About

Dede Orraca Cecil, based in Boston, is a trusted advisor to CEOs, boards and senior executives across the world of health, including life sciences, health services, global health and digital health organizations. As the work of these companies and institutions converge, they are experiencing dynamic challenges to their business models, but also opportunities for robust growth. To help meet these challenges, Dede consults on a wide range of talent acquisition and leadership solutions, including executive search and recruitment, transformative leadership, management appraisals, board diversity and digital board leadership.

Esther Benjamin has been a global executive in the public, private, and civil society sectors over 25 years, and has led programs in over 100 countries. She is the CEO of World Education Services. Previously, she was with Laureate Education, Inc., as CEO for Africa Operations, and as Senior Vice President for Global Public Affairs. She was integrally involved in Laureate becoming the largest certified B Corp in the world, and the first Public Benefit Corporation to IPO on any stock exchange globally. Esther served in President Obama’s Administration as Associate Director for Global Operations for the Peace Corps. She held senior management roles with the International Youth Foundation and the International Partnership for Microbicides. She worked in private sector management consulting with Grant Thornton. She was a United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Officer, and worked on Brookings Institution’s 1997 publication entitled The World Bank: Its First Half Century. Appointed by President Clinton, Esther served as a White House Fellow. Esther serves on the Board of Directors of Echoing Green, Seed Global Health, and North Central College, as well as the Advisory Boards of Game Denmark and the School of International Service of American University. New York Times best-selling author Wes Moore profiled Esther as “The Globalist” in his book entitled The Work: My Search for a Life that Matters.

Dr. Paul Farmer is a medical physician and anthropologist. He is a founding director of Partners In Health (PIH), an international non-profit organization that provides direct health care services and has undertaken research and advocacy activities on behalf of those who are sick and living in poverty. Dr. Farmer is the Kolokotrones University Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and the United Nations Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti, under Special Envoy Bill Clinton. Dr. Farmer and his colleagues have pioneered novel community-based treatment strategies that demonstrate the delivery of high-quality health care in resource-poor settings. Dr. Farmer has written extensively on health, human rights, and the consequences of social inequality. Dr. Farmer is the recipient of numerous honors, including a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and, with his PIH colleagues, the Hilton Humanitarian Prize. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Tom Fry has over 20 years of professional experience as an operator, investor and advisor in both the for-profit and not-for-profit worlds. His current advisory work includes engaging clients on what’s possible with their philanthropic resources, advising non-profit organizations on building sustainable/impactful organizations, and advancing the field of social entrepreneurship. Tom currently serves on the boards of Compass Working Capital, Seed Global Health, Spark Microgrants, Strive Together, Genesys Works, and KnowledgeWorks Foundation. Tom received his master of business administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and holds a bachelor of arts in philosophy and economics from Boston College. Tom enjoys running, cooking, and international travel.

Anne Fulenwider is the co-founder and co-CEO of a women’s health company incubated by the Kairos Group, where she also serves as an operating partner. From 2012 to 2019, she was the editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, where she oversaw all content for the brand in the United States. Anne launched her journalism career at The Paris Review, spent a decade at Vanity Fair, and has served as a judge of the Pulitzer Prizes. She has appeared as a frequent guest judge on Project Runway and as the mentor on Project Runway All Stars. In 2017, she was appointed to the New York State Council on Women and Girls by Governor Andrew Cuomo. She serves on the board of the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Women.NYC and is an advisor to the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up. Anne graduated from Harvard University in 1995. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

As the co-founder and CEO of Seed, Dr. Kerry leads the organization in fulfillment of our mission—to help strengthen health systems and improve health outcomes for all. Her work stems from her interest in capacity-building to strengthen public sector health systems and communities in resource poor settings. She believes deeply that health is fundamental to economic, social wellbeing, and national security. Concurrent with her role as CEO, Dr. Kerry is a critical care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and helps lead educational activities at the hospital’s Center for Global Health. Academically, she spearheads the program in Global Public Policy and Social Change in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her work has included innovative research in the nexus of national security, crisis response, and health including a two-year project with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. She has taught courses on the intersection of health, economy, politics, and security at the Kennedy School of Government and Yale University. Dr. Kerry graduated from Yale University summa cum laude and Harvard Medical School cum laude, completing her Internal Medicine residency and Critical Care fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She earned her Master’s in Health Policy, Planning, and Financing from the London Schools of Economics and of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Kerry is a Draper Richards Kaplan Social Entrepreneur, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and has been published in numerous academic journals and media outlets including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, The New York Times, and Huffington Post.

Joel Lamstein is the president of John Snow, Inc. (JSI) and World Education. He is an adjunct lecturer at Harvard School of Public Health and the Boston University School of Public Health. Joel is on the boards of Seed, Partnership for Supply Chain Management and the advisory boards of University of Michigan School of Public Health, Boston University School of Public Health, and FXB Center at Harvard. He is also a Red Sox fan.

Kara Weiss is the Program Director at Child Relief International Foundation. Kara is involved in all aspects of vetting and managing grantees with a special interest in strategy. Additionally, Kara is the CRI lead on system-change initiatives, including nations-wide digital health cooperation and implementation, and a long-term pilot to prove the usefulness and impact of emergency funding for implementers. Over the years CRI has developed many relationships with those participating in social entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa and Kara is especially adept at facilitating synergistic relationships among actors and funders. Kara serves on the boards of Gardens for Health International, and Spark MicroGrants.

Laurie Zephyrin, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., joined the Commonwealth Fund in 2019 as Vice President, Health Care Delivery System Reform where she leads the Vulnerable Populations portfolio. Dr. Zephyrin has extensive experience leading the vision, design, and delivery of innovative health care models across national health systems. From 2009-2018, she was the first National Director of the Reproductive Health Program at the Department of Veterans Affairs spearheading the strategic vision and leading systems change through the implementation of evidence-based policies and programs to improve the health of women veterans nationwide. In 2016-2017, she served as Acting Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Community Care, and later in 2017, as Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Community Care. While directing the VA’s Community Care program, a key component of VA’s high-performance network with an operating budget of over $13 billion, Dr. Zephyrin spearheaded efforts to implement legislation, develop internal governance structures, and address patient outcomes through system-wide optimization of care delivery. As part of the leadership team, she also represented VA before Congress and other internal and external stakeholders. Dr. Zephyrin is a board-certified clinician. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Langone School of Medicine (2013-present) and was previously an Assistant Professor at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons (2007-2012). She earned her M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine, M.B.A. and M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University, and B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the City College of New York. She completed her residency training at Harvard’s Integrated Residency Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Ambassador Louis Susman is an American lawyer, retired investment banker, and the former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Nominated by President Barack Obama, he was confirmed by the Senate on July 10, 2009, and sworn in by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Susman practiced law for 27 years and was a senior partner at the St. Louis-based law firm of Thompson & Mitchell, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law.

Susman served on the Board of Directors and Management Committee for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball franchise from 1975 to 1989. He was appointed to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy by Ronald Reagan in 1988, and served as a director of the Center for National Policy in Washington, D.C. Susman later served as the managing director and vice chairman of Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking. In 2009, he retired as vice chairman of Citigroup Global Markets in Chicago. Susman served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2013. He had been a longtime and prolific fundraiser for Democratic Party candidates, including Obama. He is currently a member of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute‘s International Council.

Elizabeth Frawley Bagley is an American attorney specializing in trade and international law, a diplomat, and a major donor to the Democratic Party.  Bagley has served in three presidential administrations as a diplomat. In the Obama administration, she twice served as the Special Advisor for Secretary’s Initiatives. Prior to assuming that post, she was the Special Representative for Global Partnerships in the Office of the Secretary of State. In the Clinton administration, she was appointed to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Portugal. She served as Senior Advisor under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, where she established and headed the Office of Media Programming Acquisition for the newly independent Balkan states. She also served as a United States Senate liaison for NATO Enlargement. As an international law attorney, she was Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University in Washington from 1991 to 1993. During the Carter administration, she served as Congressional Liaison Officer for the Torrijos–Carter Treaties. Additionally, she was Special Assistant to Sol Linowitz, a top diplomat for President Jimmy Carter, for the Camp David Accords from 1979 to 1980. In the twilight of Carter’s presidency, she was the Congressional Liaison to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe from 1980 to 1981.

Bagley is a member of both Massachusetts and District of Columbia bar associations. She was The American Ireland Fund‘s Nantucket Celebration honoree in 2009 for her philanthropy towards the Republic of Ireland for more than 30 years. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Democratic Institute.

Mr. DeChellis is the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company and the Bank.  He joined the Company and was elected to the Board in November 2018.  Mr. DeChellis has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry.  Prior to joining the Company, he was the President of OurCrowd Venture Capital from 2014 to 2016, where he developed the firm’s business strategy for an equity capital crowdfunding platform, established a deal flow process to review hundreds of company investment opportunities each year and initiated the development of a new website to engage and manage client relationships.

From 2006 to 2013, Mr. DeChellis was the CEO of Credit Suisse Private Banking – Americas.  In this role, he provided executive leadership for Credit Suisse’s Private Banking & Wealth Management businesses in North and South America and served as a member of the CS Global Private Banking Management Committee, the Board of Directors for Credit Suisse Securities USA, LLC, the firm’s Private Banking Global Risk Management Committee, the firm’s Global Diversity Committee and the CS Global Investment Banking Management Committee.  From 2003 to 2006, Mr. DeChellis was the Head of UBS Private Wealth Management.  During his tenure at UBS, Mr. DeChellis launched the Private Wealth Management business for UBS in the United States and oversaw the expansion of services catering to ultra-high net worth clients.  He was a member of the UBS Americas Management Council and the UBS Global Private Banking Leadership Group.

Prior to joining UBS, from 1987 to 2003, Mr. DeChellis held various positions at Merrill Lynch, including Head of International Private Banking for Merrill Lynch Europe.  Mr. DeChellis is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Berkshire School, the Board of Directors of The Open Door Homeless Shelter and the President’s Leadership Council of Rollins College.  He serves as a member of the board of directors of each of the Company’s operating subsidiaries.

The Honorable Mark Dybul, MD, is the Co-Director of the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact, and Professor in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. He is also a Chair and Fellow with the Joep Lange Institute.  A well-recognized global health expert and humanitarian, Dr. Dybul served as Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, overseeing the implementation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Dr. Dybul served as a HIV research fellow at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under director Dr. Anthony Fauci in the late 1990s. He conducted basic and clinical HIV research at NIAID, and eventually conducted the first randomized, controlled trial with combination antiretroviral therapy with HIV patients in Africa.  He went on to lead President George W. Bush’s International Prevention of Mother and Child HIV initiative for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and in 2006 was named U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. As U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, he led the implementation of PEPFAR, a health initiative Dr. Dybul helped create. He later became the inaugural Global Health Fellow of the George W. Bush Institute.

Anne M. Finucane is vice chairman at Bank of America and serves as chairman of the board of Bank of America Europe. As a member of the executive management team, Finucane is responsible for the strategic positioning of Bank of America and leads the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG), sustainable finance, capital deployment and public policy efforts. As chairman of the board of Bank of America Europe, the firm’s EU bank headquartered in Dublin, Finucane oversees more than €60 billion in assets. Finucane also serves on the board of BofA Securities Europe SA, the bank’s EU broker-dealer in Paris, with both entities playing a critical role in the company’s post-Brexit European growth strategy. Bank of America has almost 3,000 employees across both entities.

Finucane chairs the Global ESG Committee at Bank of America, which directs all of the company’s ESG efforts. She also co-chairs the Sustainable Markets Committee with COO Tom Montag, which collaborates across business lines to deliver innovative financing solutions in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including affordable housing, sustainable energy, clean water and sanitation, education and health care. She stewards Bank of America’s $300 billion environmental business initiative, oversees the company’s $1.6 billion Community Development Financial Institution portfolio and chairs the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

Active in the community, Finucane serves on a variety of corporate and nonprofit boards of directors including Carnegie Hall, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the World Bank Group’s Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), CVS Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Mass General Brigham Healthcare, Special Olympics, the (RED) advisory board, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and The Ireland Funds. She served on the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Affairs Policy board and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Finucane has received numerous professional and public service accolades. She has regularly been named to Forbes’ and Fortune’s Most Powerful Women lists, along with American Banker’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking. In 2019, Finucane was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Ad Hall of Fame, as well as the CMO Hall of Fame, and received the Edward M. Kennedy Institute Award for Inspired Leadership. In March 2018, Finucane was honored with the Leadership Award by The Ireland Funds.

Senator William Frist is an American physician, businessman and politician who served as United States Senator from Tennessee from 1995 to 2007. A heart and lung transplant surgeon by occupation, he was Senate Majority Leader from 2003 to 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Frist studied health care policy at Princeton University and interned for U.S. Representative Joe L. Evins. Rather than going directly into politics, Frist earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from Harvard Medical School, becoming a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and several other hospitals. In 1994, he defeated incumbent Democratic Senator Jim Sasser; he pledged to only serve two terms. After serving as Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Frist succeeded Tom Daschle as the Senate Majority Leader. Frist helped pass several parts of President George W. Bush‘s domestic agenda, including the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 and PEPFAR. He was also a strong proponent of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and a prominent advocate of tort reform. Frist left the Senate in 2007, honoring his commitment to serve no more than two terms.

After leaving the U.S. Senate, Frist became a co-chair of ONE VOTE ’08, an initiative of the ONE campaign, with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD). In 2008, he became a partner in Chicago-based Cressey & Co., investing in the nation’s health care market. In 2009, Frist launched a statewide education reform nonprofit organization targeting K-12 education called SCORE (State Collaborative on Reforming Education). The organization’s mission is to “collaboratively support Tennessee’s work to prepare students for college and the workforce.” Frist has served as chairman of SCORE’s board of directors.[citation needed] As part of SCORE’s work, Frist presents the State of Education in Tennessee report at the beginning of each year, a comprehensive look at the state’s efforts to improve public education. In 2013, Frist voiced support for higher academic standards in grades K-12, reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and improving efforts to identify, foster, and reward effective teaching.

In May 2009, Frist joined forensic chemical and drug-testing laboratory Aegis Sciences Corp. as a health care advisor and member of its board of directors. His new responsibilities include assisting in Aegis’s development of a strategic alliance with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, providing counsel on the company’s research and development for new laboratory-based toxicology assessments, and advise Aegis on general health care issues. In November 2009, Frist joined the board of directors of engineering, construction and technical services firm URS Corp. to bring his expertise and unique perspective on a wide range of economic issues. In March 2010, Frist was appointed a member of the six-person board of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, which had raised $66 million for immediate earthquake relief and long-term recovery efforts in the Caribbean country. Frist has also served as a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center. As of 2020, he is a co-leader of the Health Project.

Anthony (Tony) Gardner, former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, has devoted more than 27 years of his distinguished career to U.S.-European affairs as a government official and lawyer. During his service as U.S. Ambassador until 2017, he played a pivotal role in some of the most challenging issues in the U.S.-EU relationship, including the negotiations to conclude a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP), the Privacy Shield Agreement facilitating the transatlantic transfer of personal data by companies based in Europe and the Umbrella Agreement facilitating the transatlantic transfer of data between law enforcement authorities. He was also instrumental in U.S.-EU coordination of sanctions against Russia following its annexation of Crimea and the facilitation of U.S. participation in EU-funded research programs. Most recently, Tony has also been advising clients on various aspects of the legal and policy implications of Brexit.

Prior to his role as U.S. Ambassador to the EU, Tony served as managing director of a London-based private equity firm and as an Executive Director at GE Capital. He also served as Director for European Affairs on the U.S. National Security Council, where he was responsible for U.S. relations with the EU. Tony works as a Senior Council Member at Sidley on EU regulatory matters impacting businesses, especially in the areas of trade, privacy, the digital economy, sanctions and competition.

Dr. John Halamka, M.D., is the president of Mayo Clinic Platform. In his new role at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Halamka will oversee the future direction of the Mayo Clinic Platform that will help establish Mayo Clinic as a global leader in digital healthcare.

Prior to the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Halamka served as the executive director of the Health Technology Exploration Center for Beth Israel Lahey Health in Massachusetts. During his tenure at Beth Israel Lahey Health, Dr. Halamka oversaw digital health relationships with industry, academia, and government worldwide. Previously, he was chief information officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for more than 20 years. In his role at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Halamka was responsible for all clinical, financial, administrative and academic IT.

As a Harvard Medical School professor, he served the George W. Bush administration, the Obama administration and governments around the world planning their health care information (IT) strategies. In addition, he also was the International Healthcare Innovation Professor at Harvard Medical School. He remains chairman of New England Healthcare Exchange Network Inc. and is a practicing emergency medicine physician. Dr. Halamka has written a dozen books about technology-related issues, hundreds of articles and thousands of posts on the Geekdoctor blog.

As the co-founder and CEO of Seed, Dr. Kerry leads the organization in fulfillment of our mission—to help strengthen health systems and improve health outcomes for all. Her work stems from her interest in capacity-building to strengthen public sector health systems and communities in resource poor settings. She believes deeply that health is fundamental to economic, social wellbeing, and national security. Concurrent with her role as CEO, Dr. Kerry is a critical care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and helps lead educational activities at the hospital’s Center for Global Health. Academically, she spearheads the program in Global Public Policy and Social Change in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her work has included innovative research in the nexus of national security, crisis response, and health including a two-year project with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. She has taught courses on the intersection of health, economy, politics, and security at the Kennedy School of Government and Yale University. Dr. Kerry graduated from Yale University summa cum laude and Harvard Medical School cum laude, completing her Internal Medicine residency and Critical Care fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She earned her Master’s in Health Policy, Planning, and Financing from the London Schools of Economics and of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Kerry is a Draper Richards Kaplan Social Entrepreneur, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and has been published in numerous academic journals and media outlets including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, The New York Times, and Huffington Post.

As Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG), Donna Langley is responsible for the global creative strategy and business operations for the motion picture group. In this role, she oversees the production, marketing and distribution for film and television content across Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation (DWA), Focus Features, Universal Pictures International and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Prior to being named sole Chairman, UFEG, in 2019, Langley served as Chairman of Universal Pictures since 2013 where she engineered a strategic slate of all-audience tentpoles, breakthrough comedies, and pop-culture hit horror films that resulted in four years of record global profit, and the two most profitable years in the studio’s 107-year history. During her tenure, Langley led Focus Features’ global realignment with Universal Pictures International; oversaw the studio’s successful integration of DreamWorks Animation; and launched the Global Talent Development & Inclusion group, making Universal the first major feature studio to have a department working with both production and workforce to build on the company’s commitment to progressing diversity and inclusion. She first joined Universal in 2001 as Senior Vice President of Production, and subsequently served as President of Production, Co-Chairman, Universal Pictures. She began her career at New Line Cinema, where she worked on hit Austin Powers franchise, as well as The Cell and Drop Dead Gorgeous.

Over the years, Langley has been recognized for her impact on the film and entertainment industry. A native of the United Kingdom, she is the first British female to run a major Hollywood studio, and was recently awarded a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) title by the Queen in her 2020 New Year’s Honour List. The honour recognizes Langley’s many accomplishments in redefining popular culture and her efforts to expand networks and opportunities for women and people of color in the entertainment industry, while also championing organizations dedicated to providing access, networks and pathways to success, for all people. She is also a recipient of 2018 Producers Guild of America’s Milestone Award; the 2016 Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation Pioneer of the Year Award; and the 2014 Women in Film’s Crystal Award for Excellence in Film.

A passionate advocate for mentorship and female empowerment, Langley is an Ambassador for Vital Voices Global Ambassadors Program and has served on the organization’s Board of Directors since 2013.  She was also a key founder of The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Film Mentorship program.

A voting member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Langley serves on the Board of Trustees for the American Film Institute, Motion Picture Association (MPA), USC’s School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors, and SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Entertainment Industry Council.

Dr. Kyu Rhee is Senior Vice President for CVS Health and Chief Medical Officer for Aetna.  He oversees all clinical capabilities at Aetna with a focus on enhancing the quality of services provided for members and plan sponsors. In this role, he and his team lead the innovative design and implementation of new integrated health care management strategies and population health solutions. He also focuses on better integrating evidence-based medicine into key medical and personalized management strategies.

Dr. Rhee joined CVS Health from IBM, where he served for a decade as Vice President and Chief Health Officer, and was the lead physician, public health and clinical executive leader for IBM’s global workforce of over 350,000 in 170 countries. He had global responsibilities for IBM’s efforts to transform health through the use of data, analytics, artificial intelligence, and services for hospitals, health systems, providers, health plans, employers, governments, and life science companies. Most recently, he and his team led many of IBM’s global COVID-19 and Culture of Health initiatives.

Before joining IBM, Dr. Rhee served in the federal government as Chief Public Health Officer at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and Director of Innovation at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While at HRSA and NIH, he led numerous national initiatives related to prevention, health care quality, research, health equity and public health.

Dr. Rhee earned his dual medical residency training in internal medicine and pediatrics from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in Healthcare Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and a BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University. Earlier in his career, Dr. Rhee worked as a National Health Services Corps primary care physician and Chief Medical Officer in diverse community health settings in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. He also taught and mentored clinical and public health students at George Washington University’s Schools of Public Health and Medicine.

Bill Roedy has pursued a lifetime of global service in both the private and public sectors. His multiple careers have revolved around Defense, Diplomacy and Development, dedicating his life to uniting cultures, freedom for all and improving wellbeing worldwide.

Upon graduation from West Point in 1970 as a 2nd Lieutenant, Bill qualified as an Airborne Ranger, volunteering for duty in Vietnam. Following a year in combat operations along the DMZ, he then commanded three Nuclear Missile bases in Italy as part of NATO during the Cold War.  For his distinguished military service, he was awarded the Bronze Star, Air Medal, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry (with Silver Star) and Meritorious Service Medal.

After the military, and graduating from Harvard Business School, Bill embarked on a 33-year career in media. He joined HBO in 1979, as part of a new television cable revolution and rose to Vice President, overseeing offices in L.A and Philadelphia, negotiating distribution and marketing partnerships and launching HBO across the US. He was later honored as a Cable TV Pioneer.

Moving to London in 1989, he led the start-up MTV Europe, bringing a new form of television to viewers on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Over the next 22 years, he built from scratch a global operation of 200 channels, 20 brands (including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central), in 200 countries, reaching an audience of 2 Billion people, launching the most channels in the history of television. His strategy centered on 1) creative, relentless distribution, 2) ground-breaking content that was reflective and respectful of local cultures and 3) social responsibility, highlighted by the largest multi-media initiative to fight the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS. Through diplomacy and entrepreneurship, he successfully navigated the complexity of diverse cultures, regulatory and geopolitical challenges, while at the same time pioneering a strategy of localization with global scale. He was recognized in 2015 with his induction into the Cable Hall of Fame. During this time, he was appointed the first Ambassador of UNAIDS, addressing the UN General Assembly on several occasions regarding the pandemic.

He was a founding member and Chair of the Global Business Coalition (GBC) on HIV/AIDS, galvanizing the business response to AIDS, TB and Malaria. In 2005, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed him founding chair of the Global Media AIDS Initiative, negotiating airtime commitments to fight AIDS.

He is the Founding Chair of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, which provides young people with resources at the grassroots level in combination with MTV’s award-winning HIV/AIDS programming. In 2011, Bill expanded on his HIV/AIDS work by building a portfolio of Global Health initiatives, reaching the far corners of the world. All have added COVID-19 to their missions.

He became the Chair of AmfAR, joining in 2010, in its scientific research for a cure to AIDS. amfAR has invested over $500m in prevention, treatment and care, helping to save lives affected by HIV/AIDS. Its recent support includes ground-breaking gene therapy and multiple clinical trials in the road to find a cure. In parallel, he was appointed the first Envoy for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), founded by Bill and Melinda Gates, rising to Vice Chair in 2018.  GAVI has provided multiple vaccinations to over 700 million children, saving millions of lives and improving overall health care systems. Through the Covax Facility, Gavi has launched an all-out effort to ensure equitable global access and help end the Covid 19 pandemic.

He works with the Global Health Corps (founded by Barbara Bush) and Seed Global Health (founded by Vanessa Kerry), bringing health care executives and medical staff to Africa. He also works with Goldie Hawn with her MindUp initiative, targeting children in primary schools.

Geopolitically, he supports Seeds of Peace, is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and advises the State Department. He has also been appointed a Churchill Fellow, delivering the Green lecture known as Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech. His education roles include the boards of the American School of London (20 years) and the Berlin School of Creative leadership. His business roles include Senior Advisor to two private equity firms, Lionsgate Motion Pictures and several tech start-ups.

His awards include an Emmy Founders Award, the Leadership Business Award presented by US President Bill Clinton, amfAR’s Award of Courage, Doctors of the World Leadership Award and the UN Correspondents Association Global Citizen of the Year Award presented by UN Secretary-General Ban–Ki-Moon. He has also given numerous commencement addresses with two honorary doctorate degrees. In 2020 he was selected as a ‘Distinguished Graduate of West Point’.

He is an Exec Producer of the film documentary ‘Battle of amfAR’, and the author of ‘What Makes Business Rock’, a CNBC Best Book of summer 2011.

Alexandra lives in London and has been heavily involved in advising family philanthropic endeavors.

Cynthia Ryan is a Director of the Schooner Africa Fund, an impact investment fund based in Nairobi, Kenya that focuses on the agricultural sector in East Africa. She also is a Trustee and Senior Advisor to the Schooner Foundation. Cynthia started the foundation with her father in 1998 and ran it until 2013 when she moved from Washington D.C. to Nairobi, Kenya. The foundation works internationally in human rights, peace & security and economic opportunity. It has multiple funding partners in a wide array of thematic and geographic areas throughout the African.

Cynthia has vast non-profit board experience including: the Fund for Global Human Rights, the Wangari Maathai Foundation, Women for Women International, SHOFCO (Shining Hope for Communities), the Nature Conservancy’s Africa Advisory Council, and the Democracy Alliance. She is also deeply involved in the global philanthropic and investment communities as a member of the African Philanthropy Forum, ANDE-Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, TED, the African Grantmaker’s Network, the Global Philanthropy Forum, MIE-Mission Investors Exchange, and the International Human Rights Funders Group.

Cynthia received her Bachelor of Arts from the New School for Social Research in New York and a Masters of Arts from the School of Oriental & African Studies at the University of London in England. She was a contributing author to the book “Women, Philanthropy and Social Change: Visions for a Just Society.”

As a Senior Advisor for Government Relations at RTI International, Aaron Williams provides expertise and support for efforts to strengthen RTI’s relationship with federal and state government agencies, policymakers, and elected officials. In this role, he draws on his extensive experience with both RTI and the federal government.

Mr. Williams joined RTI in 2003, as vice president of international business development, and held that position until 2009. He served as executive vice president of RTI’s international development group from 2012-2015, then stepped in as executive vice president for government relations and corporate communications. His long and distinguished career in public service and the private sector began with three years of service as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. He served as a senior official at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he reached the rank of career minister in the Senior Foreign Service. His awards include the USAID Distinguished Career Service Award and the Presidential Award for Distinguished Service. In 2009 he was appointed by President Barack Obama as Director of the U.S. Peace Corps, serving in that role through 2012.

Mr. Williams has extensive experience in the strategic design and management of assistance programs in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He is a frequent lecturer and panelist on international development topics at universities, research and policy institutes, and at US and global conferences.

Mr. Williams is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves on the Board of Directors of the Ron Brown Scholar Program, Seed Global Health, ChildFund International, George Washington University – Elliott School of International Affairs’ Advisory Board, and is a board member of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign. He has also served on the boards of directors of CARE, the National Peace Corps Association, and the Institute for Sustainable Communities.

Mr. Williams served on the Obama-Biden transition team. In 2015, he was appointed by President Barack Obama as the U.S. Alternative Representative to the executive board of the United Nations children’s fund (UNICEF). He is a frequent lecturer and panelist on international development topics at universities, research and policy institutes, and U.S. and global conferences. During his tenure as Peace Corps director, he led White House delegations to the 2012 presidential inauguration in Guatemala and to the bicentennial celebration of the independence of Paraguay in 2011.

Dr. John Baptist Waniaye is a registered medical practitioner with 17 years of experience. He has held roles ranging from Assistant District Health Officer to Commissioner of Emergency Medical Services. At the Ministry of Health, Dr. Waniaye has worked with partners to initiate capacity building for health workers in emergency care and develop an emergency medical services policy and strategic plan as well as ambulance norms and standards. He is a board member at Butabika National Referral Hospital. He has also served on the board of the Mbale Regional Referral Hospital. Dr. Waniaye is currently the chairperson of the Delegated Contract Committee. He holds a MBChB from Mbarara University of Science and Technology, a master’s degree from Uganda Martyrs University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Management of Education from Uganda Management Institute, and a Commonwealth Fellowship from University of Liverpool. Dr. Waniaye is a Makerere University School of Public Health Governance Leadership and Management Fellow. 

Angelah Ilakut is the Acting Registrar at the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council. Prior to this appointment, she was the Assistant Commissioner of Nursing at Butabika National Mental Referral Hospital. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing from Uganda Christian University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Agha Khan University. 

Professor Edward Kumakech is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Lira University. Professor Kumakech has over 17 years of experience in university level nursing and midwifery education in Uganda. He is an investigator on five currently ongoing research studies and an author on 16 peer-reviewed journal publications and three books and book chapters. Professor Kumakech’s mainstay field has been biomedical, epidemiological, and qualitative research on maternal, newborn, child, and women’s health from infectious diseases and cancers particularly HIV, HPV, cervical, and breast cancers through prophylaxis, screening, vaccination, behavior change communication, and health system strengthening. Recently, Professor Kumakech has increasingly gotten involved in global health leadership, health professional education, Ebola viral disease preparedness research, and quality improvement projects. He is a holder of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Makerere University, Master of Science in Nursing from Mbarara University of Science and Technology, a Master of Public Health from Lund University, and a PhD in Medical Sciences from Orebro University.

Dr. Richard Mugahi is a public health specialist. He has 15 years of experience working in decentralised health systems as a primary health physician and district health officer. Dr. Mugahi has been resourceful in building strong district health teams focused on reducing maternal and newborn mortality. He currently works in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Ministry of Health as the Assistant Commissioner, Reproductive Health.

Dr. Rose Chalo Nabirye is a registered nurse/midwife. A former Dean of the School of Health Sciences, Makerere College of Health Sciences, she is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences at Makerere University. As a lecturer, she has supervised and mentored many undergraduate and graduate medical and nursing students.  

Before joining academia in 2003, Dr. Nabirye was a clinical nurse/midwife in a variety of settings, including Mulago National Referral and Teaching Hospital. She also served as a Manager in Masaka district from 2000 to 2003 under the Early Childhood Development Project, a national programme that enabled her to gain experience working with communities and local governments. Throughout her career, Dr. Nabirye has actively engaged in research to contribute towards improvement of nursing/midwifery care and healthcare delivery. Her training and experience as a nurse/midwife in various positions has enabled her to gain managerial skills, working in interdisciplinary teams and with communities. In addition, she has previously served on several boards/governing councils including Mulago Health Tutors College, Mulago School of Nursing and Midwifery, Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council, and Peace Corps Uganda Project Advisory Committee. She is a council member of the African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth) and a fellow of the Uganda Academy of Sciences. At AFREhealth, she is focused on building the capacity of nurses and midwives to conduct research to improve nursing and midwifery services. She also raises the profile of nurses and midwives through her participation in the National Steering Committee of “Nursing Now Campaign” among others. 

Dr. Nabirye has a BSN, an advanced diploma in health services management, an MPH, and a PhD in Nursing.

Dorothy Nakanwagi is a health enthusiast with particular interest in nursing care. She served on the executive committee for the Nursing Students’ Association for one year. This gave her an opportunity to interact with students, hear firsthand what their challenges were, and work with them to come up with solutions. Dorothy is interested in medical research and believes that it is vital in building strong health systems. She is a Bachelor of Nursing Science final year student at Busitema University.

Robert Oceng has extensive experience working in government and higher education. He is the outgoing Director for Higher Education at the Ministry of Education and Sports and previously served as the Commissioner for Higher Education and Training.  Mr. Oceng advises the ministry on higher education matters and is responsible for issues pertaining to tertiary and university education. He provided oversight for all administrative and policy matters within the directorate, monitoring the implementation of governmental policy in higher education institutions. His additional responsibilities include liaising with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on cultural and educational agreements. Mr. Oceng has a diploma in education, a BA in Education, an MA in Educational Management, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Management and Administration.

Dr. Justine Athieno Odakha is a pioneer resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) where she doubles as the chief resident. She is actively involved in undergraduate teaching of emergency care through didactics, bedside teaching, and simulation based teaching. Dr. Odakha was one of the facilitators of the first locally accredited ACLS course at MUST. As a resident, she has not only been involved in patient care but has also been a key participant in the process of restructuring the emergency department at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital to best deliver services and enhance training of emergency medicine. Before starting her masters’ studies, Dr. Odakha worked as a medical officer at Kiwoko Hospital. She led a clinical team in management of both elective and emergency cases in the hospital. She did her clinical internship at Lira Regional Referral Hospital. Dr. Odakha is the Vice President of DELTA, an association that brings together all residents in emergency medicine all over Africa. She holds a degree in medicine and surgery (MBChB) from MUST. She has also been trained in short courses including; simulation facilitation, advanced life support courses, basic emergency care, helping babies breathe, and emergency obstetric care courses.  

Vincent Oketcho is a public health specialist with extensive expertise in human resources planning and management. He is the Chief of Party of the Strengthening Human Resources for Health Project implemented by IntraHealth International, supporting strategic data-based HRH policy, planning, and management at the Ministry of Health and in the districts. Prior to joining IntraHealth, Dr. Oketcho worked with the EU-funded Developing Human Resources for Health Project as a Senior Human Resources Advisor based at the Ministry of Health (MOH). Working with other international consultants, he supported the MOH to develop HRH policy and long-term strategic plan which now provide a framework for systematic HRH development and management. In collaboration with consultants from Keele University and Uganda Martyrs’ University, he facilitated the introduction of Workload Indicators of Staffing Needs methodology in Uganda as a tool for HRH planning and management. He initiated and nurtured a culture of needs driven training cycles and built capacity for training needs assessment at the MOH as well as at the district level. Dr. Oketcho introduced digitalized absenteeism tracking in Uganda to improve attendance to duty by health workers, e-recruitment to improve efficiency in the recruitment of health workers, and e-libraries to improve availability and access to learning resources for health workers in remote districts. He professionalized human resource management and strengthened capacity for HRH planning and management at national and sub-national levels. Dr. Oketcho also served as Primary Health Care Training Programme Coordinator and Country Director for the African Medical and Research Foundation from 1999 to 2004. Before then, he worked as an Assistant Commissioner of Health Services for Human Resources Development at the MOH for nine years. Dr. Oketcho is a medical graduate of Makerere University. He has a master’s degree in community health and a postgraduate diploma in public health.  

Professor Francis Omaswa is the Executive Director of the African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation, an initiative incorporated in Uganda and promoted by a network of African and international leaders in health and development. Until May 2008, he was a Special Adviser to the WHO Director General and founding Executive Director of the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA). Before joining GHWA, he was the Director General for Health Services in the Ministry of Health in Uganda. Professor Omaswa was responsible for coordinating and implementing major reforms in the health sector in Uganda which included the introduction of a SWAP, quality assurance, and decentralization. Among his many accomplishments and leadership roles in the global health community, he was founding chair, and later served as Vice Chairman, of the Global Stop TB Partnership; was one of the architects of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, and served as Chair of the Portfolio and Procurement Committee of the Global Fund Board; was a member of the steering committee of the High Level Forum on Health-Related MDGs; and, he participated in the drafting the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Professor Omaswa is a graduate of Makerere Medical School, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Founding President of the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa, and is a Senior Associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is also the Chancellor of Busitema University.

Professor Nelson K. Sewankambo is a physician and clinical epidemiologist. He is the former Dean of Makerere University Medical School and immediate past principal of Makerere University College of Health Sciences. He is the President of Uganda National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences and of the African Academy of Sciences, and external affiliate of the US National Academy of Medicine. He is the Ugandan Principal Investigator for NIHR Global Health Research Group on Developing Psychosocial Interventions funds.  

Over the last 21 years, Professor Sewankambo has focused on advancement of medical education and research capacity development. He is committed to creating sustainable north-south and south-south equitable partnerships. He leads NURTURE, a research training and mentoring program for career development of junior and mid-level faculty at Makerere University College of Health Sciences and PI for Training Health Researchers into Vocational Education in East Africa consortium of 7 African institutions and two UK universities. He is the founding Principal Investigator in Uganda of the internationally renowned Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP). He continues to be an active RHSP researcher/investigator in HIV/AIDS and has contributed to the large volume of scientific publications in peer reviewed journals.  

Professor Sewankambo steered the development of an East African effort that led to an internationally acclaimed institutional brokerage mechanism for linking research to policy and action, “The REACH Policy Initiative” under the East African Community. He continues to spearhead initiatives for research on knowledge translation to advance the use of evidence based policies and practice in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Dr. Julius Wandabwa is a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology and Acting Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Busitema University. He has been the Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Busitema and Makerere University. Dr. Wandabwa was the site principal investigator on the novel device for management of hypertension in pregnancy in low resource settings. He was involved in the Cochrane reviews with Liverpool Women’s Hospital and reviewed mechanical and surgical management of postpartum haemorrhage. Dr. Wandabwa is a trainer on the essential training in operative obstetrics course in Uganda, supported by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.