Spotlight: Leadership Journey Cohort
The 2020 U.S. Leadership Journey Cohort consists of leaders who are at the forefront of global health and the COVID-19 response. Here are their latest publications and work.
Allison Phillips and Stanford teams aid Lakota Nation in fighting COVID-19
March 2021
Phillips, who leads the Center for Innovation in Global Health, coordinated Stanford’s response to support the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Stanford teams worked with the Pine Ridge Hospital to train staff and prepare the community for COVID-19, while using an approach that upholds Indigenous Sovereignty. Read more about their efforts here.
Nandini Oomman helped create a “pooling-in-a-pod” Covid-testing strategy to facilitate a safe return to school
March 2021
As a member of the Board of Trustees of WIS, Oomman helped create a partnership with OptumLabs to design an on-site, real time PCR testing strategy that has allowed students at an independent school in Washington, D.C. to attend school safely since last fall. Read more about the testing strategy and results here. It was also featured on NPR Marketplace.
Laura Lewandowski featured on Curiosity Cake podcast episode on global health, chronic disease, and genetics
March 2021
Lewandowski is a featured guest on the latest episode of Curiosity Cake and discusses her work in global health, chronic disease and genetics, with a particular focus on the condition Lupus. Listen to the episode here.
Sia Nowrojee speaks on how INGOs can support responsible transitions to locally-led entities
February 2021
Nowrojee was a featured speaker at a Movement for Community-Led Development Learning Working Group session, “What Transformation Takes.” The event discusses what sustainable, culture-and-conflict-sensitive partnerships can look like in the field of international development. Learn more and watch the recording here.
Folake Olayinka speaks about overcoming gender-related barriers to immunization
February 2021
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative featured an article highlighting Olayinka’s work in strengthening polio vaccination efforts in Nigeria. In it, Olayinka discusses the importance of training frontline health workers while paying attention to gender and cultural dynamics. Read it here.
Kashmira Date and CDC team published the report, “Mitigation Policies and COVID-19-Associated Mortality – 37 European Countries”
January 2021
Date has been leading the Epidemiology Team on the International Taskforce for CDC’s Covid-19 Response since September 2020. Their work on understanding the impact of mitigation policies and Covid-19 mortality in Europe was recently published. The report is available here and was highlighted in this NYT article.
Callie Simon, Save the Children team, and USAID MOMENTUM published the report, “The Power of Youth Voices”
January 2021
This landscape analysis outlines opportunities to advance youth social accountability practice in order to improve family planning and reproductive health care for adolescents and youth. Simon also led a session on this topic at CORE Group’s 2021 Global Health Practitioner Conference.
Kate Rademacher and FHI360 team convened a 2-day virtual technical consultation on family planning and menstrual health
January 2021
FHI 360 brought together diverse experts in the fields of family planning and menstrual health to discuss contraceptive-induced menstrual changes. You can find event materials including presentations and recordings from both days here.
Skye Gilbert highlights issue of the ‘digital divide’ in COVID-19 response efforts
January 2021
In a recent article about digital health’s role in the COVID-19 response, Gilbert reiterates the importance of ensuring access to this technology and its associated benefits are equitable across the world. Read the article here.
Sia Nowrojee lends voice to the 11 Days of Community-Led Development Campaign
January 2021
As a part of the Movement for Community-led Development’s 11 Days of Community-Led Development campaign in January, Nowrojee penned articles expounding on the importance of female voices and leadership in community mobilization and local decision-making and governance systems.
Amy Lin and CII team at USAID publishes 2020 Impact Brief
December 2020
Lin and the Center for Innovation and Impact (CII) in USAID’s Global Health Bureau launched their 2020 Impact Brief. The report provides an overview of their work catalyzing new approaches to urgent global health challenges, including as part of the Agency’s COVID-19 response.
Ingrid Katz and Allan Brandt teach course at Harvard, “Confronting COVID-19: Science, History, Policy”
September 2020
In the fall of 2020, Katz and Brandt at the Harvard Global Health Institute co-led an undergrad course that explores Covid’s global impact on science, humanities, economies, and policies with over 70 Harvard faculty guest lectures as the pandemic unfolds in real time.
Laura Lewandowski published a review, “Tackling Global Challenges in Pediatric Rheumatology”
July 2020
The paper calls attention to some of the gaps in global rheumatology, and offers concrete steps to move forward to build rheumatology capacity worldwide. Read it here.
Skye Gilbert moderated a webinar: “Can image-based AI meaningfully impact COVID-19 response in low resource settings?”
June 2020
The panel event explores the opportunities and challenges in the use of imaged-based AI tools in the COVID-19 response, how these tools are being applied, and how to mitigate risks. View the webinar here.
Ingrid Katz co-authored “There is No Stopping COVID-19 Without Stopping Racism”
June 2020
In an article published by BMJ, Katz explains how “there is no preventing covid-19 without addressing the underlying drivers for its spread, and racism is undoubtedly one of those in the United States.” Read the full article here.
Christine Ngaruiya authored “White Friends, Now is the Time for Empathy”
June 2020
In an article published by WBUR, Ngaruiya shares her perspective of systemic racism and calls those who are privileged to take action. View the full article here.
Sia Nowrojee authored two articles regarding gender equality and opportunities for women and girls
June 2020
Published by 3D Program for Girls and Women, Nowrojee authored “Breaking Down Silos for Gender Equality in COVID-19 Responses.” Read here.
Published in Apolitical, Nowrojee authored “Size Matters: How Small Changes can Open the Door for Millions of Women.” Read here.
Kate Rademacher helped convene a global online event, “Hormonal IUS Updates: New Insights and Steps Toward Scale”
June 2020
The session explored opportunities to expand access to the levonorgestrel intrauterine system (IUS)—also known as the hormonal IUS—as part of a broader contraceptive method mix. Slides from the 2-day meeting are available here.
Brittany Hume Charm and the Zipline team lead drone delivery of PPE & test kits for COVID-19
May 2020
Hume, Head of Global Partnerships at Zipline, spoke about how Zipline is aiding the COVID-19 response supply chain by delivering PPE, supplies, and test samples to health facilities while protecting delivery drivers and handling staff. You can watch a recording of the webinar event here.
Hema Budaraju is enhancing Google Maps to support community health amid COVID-19
April 2020
Budaraju, Director of Product Management at Google, is ehancing Google Maps to support community health amid COVID-19 by providing Community Mobility Reports, increasing access to COVID-19 testing centers in the U.S. (Verge) and other countries, helping stranded migrants in India find food & shelter (Times of India), and helping people explore the world virtually (CBS Sunday Morning).
Michelle Hsiang published a study, “A Step Closer to Eradicating Malaria”
April 2020
Hsiang, Assistant Professor for the University of Texas Southwestern was recently published by The Lancet for her study that evaluates the effectiveness of reactive focal mass drug administration and reactive focal vector control in the low malaria-endemic setting of Zambezi. Read the press release here.
