HVO - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Manager of Project Operations
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director ( Ex Officio )
April Pinner, MSPH, RD has worked at Health Volunteers Overseas since 2009, most recently as the Deputy Director. During her tenure, she has led many significant initiatives including designing a project monitoring and evaluation system, developing HVO's first international journal publication through a novel partnership with Frontiers in Public Health, and leading the most recent strategic planning process for the organization. Ms. Pinner directed HVO's program department for many years, guiding the development, implementation and monitoring of HVO's programs as well as cultivating relationships with international partners. Following shut-downs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Pinner spearheaded HVO's pivot to virtual learning and helped design an entirely new, hybrid program model. Before coming to HVO, Ms. Pinner served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia where her experiences inspired a lifetime commitment to improving global health. She received her Master of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and is a registered dietitian. Ms. Pinner has dedicated her career to advancing the mission and values of HVO, and believes in a world where all people, everywhere, have access to quality and affordable health care.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Communications & Donor Relations
Dr. Carla Smith works as an orthopaedic trauma surgeon in Idaho and Oregon. She enjoys teaching resident orthopedic trauma courses as well as "teaching the teachers" through professional coaching for instructors. Currently serving as faculty for both the AO and the Orthopedic Trauma Association, she has taught in many countries and is very encouraging of the new virtual education opportunities. Her first trip to Bhutan as a trainee ignited a passion for international work that has included 15 trips to Nepal, as well as travel to Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, and the Philippines. She is clinical faculty for the University of Washington Department of Orthopaedics and is part of the executive committee for admissions for the UW medical school WWAMI program (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho). She has worked locally with the Volunteers in Medicine, Project Access, and other organizations to reduce barriers to health care access and promote equity and diversity in medicine and society.
Dr. Thomas Gellhaus is a Professor emeritus in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa, where he taught clinical skills for more than ten years, following 20 years working in private practice. Dr. Gellhaus is the Past President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). He has served ACOG and its members for more than 25 years in various positions.
Job Titles:
- Program Support Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Marketing at the Association of American Medical Colleges
Gayle Lomax is Senior Director, Marketing at the Association of American Medical Colleges with responsibility for firmwide business development, branding and marketing strategy. She brings over 20 years of experience at Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurial firms and government sponsored enterprises, driving strong financial performance, identifying new business opportunities and assessing profitability. She has served in a number of senior roles in the financial services and healthcare industries leading the development of marketing strategy and advising senior leadership on economic and industry influences on business opportunities.
She serves her community through membership and leadership in a number of professional organizations and community boards, including the Delta Foundation Board, Women Business Leaders Foundation, Women in Finance & Housing, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and The Links, Inc.
Dr. Tielsch is Professor and Chair in the Department of Global Health at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health, where he also has an appointment as Program Director for the Global Health Epidemiology and Disease Control MPH program. In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Tielsch has been working in the field of global health for more than 30 years, with particular focus on blindness prevention and maternal/child health. His areas of interest include micronutrient malnutrition, infectious disease, and environmental health. His interest in global health dates back to his service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Korea.
Janna Beling, PT, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at California State University, Northridge where she has served as Department Chair for eight years. She earned a BA in Psychology from the University of Southern California, a Master of Arts in Physical Therapy (with a concentration on Administration) from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Exercise Science from the University of Southern California. She also holds a certificate in Non-Profit Management. Dr. Beling has presented and published her research related to physical therapist education and global health, including clinical and didactic education in the international setting, as well as international service-learning. She was a Fulbright Specialist in Malawi and has served in Suriname, Belize, and Vietnam. Additionally, she is the President of the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation whose mission is to promote research, education, social justice, and the arts and to improve the human condition. Dr. Beling's commitment to service is reinforced by her aim to motivate ethical practice and to support social responsibility with underserved populations both locally and overseas.
Job Titles:
- Technical Support Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Assistant Automation at Google
- Product Lead, Assistant
Lisa Huang is Product Lead, Assistant Automation at Google, where she manages a team working on artificial intelligence and automation. Previously, she worked at Facebook building augmented reality products, and at Apple developing and launching systems for the iPhone. She has also worked as a private equity investor and as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company. Her work and her interest in travel have taken her to all the continents, except for Antarctica.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Global Pro Bono
Maura Fulton brings a wealth of international experience in volunteer management, community development, and organizational development, having worked for a total of over 15 years with the Peace Corps in numerous capacities.
Maura Fulton is the Vice President of Global Pro Bono (GPB) at PYXERA Global where she leads a dynamic team to strengthen the social impact that corporate clients have in communities around the world. Maura has a wealth of global experience in volunteer management, capacity strengthening, organizational and leadership development, and sustainable community development in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. She most recently served as expert and senior advisor to the Director of Peace Corps on strategy and organizational excellence, and was the Peace Corps Country Director in Myanmar and Georgia. She has held a number of additional roles with Peace Corps, starting with her Volunteer service on a remote, traditional outer island in the Federated States of Micronesia. Additionally, Maura has held leadership positions with the International Rescue Committee, City Year, Encore Service Corps International, and Training Resources Group, Inc. Maura is passionate about promoting intercultural understanding and has lived and worked full-time in Japan, Micronesia, Georgia, Thailand, and Myanmar, with short-term work in more than 35 countries across Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Maura earned a Master of Arts in International Development from Ohio University and a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications and English from Towson University. She is a trainer and certified facilitator of numerous assessment tools.
Maureen Zutz served as Director of Development for Inova Health Foundation where she earned a reputation for achieving proven results in philanthropy. She brings knowledge and success in strategic planning, prospect identification, capital campaigns, and major gifts. She has extensive experience working with corporate and community leaders and helped secure seven figure gifts for health education.
Job Titles:
- Principal Consultant With Accordant
Pam is a principal consultant with Accordant, where she assists health care clients in major gift cultivation, campaign management, board volunteer training, and in navigating the constant changes within the health care sector. Pam received her Master of Public Administration degree with a nonprofit management certificate from George Mason University and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive. Prior to becoming a consultant, she spent a decade raising support for several independent schools and Georgetown University and fifteen years between Inova Health System and MedStar Health. She focuses on cultivating relationships and developing philanthropic partnerships among health care organizations and the community.
Peter Curran is an endocrinologist with interests in international health, public health, and health care delivery. Raised in Europe, he worked in Japan after college in the US before returning to the States for his medical training at Columbia and the University of Chicago. After a clinical career in Chicago and Idaho, the international bug bit him again, and he has volunteered in multiple sites overseas. With HVO, Dr. Curran has served in Uganda, Cambodia, and India, and has helped to set up the internal medicine program in Bhutan. He is currently working with HVO and Sihanouk Hospital in Cambodia on two clinical projects. He received the 2015 HVO Golden Apple Award for his leadership and work overseas. He is also on the board of the Wood River YMCA, the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience, and the US Ski and Snowboard Foundation. He is president of the Peco Foundation which focuses on supporting projects in health care and athletics. In Idaho, he is interested in local food systems and is working to understand and improve nutritional health
Job Titles:
- Member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
Dr. Henker is a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and a practicing nurse anesthetist at UPMC-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Henker received his MSN in Nurse Anesthesia from the University of Pittsburgh and his PhD in Nursing Science from the University of Washington in Seattle. He has been a member of HVO since 2004 and received the HVO Golden Apple Award in 2009 for his work at Cambodia's Angkor Hospital for Children. He has also served as a member of HVO's nurse anesthesia committee and director for a number of HVO's nurse anesthesia projects.
Job Titles:
- Television Producer at National Geographic Channel
Ryan Fouss is a television producer at National Geographic Channel, where he makes shows for Disney+ and Nat Geo WILD. He has managed global productions, directed renowned cinematographers, and developed award-winning digital series.
Ryan was born in a refugee camp in the Philippines, where his parents worked with Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian refugees who were emigrating to the United States. Ryan lived most of his life abroad, including Samoa, the Marshall Islands, where his father served as the Peace Corps Country Director, and later in Taiwan and China when his father was with the US Department of State.
After graduating from the University of Colorado with a major in International Affairs and Chinese Studies, Ryan served as a health communications Peace Corps volunteer in the Kingdom of Eswatini. After his service abroad, he was the videographer and multimedia specialist at Peace Corps headquarters, filming volunteers around the world to produce videos and documentaries.
Job Titles:
- Financial Planner With ClearLogic Financial
- MPA
Stephanie Murphy is a Financial Planner with ClearLogic Financial in Reston, Virginia. Ms. Murphy holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from George Mason University, where she was also awarded her BS in Accounting. From 2007 to 2018, Ms. Murphy served as the Chief Financial Officer for a national trade association. From 2000 to 2004, Ms. Murphy was Chief Financial Officer for Global Impact, a federation of America's leading humanitarian agencies. HVO is a member of Global Impact and participates in national, state, and local work-place giving campaigns through this strategic alliance. Prior to her tenure with Global Impact, Ms. Murphy served as Vice President of Finance and Administration for the National Parks Conservation Association and as the Director of Finance for the East Coast Migrant Head Start Project. She has also served as Audit Manager and Senior Accountant for a major public accounting firm.
Job Titles:
- President of GDS Consulting Services, LLC
Steve Schwartz is President of GDS Consulting Services, LLC., specializing in professional medical education, marketing, and medical humanitarian initiatives. Mr. Schwartz has extensive experience in the medical device and medical education marketplace. This includes serving as CEO of AO North America whose purpose is to be a validated, credible resource for the continuous professional development of surgeons; as well as serving 32 years with Synthes Inc, a leading international medical device company which specializes in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of instruments and implants for the surgical fixation, correction, and regeneration of the skeleton and its soft tissues. Mr. Schwartz worked in a variety of senior management positions within Synthes, including executive management of sales, executive management of professional education, and liaison with the AO Foundation (a worldwide nonprofit medical research and education organization). Mr. Schwartz has worked closely with many professional societies relating to orthopaedics, spine, and craniomaxillofacial surgery, and he currently serves on the Boards of several nonprofit and nongovernmental service organizations. Mr. Schwartz holds a degree in Geography from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Global Pharmaceutical Development and Operations at Bioxcel Therapeutics
Vidya Swaminathan is Vice President of Global Pharmaceutical Development and Operations at Bioxcel Therapeutics. Prior to joining Bioxcel, Vidya led Strategic Capabilities in Inhalation Product Development at AstraZeneca. Vidya has a 20+ year career in biopharmaceutical product development and commercialization during which she led the successful delivery of innovative drug products and technologies, and held roles of significant scope at GSK, Pfizer, and Bristol-Myers Squibb where she was the Head of Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Center of excellence. Vidya received her PhD in Industrial and Physical Pharmacy from Purdue University.
Vidya volunteered with HVO as Pfizer Global Health Fellow in Uganda for 6 months in 2010 on a corporate responsibility assignment. Her work in Uganda in the teaching and training of health care workers was recognized with HVO's Golden Apple award on World Health Day in 2011.