UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Director of the Center for Animal Health
• Director, Global Animal Health

Andres Perez is the director of the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety and the Endowed Chair in Global Animal Health and Food Safety. Dr. Perez joined the University of Minnesota faculty in January 2014. Prior to his position at the U, Dr. Perez spent over 10 years at the University of California, Davis, where he served as director of the UC Davis Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance. He is also currently an advisor on epidemiology for the Argentine Animal Health Service and for the Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit of the USDA Agricultural Research Service at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. Dr. Perez has published more than 170 scientific publications and has collaborated on capacity building activities related to food animal health epidemiology in more than 20 countries. His broad expertise in analytical tools applied to vast range of international contexts allows him to effectively deliver contextualized training to engage participants. He has developed and delivered multiple training programs in epidemiological tools, both in person and online for veterinary in service, both to private industry and in service veterinarians of Official Veterinary Services.

Job Titles:

• Education Coordinator
• Education Coordinator for the Center for Global Health

Anna Pendleton is an Education Coordinator for the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility. Anna manages the Center's education portfolio, including including curriculum development and logistical coordination for credit-bearing courses, and developing online education modules, video and multimedia resources, instructional design, and international trainings for the Center's education and capacity building initiatives. She also supports the Center's communications. Anna received her master's in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development, and she received her bachelor's degree in Spanish and Linguistics from Hofstra University. Her previous work includes supporting international capacity building initiatives in the University's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety. Fluent in Spanish, she also has experience studying and teaching language in Santiago, Chile and Madrid, Spain.

Job Titles:

• Coordinator
• Senior Program Manager, Research

Darlisha Williams is a clinical trials coordinator in the Division of Infectious Diseases. She also works with the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility developing tools to help expand and support the research capacity of university faculty working overseas. She has worked in the field of global health since 2005 on projects including waterborne diseases, and polio eradication in Tanzania. Darlisha lived and worked in Uganda for over 8 years, coordinating several multi-site, randomized clinical trials involving HIV associated meningitis before moving back to Minnesota in 2019. Her main interests are project implementation and program evaluation in global health settings. She has previously worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the area of maternal and child health.

Job Titles:

• Assistant Professor
• Director, Community Engagement

Dr. Chas Salmen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and serves as the Director of the UMN-OHR Mfangano Community Health Field Station in Western Kenya. Dr. Salmen brings extensive experience in medical anthropology and community-based research, particularly within HIV hyperendemic fishing communities of Lake Victoria, Kenya.

Job Titles:

• Director, Global Women 's Health

Rahel Nardos was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She received a scholarship to attend Franklin and Marshall College where she earned her Bachelor of Science in biopsychology. A Yale School of Medicine graduate, she completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University in St. Louis. Following her residency, Dr. Nardos spent one year as a staff surgeon at the Addis Ababa Hamlin Fistula Hospital and its multiple satellite medical centers in Ethiopia where she served women with childbirth injuries. She then returned to the United States and completed her fellowship training in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, as well as her master's degree in clinical research at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Following her training, Dr. Nardos served as the Division Head of Urogynecology at Kaiser Permanente Northwest and Director of Global Health in OBGYN at OHSU. She was recognized for her clinical work and leadership as the 2018 recipient of the Kaiser Permanente Distinguished Physician Award. At OHSU, she founded Footsteps to Healing, a global women's health initiative which provided team-based surgical services to rural Ethiopian women with severe pelvic floor disorders. This project grew into collaboration with academic healthcare institutions and NGOs in Ethiopia to build health systems particularly in the area of surgical and critical care services, quality improvement , and leadership. In 2015, Dr. Nardos joined the board of Worldwide Fistula Foundation (WFF) where she has been serving in various leadership roles to support various women's healthcare partnerships in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Niger, and Burkina Faso. WFF partners with local women's health champions and organizations to support their effort to prevent childbirth injuries and to restore the health of those vulnerable women who bear the burden of preventable childbirth injuries. As part of her leadership role, Dr. Nardos has been involved in the creation and ongoing support of the first formal Urogynecology Fellowship program in Ethiopia in partnership with Ethiopian Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Mekelle University, Hamlin Fistula USA, Worldwide Fistula Fund and OHSU Footsteps to Healing. In 2020, Dr. Nardos co-founded and currently serves as the vice chair of Permanente Global, a new NGO based in Portland, Oregon, created to harness the global health passion and expertise of healthcare providers and leaders to support healthcare partners in low resource countries. Dr. Nardos joined the University of Minnesota in August 2020 as an associate professor in the Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive surgery and as Director of Global Women's Health within the Center of Global Health and Social Responsibility. In her new role, Dr. Nardos hopes to support deep global and local partnerships that elevate the health of women in underserved communities through interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaborations that strengthen health systems through education, research, clinical care, and community outreach. Leveraging her unique worldview and life experience as an immigrant, she aspires to harness the collective wisdom and passion of our community to make quality and affordable healthcare accessible to every woman, irrespective of the lottery of her birthplace.

Job Titles:

• Program Manager
• Program Manager, Human Health and Migration

Erin Mann is the Program Manager for Human Health and Migration at the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility. Erin serves as the project manager for capacity building projects at the Center, including the University's partnership with the United Nations Migration Agency. Prior to joining the Center team, Erin managed global health projects related to public health emergency preparedness and response, global medical supply chains, and bio-surveillance. Erin is passionate about global health and enjoys working on projects that foster long-lasting relationships with organizations and colleagues around the world. Erin received her Master of Public Health from Boston University and her bachelor's in International Studies from the University of Illinois.

Job Titles:

• Communications Coordinator
• Communications Coordinator for NRC - RIM

Gladys is the Communications Coordinator for NRC-RIM, helping with communication strategies and engagement. Prior to coming to NRC-RIM , she worked developing and executing communication plans for a variety of organizations, including non profits, start ups and government entities. Gladys has worked as a communications specialist where she led efforts to drive increased engagement, growth in valuable online presence, brand recognition and crafted social media strategies. Her core values and focus along her career have always stayed the same, and that is to get to know your ‘why' and communicate with impact. Gladys holds a bachelor of arts degree in Communications from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Job Titles:

• Communications and Marketing Manager
• Communications and Marketing Manager at the Center for Global Health

Jake Schild is the communications and marketing manager at the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility. Before joining CGHSR he worked in public relations roles in the community banking sector and the language translation industry. He started his career as a news reporter in Washington state. Jake is an award-winning writer whose work has been recognized by Ragan and the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals. He received an undergraduate degree in journalism from St. Mary's University of Minnesota and currently lives in St. Paul.

Job Titles:

• Accountant for the Center for Global Health
• Finance Professional

Jenny Nguyen is the accountant for the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility. She has worked in a financial role for the past 17 years within various departments at the University. She learns her way around the financial system, policies, and procedures by engaging and being a member of the Financial System Users Network. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics with a Minor in Technical Communication and Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. She enjoys working for a center that supports people around the world.

Job Titles:

• Director, Research and Training at the Uganda Hub

Dr. Rhein has a broad background in global health and infectious diseases, with specific focus on fungal infections and central nervous system infections in resource-limited areas. His primary expertise is on cryptococcal meningitis and other AIDS-related opportunistic infections, as well as HIV immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). His current research is focused on improving the clinical outcomes of HIV-infected persons with cryptococcal meningitis, a globally neglected disease which is the second most common AIDS-defining opportunistic infection in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Rhein has been an investigator on several large, guideline-informing clinical trials on HIV-associated meningitis. Current primary investigations are centered on determining the long-term effects of antiretroviral therapy on outcomes in cryptococcal meningitis. Dr. Rhein currently splits his time between the University of Minnesota and the Infectious Disease Institute in Kampala, Uganda. He has been actively engaged in research in Uganda since 2005 as a medical student. Providing on-the-ground leadership for both the study team and international trainees, Dr. Rhein enjoys and has a demonstrated commitment to mentoring Ugandan and American medical students, residents, and infectious disease fellows. As the Director of Training and Research for the University of Minnesota Health Sciences Uganda Hub since 2017, Dr. Rhein provides direct supervision and mentorship for UMN-affiliated trainees in Uganda. Dr. Rhein also serves as co-director of the new East African Clinical Tropical Medicine Course, a joint effort between the University of Minnesota, the Infectious Diseases Institute, and Makerere University.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Leadership Team
• Chief Development Officer of Global Health
• Deputy Director & External Relations

Kathleen serves as the Chief Development Officer of Global Health at the University of Minnesota and as Deputy Director for the Center for Global Health & Social Responsibility. In her role as Chief Development Officer, she is responsible for developing partnerships with the private sector, non-governmental organizations, foundations and individuals, and for connecting stakeholders in meaningful ways to global health programs and initiatives throughout the University of Minnesota. In her role as Deputy Director, she provides oversight to communications, finance, strategic planning, and partnership development. For the past 15 years she has worked in the nonprofit sector and academia as a project manager, senior level fundraiser, volunteer board member, and administrator for community-based and global NGO's as well as higher education institutions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in literature and sociology from Cornell College, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Missouri. Since 2017 she is an accredited Fund Raising Executive through CFRE International.

Job Titles:

• Project Coordinator
• Project Coordinator for the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility 's National Resource Center

Katie Conover is the Project Coordinator for the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility's National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants and Migrants (NRC-RIM) as well as UMN's partner project with the United Nations Migration Agency (the International Organization for Migration, or IOM). She also serves as Finance Coordinator for NRC-RIM and IOM as well as CGHSR as a whole. Katie received her bachelor's degree in Global Studies and Spanish from Hamline University, and she is currently pursuing her Master's in Education (K-12 English as a Second Language) at Hamline. She loves working for a center that engages people around the globe.

Job Titles:

• Assistant Professor
• Director, China Initiatives

M. Kumi Smith is an assistant professor in the School of Public Health Division of Epidemiology and Community Health. Dr. Smith studies HIV and STI epidemiology, particularly in resource limited settings. She is also interested in infectious disease dynamics, social determinants of health, and health equity. In addition, she serves as the director of the HIV/STI Intervention and Prevention Studies (HIPS).

Job Titles:

• Operations Manager, UMN Health Sciences Uganda Hub

Job Titles:

• Program Manager for the Global Women 's Health Portfolio at the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility
• Program Manager, Global Women 's Health Portfolio

Nana Yaa is a program manager for the Global Women's Health portfolio at the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility (CGHSR). She supports Director Dr. Rahel Nardos in managing key global partnerships to advance gender equity and women's health initiatives. Prior to CGHSR, Nana Yaa worked at the University of St. Thomas' Schulze School of Entrepreneurship to launch a global social innovation program of student innovators and university leaders from 20-plus universities across 15 countries. She has previously worked in international development in East and West-Africa, facilitating business partnerships with micro and small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. In addition to a background in marketing communications and program management, Nana Yaa has extensive experience in and passion for building cross-cultural partnerships that add value for all stakeholders. Nana Yaa holds a B.A. in business and political science from Calvin College and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. She lives in Maple Grove with her husband and three kids.

Job Titles:

• Physician
• Director, Interprofessional Education Programs

Rebecca Wurtz is an infectious disease physician and public health informaticist. After working in direct patient care for a decade and a half, she moved to working in infectious disease control at the city, county, state, federal, and international levels. In addition, she worked for various IT start-up companies developing electronic disease surveillance systems, immunization registries, and medical vocabularies. She worked in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region after SARS to develop an embedded surveillance system for emerging respiratory diseases, and was a One Health Workforce instructor in Kenya. Dr. Wurtz has a bachelor's degree in history from Yale College, a Doctor of Medicine from the Harvard Medical School, and a Master of Public Health from University of Illinois at Chicago. She currently is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where she directs several MPH programs.

Job Titles:

• Director, Global Medical Education and Research ( GMER ) Program

Dr. Kesler's clinical work focuses on Critical Care Medicine. She practices primarily at University of Minnesota Medical Center and Fairview Southdale hospitals. Her academic work focuses on Global Health, simulation-based training for Disaster Response, and the allocation of scarce resources during mass casualty incidents. She directs the Graduate Medical Education and Research Program in the Medical School, which serves to mentor medical students who want to incorporate international experiences into their medical school education. From 2011 to 2019 she directed the University of Minnesota Humanitarian Simulation, a full-scale field exercise of a humanitarian disaster. During the COVID-19 pandemic she created the MHealth Fairview plan for operating under Crisis Standards of Care. She also served as the Chair of the Ethics and Scarce Resources sub-committee of the Minnesota Statewide Healthcare Coalition. She collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Covid Ethics Collaborative to create guidance for allocating scarce resources under Crisis and Contingency conditions, and currently sits on the MDH Scientific Advisory Team.

Job Titles:

• Administrative Assistant
• Administrative Associate

Scottie Isla Povolny is an administrative associate who splits their time between the Center Global Health and Social Responsibility (as an office manager) and the Office of the Vice President of Clinical Affairs (as an executive assistant). Scottie coordinates event planning efforts, course coordination, executive assistance, and other complementary duties wherever needed within the Center. She has a passion for being a jack of all trades in an office environment and never ceases to be awestruck by the Center's collection of personalities and talent.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Leadership Team
• Executive Director & Carlson Chair of Global Health

Shailey Prasad is an integrator by nature who enjoys working with folks from various backgrounds to solve complex issues in global health. He is particularly interested in engaging systems to create sustainable change in communities across the world, and in partnering with institutions strategically and efficiently to achieve this. His background working with forest tribes in rural areas of southern India, with urban communities in Detroit and as a rural physician in Mississippi has led him to be an advocate for improved health care as a key building block for communities. A graduate of the Government Medical College, Mysore University in Karnataka, India, Shailey went on to complete his Family Medicine Residency and an Academic Family Medicine Fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and later received his Master of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. In addition to serving as the Executive Director of the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Prasad is the Associate Vice President of Global & Rural Health; Vice Chair for Education in Family Medicine & Community Health; Adjunct Professor at the School of Public Health; and serves as the faculty lead for the Rothenberger Leadership Academy within the UMN School of Medicine. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and Udayana University, Bali. Dr. Prasad is one of the founders of the Advocacy for Global Health Partnerships that looks at ethical frameworks in global health engagements. He is also the co-PI of the Northern Pacific Global Health Consortium that has global health training programs in Peru, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya, India, Nepal and Thailand through the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health. He co-developed the India-based ‘Global Future Physician' program for undergraduates and the ‘Globalization, Global Health and Leadership' course for graduate students from the US. Since 2015, he has facilitated and led capacity building activities across academic institutions and professional organizations in Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, South Africa, Zambia, Indonesia and India. Shailey has worked extensively as a primary care physician in underserved rural and urban areas of the US and amongst forest tribes in southern India, and currently practices family medicine at the Broadway Family Medicine Clinic, where his peers have voted him a Twin Cities Top Doctor since 2013. He serves on the board of Organic Health Response (OHR) in Kenya and Grassroots Research and serves as an advisor to Advocacy Movement (GRAAM) in India. He has volunteered his time with the Twin Cities Homeless Health Initiative, Exodus House Homeless Shelter, and the Bridge for Runaway Youth.

Job Titles:

• Coordinator
• Student Coordinator

Shannon Benson is the Student Coordinator for the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility. She has been the Program Coordinator for the Global Medical Education and Research (GMER) program since 2005 working to prepare and send 4th year medical students abroad for a global health experience prior to graduation as well as place incoming visiting students here at the University of Minnesota. Her passion is working with students across the health science schools. She has worked with the Global Health Case Competition since its first year in 2013 and is the staff contact for the center's student group, the Global Health Student Advisory Board (GHSAB). Shannon spent 10 years at Hennepin County Medical Center supporting faculty in the Department of Medicine, specifically Dr. Phil Peterson, Founding Director of GMER and Former Director of the Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine. This position fueled her passion for student interaction and interest in global health opportunities for students. Shannon lives in Stillwater, has a blended family of 5 kids, 1 crazy cat and 1 spoiled dog.

Job Titles:

• Program Coordinator
• Program Coordinator at the Center for Global Health

Sophie Watson is a Program Coordinator at the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility (CGHSR). Through the Global Women's Health Initiative, she provides project management support for diverse initiatives, including local and global research, capacity-building programs, and learning communities that all aim to promote global women's health equity. She also coordinates the Global Engagement Grant and Global Health Seed Grant programs which offer funding opportunities to further equitable global health engagements. Sophie received their bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies - Arabic from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her previous work includes supporting gender equity initiatives through the University's Center for Women in Medicine and Science. Originally from Maryland, they currently reside in Minneapolis alongside her partner, cat Dunder, and a burgeoning garden of houseplants.

Job Titles:

• Communications Strategist
• Communications Strategist for the National Resource Center for Refugees

Syreeta is the communications strategist for the National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants and Migrants (NRC-RIM), where she leads the communications efforts for the center as well as guides the creation and dissemination of health communications materials. She has more than a decade of experience in strategic communications, specializing in internal communications, digital media, and diverse and multilingual communities. Before joining the team at NRC-RIM, she led communications for K-12 public schools. Syreeta holds a master's degree in linguistics from New York University, where she explored socioeconomic influences on Spanish-speaking immigrants' speech patterns. She holds a bachelor's degree from Macalester College.

Job Titles:

• International Professional Research Fellowship ( 2005 - 06 )

Job Titles:

• Research Award ( 2005 - 06 )

Job Titles:

• Employee
• Research Program Coordinator

Yunqing ‘Iris' Fei is the Research Program Coordinator based overseas in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China, and the staff lead for the Center's activities in Asia. She is actively involved with building up relationships between Chinese and American investigators in research collaborations. Her work is extensively across collaboration outreach, communication, research support and partnership development for both sides. Iris earned her degree in Psychology and Management Information Systems from the University of Minnesota and has contributed to global health research coordination since 2018. Iris is a contracted employee through the University of Minnesota China Center.