and implement direct service public health programs; improve the quality of care; and build a capable health workforce. She is interested in promoting universal health care including evaluating health policies, health financing, quality, integrating funded and non-funded health programs such as PEPFAR funded HIV treatment and primary health care and appropriate use of technology to improve access, cost, and quality of care in sub- Saharan Africa. Having completed her nursing training and Master of Strategic Management in Zimbabwe and her Master in Public Health (MPH) in Zambia, she worked clinically as nurse coordinator under Ministry of Health and Child Care, integrating HIV care in managing child health illnesses, immunization, adolescent, maternal and reproductive health. She joined Population Services International as Provincial Manager, pioneering voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) program, contributing to the successful planning, management, and implementation from conception to scale. Subsequently, as the Quality Improvement Specialist for I-TECH’s integrated VMMC program, she improved the quality of care through “tandem review program” coupled with clinical mentorship, workforce training and procedure verification. She implemented an mhealth innovation using two-way texting that reduced provider workload, decreased costs, and increased provider-patient interaction during COVID-19 epidemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she also volunteered as Medical Epidemiologist under World Health Organization (WHO), providing technical support in data reporting, training surveillance and rapid response teams and strengthening infection prevention and control. 

 

RAQUEL SANCHEZ | UNITED STATES

Raquel has dedicated her professional life to mission-driven organizations, health disparities efforts, and mentoring historically excluded individuals. She has sought out positions of service that placed her at two top comprehensive cancer centers at the forefront of cancer research and care, where amid managing multiple solid tumor clinics, she wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to translate for Hispanic families in need of extra support. As a first-generation student, she has a passion for creating access for others and further attained her MBA to be better equipped to break down barriers for her community. After spending several years as the leader of a collaborative global oncology program in Uganda, she enthusiastically joined the UW Doctor of Global Health program. She is the first doctoral student in her extended family to ever attempt a doctoral degree and proudly represents her extended Latino community in this and all she does. Raquel is working to create future opportunities to empower others and broaden her influence to create significant global change for the historically excluded and exploited in the world.

 

ANWAR PARVEZ SAYED | INDIA

Anwar Parvez Sayed is a public health professional who was trained as a clinician and completed diplomas in Tuberculosis and infectious diseases. He was a fellow of I-TECH's HIV fellowship program in India after which he decided to complete his MPH to focus on public health programs. He worked for I-TECH India as medical advisor, clinical program director and a country director where he implemented PEPFAR/ HRSA funded HIV prevention and treatment interventions to support India's National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO). He contributed to over eight national HIV technical and/or operational guidelines of NACO and has been a national level trainer for over 10 years. He also served the University of Washington as a faculty in the positions of Clinical Trainer, Clinical Assistant Professor and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health over the period of six years. Dr. Anwar worked for the Ministry of Health's National AIDS Control Program of India as a regional ART coordinator for the states of Maharashtra and Goa and Indian Red cross society as HIV/ TB physician and a clinical trainer. After completing his doctorate in Global Health Leadership and Practice (DrGH) he plans to continue his passion in working on health systems strengthening and human resource development in health care around the world.