Patricia Mechael
Executive Director
Patty has been actively involved in the field of International Health for 15 years with field experience in over 30 countries primarily in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. She has worked on research, program design and implementation, strategic planning, and policy development for mHealth and eHealth initiatives as well as Reproductive Health and Women's Health and Rights with a broad range of institutions. Patty has a Masters in International Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Hygiene and a PhD in Public Health and Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she specifically examined the role of mobile phones in relation to health in Egypt. Prior to joining the mHealth Alliance, she was Director of Strategic Application of Mobile Technology for Public Health and Development at the Center for Global Health and Economic Development at the Earth Institute. She is also faculty at the School of International and Public Affairs and Earth Institute, Columbia University. Patty can be reached at PMechael@mHealthAlliance.org.
Pearl Akosah
Deputy Director
Pearl Akosah is an international development specialist. She has over fifteen years of experience working in public, private and nonprofit sectors. She worked as Program Director for Nascent Solutions. Prior to joining Nascent, Pearl headed up the Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Ghana Foundation. She identified and actively cultivated strategic partnerships with institutions, including the United Nations Development Program, for the development of high-impact health and education projects. She also provided leadership and management support to the MTN Ghana Foundation team, and worked closely with the Foundation’s Board. Before joining MTN, Pearl worked as Development Manager for TechnoServe, where she developed new businesses and managed projects.
Pearl holds a Masters degree in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. She also earned a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Ghana Business School, and a BA (Hons) degree in Economics and French from the University of Science and Technology in Ghana
Madhu Deshmukh
Director – Special Initiative: MNCH, mHealth, Gender
Madhu has been working in the area of International Public Health for the past 22 years. She has field experience in over 40 countries including Africa, South and South East Asia, and South and Central America, working on HIV/AIDS, maternal, sexual and reproductive health issues. Madhu has served at leadership and senior management positions with several organizations including national and international NGOs, Government of India, UNDP, UNAIDS/WHO and DFID. Most recently, Madhu was the Chief of Party for CARE’s Integrated Family Health Initiative (IFHI) in Bihar, India funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In her other capacities, Madhu has served at CARE as the Global Director for HIV and AIDS, Team Leader for Policy Analysis with the Policy and Advocacy Unit, and Senior Advisor on Maternal and Child Health with the Health Equity Unit. Madhu’s experience includes strategy development, program management, designing and measuring community based interventions, and policy advocacy, with specific emphasis on women’s empowerment, gender, governance and human rights. Madhu holds a Masters Degree (MA) in Social Sciences from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and a Bachelor’s Degree (Honors) in Psychology from Delhi University, India. Madhu can be reached at mdeshmukh@mhealthalliance.org.
Dr. Shariq Khoja
Technical Advisor-Evidence, Financing and Policy
Dr. Shariq Khoja joins the Foundation as Technical Advisor-Evidence, Financing and Policy. In his role, Shariq will contribute to the overarching role of the mHealth Alliance to catalyze the power of mobile technologies to advance health and well-being throughout the world, with a focus on low-income countries as well as serve as a convener for the mHealth community to overcome common challenges by sharing tools, knowledge, experience, and lessons learned. Prior to joining the Foundation, Shariq worked as the Director of eHealth Resource Centre for the Aga Khan Development Network and an Assistant Professor at the Aga Khan University in Nairobi Kenya where he provided technical assistance to eHealth programs for all agencies of Aga Khan Development Network in South Asia, Central Asia, and Africa. In addition, he was responsible for teaching eHealth courses, developing training programs in telehealth and health informatics, participating in planning and implementing eHealth initiatives between different campuses of AKU in Asia and Africa. Shariq holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Health Research with focus on Global eHealth from the University of Calgary. Shariq can be reached at skhoja@mhealthalliance.org.
Bill Philbrick
Sustainable Financing and Policy Advisor
Now a consultant working in global health and mHealth strategies, Bill Philbrick has over 18 years of experience working in international health and development and most recently served as the Director of the HIV/AIDS, Emerging and Infectious Diseases Unit at CARE. While at CARE, Bill successfully spearheaded CARE's effort to integrate mobile phone technology into CARE's global health programming, particularly into HIV and maternal health interventions. Bill's work with the Alliance will be mainly focused on supporting the Alliance's work surrounding evidence including working on the Evidence Community of Practice, Working Groups, and the eHealth Evaluation Framework process. Bill can be reached at WPhilbrick@mHealthAlliance.org.
Jonathan Payne
Standards and Interoperability Advisor
Jonathan is an engineer turned public health practitioner applying information and communication technologies to health delivery challenges in the developing world. He has worked and traveled in over 30 countries, using mobile phones to facilitate antenatal and postpartum care in rural India or researching electronic health record systems in HIV clinics in Kenya. Jonathan is working with the mHealth Alliance to launch the global mHealth Standards & Interoperability Working Group to improve alignment and adoption of standards that support the scale of mHealth systems. He is also the Director of the Maternal Concept Lab and mHealth Informatics Specialist for Partners In Health. Jonathan received his MS at the Harvard School of Public Health and BE from Vanderbilt University. Jon can be reached at JPayne@mHealthAlliance.org.
Chelsea Hedquist
Senior Communications Officer
Chelsea comes to the mHealth Alliance after spending the last 3+ years working for the WHO Regional Office for Europe, based in Copenhagen. She previously worked for a DC-based education advocacy group, as a publicist for the Sundance Film Festival and as a radio reporter/executive producer. She graduated from Stanford University and received her master’s in journalism from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Chelsea is delighted to be the newest member of the mHealth Alliance team and looks forward to a productive and exciting year for mHealth communications in 2013. You can reach her at chedquist@mhealthalliance.org.
Avrille Hanzel
Program Manager
Avrille works with the mHealth Alliance as Program Manager. She leads internal operations, events, partnership initiatives, and provides support for the Partnership Board activities. Avrille has a diverse background that ranges from crisis intervention management to nonprofit capacity building. Prior to joining the Alliance, Avrille worked as Program Coordinator for Taproot Foundation DC where she facilitated consultant and nonprofit training sessions while managing the office’s grantmaking activities. Avrille graduated from the University of Michigan with a dual degree in Sociology and Anthropology and spent time studying abroad at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in Durban, South Africa and throughout the Ilocos and Central Luzon regions of the Philippines. Avrille can be reached at AHanzel@mHealthAlliance.org.
Mandy Sugrue
Community Manager
Mandy leads the digital communications and strategy, HUB development (the Alliance's knowledge sharing platform), as well as supports the Alliance's broader public engagement through the Membership Campaign, working groups, in-country workshops, and events. Prior to joining the Alliance, she worked on the digital team at Fenton Communications, designing and implementing online and communications strategies for public interest organizations, such as the Ford Foundation, Alta Gracia, and the Pew Environment Group. She became involved with mHealth while working with the Half the Sky Movement, assisting in the creation of mobile games as part of a transmedia project aimed at aiding international health and development education. Born in Peru and raised in Guatemala for a time, she has a love for travel, design, and coffee. She can be reached at: ASugrue@mHealthAlliance.org.
Francis Gonzales
Program Associate
Francis works with the mHealth Alliance as a program associate and focuses primarily on projects related to Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. Prior to joining the Alliance, Francis was the Malaria and Child Survival Intern at Population Services International, where he helped the team with several knowledge management projects and provided assistance to the WASH and Nutrition technical advisors. Francis is a recent graduate of Brown University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Development. He studied abroad in South Africa, Vietnam, and Brazil on the International Honors Program’s Health and Communities track. This cross cultural experience provided him with insight into the regional and social differences that help shape the global burden of disease. During the summer of 2010 he returned to South Africa to attend the World Cup and to volunteer at a local South African non-profit that develops behavior change communication and provides access to care to migrant farm worker communities. Francis can be reached at Fgonzales@mHealthAlliance.org.
Chelsea Solmo
Program Associate
Chelsea recently graduated from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she received a Master of Science in Public Health, majoring in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control. Prior to joining the mHealth Alliance, Chelsea lived in rural Bangladesh for nine months working with Dr. Alain Labrique to develop a pilot program testing an innovative technology to help reduce childhood drowning. Chelsea is passionate about international health and specifically how to use health interventions to empower women. Chelsea is the new Program Associate and will be working largely on projects related to evidence. Chelsea can be reached at csolmo@mhealthalliance.org.
Matthew Kinney
Administrative Assistant
Matthew Kinney joined the mHealth Alliance after working as an Administrative Assistant at Turner Enterprises in Atlanta, GA. In this role, he worked in the Office of the Chairman, in addition to supporting the Vice President and the executive staff for two years. He previously worked on several political campaigns in Georgia where he served as a fundraiser and a Deputy Communications Director. Matthew also spent time as an intern in the Office of Congressman John Barrow in Washington. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in International Affairs, with a focus on International Relations and Security. As Administrative Assistant, Matthew supports the Executive Director and the mHealth Alliance team by providing team coordination and managing all aspects of administrative support. Matt can be reached at mkinney@mhealthalliance.org.
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