MAILMAN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner and Co - Founder of Primetime Partners
Abby Levy is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Primetime Partners, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on improving the quality of living of older adults. Abby has spent her career helping businesses and consumer brands grow as an operator, entrepreneur and advisor, most notably in the wellness sector. Prior to Primetime Partners, Abby was a senior executive at SoulCycle, where she oversaw business development and new digital products. Abby has also been a Founder herself, teaming with Arianna Huffington as the Founding President of Thrive Global, a behavior change technology company focused on employee productivity and wellness. Abby began her career at McKinsey & Company then led product development at OXO International. She is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Discovery
South African Adrian Gore is the founder and chief executive officer of Discovery, a multinational financial services group. Discovery is a global thought leader in consumer-driven insurance and the integration of behavioral change with health and life and short-term insurance. It serves over six million customers worldwide. Mr. Gore chairs the South African chapter of Endeavor, a global nonprofit organization that identifies and assists high-growth entrepreneurs. He sits on the World Economic Forum Global Health Advisory Board, which is committed to improving global health care; the Brookings Advisory Board; and the Massachusetts General Hospital Global Health Advisory Board. Mr. Gore graduated from Wits University in 1986.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Chairman Emeritus of the International Rescue Committee
- Chairman Emeritus of the International Rescue Committee / Chair of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health
Alan R. Batkin was Vice Chairman of Eton Park Capital Management, L.P., a global, multi-disciplinary investment firm from March, 2007 to December, 2012. Prior to joining Eton Park, he was, from 1990 to 2007, Vice Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., a geopolitical consulting company. Before joining Kissinger Associates, he was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers for 18 years.
Mr. Batkin is on the Board of Directors of four US-based public companies. He is Senior Advisor to Discovery Group, a South Africa-based health insurance and financial services company as well as Senior Advisor to Oaktree Emerging Markets Opportunity Fund.
Mr. Batkin is Chairman Emeritus of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and is currently Chair of Airbel, the IRC's research and development unit.
He is Chairman of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health Advisory Board and Co-Chair of the Board of Overseers of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. He is a Trustee and Executive Committee member of the New York City Police Foundation and a member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board and Executive Committee.
He is a Trustee of The Brookings Institution and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He previously served as a member of The Trilateral Commission and the Inter-American Dialogue.
Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH '06, was named associate commissioner and director of the Center for Health Equity(link is external and opens in a new window) at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Center for Health Equity is considered the foundation of the city health department's efforts to address health disparities, as mentioned in the mayor's management report.
Prior to her new role, Maybank served as assistant commissioner of the Brooklyn District Public Health Office, where she oversaw the completion of several public health and safety programs such as new bike lanes, a doula initiative, promotion of breast-feeding, and HIV testing. Maybank also served as founding director of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services in New York and launched the Office of Minority Health, which focused on reducing health disparities in racial and ethnic minorities.
Maybank's areas of expertise include preventive medicine, food and fitness, maternal and child health, cancer, HIV/AIDS, community health, and health inequities. She is a founding board member of the Artemis Medical Society, an international mentoring, networking, and advocacy organization of over 2,500 Black female physicians.
Job Titles:
- Director of Field Practice
Ana Jiménez-Bautista, LMSW, is the Director of Field Practice at the Office of Careers and Practice. Ana has worked for Columbia University/NYPH for over 25 years in a variety of roles, including the coordination of community education and outreach for community and school-based clinics; and international internship/exchange programs. Ana's life-long mission is to contribute to the improvement of the human condition and the reduction of health and wellness disparities.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and Leon Hess Professor
Administrative Contact: Fernando L. Luque (fll2112@cumc.columbia.edu
Job Titles:
- Partner of Circle Wealth Management
- Partner of Circle Wealth Management / Chair and Founder of Circle Financial Group
Ann Kaplan is a partner of Circle Wealth Management, a registered financial advisory firm focusing on wealth management. She is also the chair and founder of Circle Financial Group, an investment management membership group. She taught asset management at Columbia Business School prior to becoming a University Trustee. Ms. Kaplan was previously a general partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co. She currently serves on the board of the Goldman Sachs Bank USA. Ms. Kaplan is a Columbia University Trustee Emerita. She serves on the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School and the Board of Advisors at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She is chair of the Women Creating Change Leadership Board. Ms. Kaplan also serves as a board member of the American Red Cross in Greater New York and the Museum of Arts and Design. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, the Belizean Grove, and the International Women's Forum. Ms. Kaplan holds a BA from Smith College and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Digital Strategy
Anne Marie Benedicto leads operations for the Dean's office and directs advancement of the Columbia Mailman's strategic priorities. Previously, Anne Marie served as the Vice President of the Center for Transforming Healthcare and was the Chief of Staff and Executive Vice President for The Joint Commission. She has held finance and quality-related positions in healthcare organizations in New York City. Her expertise is in applying high reliability principles to organizational processes. Anne Marie earned her BA from the University of California at Berkeley, her MPA from Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, and her MPH from the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Founder and Co - Chair of Emerging Public Leaders
Betsy Williams is the founder and cochair of Emerging Public Leaders (EPL), which is building a new generation of civil service leaders in Africa to help accelerate Africa's development and economic growth. EPL builds on the success of the President's Young Professionals Program in Liberia, which Ms. Williams founded while working with then-Minister of Health Dr. Walter Winkle, seeing the country's urgent need for a stronger civil service following two civil wars, and recognizing the potential of youth to drive that progress. Ms. Williams' work has focused on the intersection of social development, foreign policy, and global health, having launched and supported innovative programs at USAID, JSI, Asia Society, and Physicians for Human Rights. She graduated cum laude from Princeton University and received her MPH from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, where she currently serves on the Board of Advisors. She is married to Tom Moore and lives in Washington, DC, with their two daughters.
Job Titles:
- Director of Pediatric Skull Base Surgery at Children 's National Hospital / Principal Investigator in the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research at George Washington University
Carlos E. Sanchez, MD, is the director of pediatric skull base surgery at Children's National Hospital and a principal investigator in the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research at George Washington University. As a neurosurgeon-scientist, Dr. Sanchez has dedicated his career to improving the health of children and adults with brain tumors. He is a consultant for the Cellular Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee of the FDA. Dr. Sanchez serves as a CEO for Insurgiac Corporation, a health tech company focusing on bridging the health equity gap between academic medical centers and community hospitals. He was nominated as a cross-disciplinary fellow at Harvard Business School by Clayton Christensen, completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and completed his neurosurgical training at UCSD and the University of New Mexico. Dr. Sanchez is married to Christina Rosenberger and lives in Bethesda, MD with their three children.
Job Titles:
- Interim Associate Dean of Field Practice Faculty Lead, General Public Health
Cassie has over 20 years of professional experience in international Child health and development. She has worked with UNICEF and other international agencies to promote policies and program in support of young children and their families. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population; Faculty Lead, General Public Health; and Director of the DrPH Program. She teaches courses in child development and global health. Cassie holds a Doctorate in Education and a Master's in Public Health from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and Gelman Endowed Professor
Administrative Contact: Laura Goldenkranz (lag2172@cumc.columbia.edu
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner of Diker Management LLC
Charles M. Diker is the managing partner of Diker Management LLC, founded in 2002, where he is a registered investment advisor managing various small and micro-cap funds. He is the chairman of the board of Cantel Medical Corp., an NYSE-listed company that markets and manufactures infection control products, and a director of the Loews Corporation. Currently, Mr. Diker is the founding chairman of the National Museum of the American Indian-New York and the George Gustav Heye Center, and is a trustee of New York Public Radio, Poly Prep Country Day School, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. He is the former president of the American Friends of the Israel Museum. After graduating with honors from Harvard College, Mr. Diker received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He and his wife, Valerie, reside in Manhattan.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Founder
- Managing Partner
- Founder and CEO of Dr. B / Managing Partner and Founder of Humbition
- Founder and CEO of Shadow
Cyrus Massoumi is the founder and CEO of Shadow, the technology platform that enables a community of volunteers to reunite lost dogs with their owners. In building this network of seekers and finders, Mr. Massoumi draws on his previous experience: building a network of patients and care providers.
Prior to founding Shadow, Mr. Massoumi served for eight years as CEO of Zocdoc, a company he started in 2007. Zocdoc enables patients to book medical care appointments instantly and free of charge. Mr. Massoumi is also currently the Managing Partner of humbition, a venture fund launched in 2018 that invests in founder-led, mission-driven startups in New York City.
Mr. Massoumi holds an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School and a BS degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Columbia Business School has featured him as one of eight alumni changing the world. He has also been recognized by Fast Company as one of the Most Creative People in Business and by Fortune and Crain's as one of their 40 under 40 honorees. Mr. Massoumi currently serves as a member of the Board of Overseers for the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Cyrus Massoumi is managing partner and founder of humbition, an early-stage venture firm focused on NYC startups. Prior to humbition, Cyrus founded Zocdoc, where he led the company for 8 years as CEO. Earlier in his career, he worked at the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he gained extensive experience in health care technology and new product development. Cyrus is a graduate of Columbia Business School, where he earned an MBA with honors and received the Heffernan Award for Outstanding Service and the Exemplary Leadership Award, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Science with honors. Cyrus has been recognized by both Fortune and Crain's on their 40 under 40 lists and by Fast Company as one of the Most Creative People in Business.
Job Titles:
- Senior Managing Director and Founding Member of the Medical Device Practice at Guggenheim Securities
- Senior Managing Director at Guggenheim Securities
Dave Magstadt is a senior managing director and founding member of the Medical Device practice at Guggenheim Securities, the investment banking and capital markets business of Guggenheim Partners. Guggenheim is a leading, independent, and global investment banking firm focused in providing advisory, capital markets, sales, and trading and research to institutional clients. Mr. Magstadt joined the firm in July 2015 to lead the medical device mergers and acquisitions execution effort with the group. Prior to joining Guggenheim, Dave spent 12 years at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. working in the global mergers and acquisitions group in New York focused on health care. Over the course of his career, Mr. Magstadt has advised on a broad range of public and private corporate transactions in the hundreds of billions of deal value. Dave earned a Masters of Business Administration with honors at Columbia in 2003 and spent three years prior to business school as a consultant at Accenture both in the U.S. and Europe. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was honored as one of the 10 most outstanding students at the university. He has served on the Junior Board of the New York chapter of Covenant House and is an alumnus of Haymakers for Hope.
Job Titles:
- Center Director
- Dean
- Dean and DeLamar Professor of Public Health Director, Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center
- Director and Dean, Columbia Mailman School of Public
- Leadership Team
Dr. Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, is a global leader in the fields of epidemiology and geriatrics who has dedicated her career to the science of healthy aging and longer health span for all.
Dean Fried is a world-renowned geriatrician and epidemiologist. Since her appointment as Dean in 2008, she has led the transformation of Columbia Mailman School of Public Health's MPH and doctoral programs into interdisciplinary education that provides strong grounding in public health and expertise for leadership in the 21st Century. Under her leadership, the School has developed novel translational programs in interdisciplinary science, including health impacts of climate change; lifecourse bases for achieving public health; data science for health; and the creation of the Program in Global Health Justice and Governance, the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center.
Director and Dean, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and DeLamar Professor of Public Health; Professor of Epidemiology and of Medicine; Senior Vice President, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
(Ex-Officio Member): Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, is Dean and DeLamar Professor of Public Health at the Columbia Mailman School, professor of Medicine at Columbia's College of Physicians & Surgeons, and senior vice president at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Fried is a geriatrician, epidemiologist, and internationally renowned scientist who has propelled our understanding of how to create healthy aging and set the basis for a transition to an aging world that benefits all ages. She has led the scientific work to define the medical syndrome of frailty and its causes and prevention as keys to optimizing health and is the codesigner and founder of Experience Corps. Prior to becoming dean in 2008, Dr. Fried served as director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology and of the Center on Aging and Health at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Fried is also the recipient of numerous awards including the French National INSERM International Prize in Medical Research and was named a "Living Legend in Medicine" by the U.S. Congress. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and past president of the Association of American Physicians. Dr. Fried was named, in 2014, one of the most influential scientific minds of the past decade by Thompson Reuters, and the New York Times has called her one of the 15 world leaders in science.
Job Titles:
- Founder of Choose Healthy Life / Founder of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS / Principal of D. Fraser Associates
Debra Fraser-Howze is the Founder of Choose Healthy Life, a sustainable, scalable, and transferable approach to address public health disparities through the Black Church, and the founder of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. Debra is also Principal of D. Fraser Associates. This consulting firm works with clients to establish successful partnerships that result in improved health outcomes for underserved populations while driving corporate value and revenue growth. Before launching D. Fraser Associates, Ms. Fraser-Howze was the senior vice president, government and external affairs, at OraSure Technologies, a leader in the development, manufacturing, and distribution of oral fluid diagnostic and collection devices and other technologies designed to detect or diagnose critical medical conditions. While at OraSure Technologies, Ms. Fraser-Howze played a critical role in launching the company's OraQuick Rapid Ebola Test (2015), OraQuick In-Home HIV Test (2012), and the OraQuick Rapid HCV Test (2010). Before joining OraSure, Ms. Fraser-Howze served for 21 years as the president/CEO of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA), an organization she founded in 1987. Ms. Fraser-Howze has been widely recognized for more than three decades of global leadership to communities of color regarding teenage pregnancy, social welfare, and HIV and AIDS. She advised two U.S. presidents while serving on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS from 1995-2001. In 2009, she was the recipient of the National Medical Association's (NMA) highest honor, the Scroll of Merit, and in 2010 she was inducted into the Hunter College Hall of Fame for distinguished achievement. Ms. Fraser-Howze is currently a member of the board of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Diana (she/her) earned a BBA in Human Resource Management from Baruch College, where she is currently pursuing an MPA in Nonprofit Management. Prior to joining the Mailman School of Public Health, she provided administrative support to the Human Resources departments at Brooklyn Community Services and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Diana supported students at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, by conducting weekly Microsoft Excel workshops as a College Reading & Learning Association Certified Master Tutor at the Student Academic Consulting Center. She also provided mentorship to new tutors and tutoring support and served as a peer-led team learning leader in college algebra. At Mailman, Diana is responsible for planning career fairs, employer information sessions, workshops, and other events for Career Services.
Job Titles:
- Designer, Print and Digital
Job Titles:
- Board Member of Citigroup and Brookfield Asset Management
- Investment Banker
Diana Taylor began her career as an investment banker in the 1980s. In the mid-1990s, she joined George Pataki, governor of the State of New York, on his staff, held several positions over 15 years, including State Banking Superintendent. She then moved on to private equity, working at Wolfensohn and then as an advisor to Solera. Ms. Taylor now serves on the Boards of two public companies, Citigroup and Brookfield Asset Management, and one privately held company, Ampere Computing. She also serves as the chair of the board of several nonprofit groups, including Accion, the New York City Ballet, Hudson River Park Friends, and Hot Bread Kitchen. She is the former chair of the New York City Women's Foundation and the YMCA of Greater New York, and she has served on the Boards of Dartmouth College and the Mayo Clinic. She is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York. She earned her AB from Dartmouth College, her MBA from Columbia Business School, and her MPH from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Eden Capital
Dina Said Dwyer is the managing director of Eden Capital, a private equity firm focused in the professional and business services, education and training, and health care services sectors. Ms. Said has spent over 20 years in the private equity industry. She has served as a managing director at Unifund SA and an Analyst at the Blackstone Group in New York, and trained at the Carlyle Group in London. She also currently leads Brighter Vision, her family foundation dedicated to providing education and economic empowerment to women in Egypt through partnerships with Ashoka, Education for Employment, and other prominent groups. She sits on the Advisory Board of the Children's Rights Division for Human Rights Watch. Ms. Said completed her MBA at Columbia Business School and her undergraduate degree at the Wharton School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
(Ex-Officio Member): Dr. Ashwin Vasan is the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Vasan is a primary care physician, epidemiologist, and public health expert with nearly 20 years of experience working to improve physical and mental health, social welfare, and public policy for marginalized populations in New York City, nationally and globally. Since 2014 he has served on the faculty at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and he continues to see patients as a primary care internist in the Division of General Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Vasan most recently served as the president and CEO of Fountain House, a national nonprofit fighting to improve health, increase opportunity, and end social and economic isolation for people most impacted by mental illness. Early in his career, Dr. Vasan spent nearly a decade at the intersection of global health, HIV, and primary care, working with the nonprofit Partners In Health (PIH) in Rwanda, Lesotho, and Boston, and at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Uganda and Geneva. From 2016 to 2019, Dr. Vasan served as the founding executive director of the Health Access Equity Unit at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which focused on the intersection of clinical and social services for the care of people involved in the criminal legal system and other vulnerable populations. He is a proud husband and father of three school-aged children who fill up every free moment of his time.
Job Titles:
- Vice - Chair of the Clinton Foundation
- Vice - Chair of the Clinton Foundation / Board Member of the Clinton Health Access Initiative / Board Member of Partners in Health
As vice-chair of the Clinton Foundation, Dr. Chelsea Clinton works alongside the Foundation's leadership and partners to help create economic opportunity, improve public health, and inspire civic engagement and service across the United States and around the world. In particular, Chelsea focuses on promoting early brain and language development through the Too Small to Fail initiative, and uplifting/empowering female entrepreneurs and women-led businesses around the world through initiatives like the Caribbean-focused Women in Renewable Energy (WIRE) Network. She also serves on the boards of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. In addition to her Foundation work, Chelsea also teaches at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and has written several books for young readers, including the #1 New York Times-bestselling She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World, as well as She Persisted Around the World, She Persisted in Sports, Start Now! You Can Make a Difference, Don't Let Them Disappear, and It's Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going. She is also the co-author of The Book of Gutsy Women and Grandma's Gardens with her mom Hillary Clinton and of Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? with Devi Sridhar. Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University, a Master of Public Health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and both a Master of Philosophy and a Doctorate in international relations from Oxford University. She lives with her husband Marc; their children Charlotte, Aidan, and Jasper; and dog, Soren, in New York City.
Job Titles:
- Founder of the Global First Ladies Alliance / Chief Community Health Officer at Native American Development Corporation
- Public Health Expert
Dr. Cora Neumann is a public health expert and recently founded We Are Montana to support public health leadership across rural and Native Montana. Over the past 20 years, she has collaborated with local and national leaders to bring quality, accessible care to rural and Native communities-including during the current COVID outbreak. In 2009, Cora launched the Global First Ladies Alliance in partnership with the offices of First Ladies Laura Bush and Michelle Obama, over time working with more than 40 first ladies around the world to help bring critical health care and social services to their populations. Cora has served at the U.S. State Department and worked for the RAND Corporation, Bush Institute, Care.com, and more. She has a master's in public health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and a doctorate in international development from the University of Oxford. She most recently ran for U.S. Senate in her home state of Montana, currently serves on the board of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, is a member of the Montana Public Health Association, and serves as an advisor to COVID Local and the Montana Democratic Party Native Vote Program. Cora grew up and is based in Bozeman, surrounded by four generations of family, from her grandmother to her two teenage children.
Job Titles:
- Member of the New York State Boards of Medicine and Professional Medical Conduct
Dr. David Harris has had a long-standing career in the medical field. He was the vice president of medical affairs for the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, the commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health, the associate director of Mount Sinai Hospital, and deputy commissioner of NYC Department of Health. He attended Cornell University, where he was selected to Phi Beta Kappa, and received his MD from New York University. Dr. Harris is a 1965 alumnus of the Columbia Mailman School and a recipient of Columbia's Alumni Federation Medal for Conspicuous Service. In addition to his 40 years on the board of Public Health Solutions, Dr. Harris serves on the boards of several organizations that address issues of medicine, health, home health and hospice care, disposal of low-level radioactive waste, and protection of community water supplies. As a member of the New York State Board for Medicine and the New York State Board of Professional Medical Conduct, Dr. Harris now focuses his professional interests on physician licensure and discipline.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor ( Adjunct ), Division of Infectious Diseases, UCLA
Dr. Dvora Joseph Davey is am an infectious disease epidemiologist who has been leading research and programs to improve HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention and treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa for over 20 years. Dr. Joseph Davey is an Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology at the University of California Los Angeles. In addition, she holds an Honorary Associate Professor position in the Division of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the School of Public Health at the University of Cape Town where she is based. Her research focuses on how best to prevent HIV among pregnant and lactating people, including use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and improving diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
At UCLA and UCT she taught quantitative research methods and mentors MPH, PhD and postdoctoral students. She is the Principal Investigator on several R-level NIH funded studies of HIV and STIs in pregnant and lactating women in Cape Town. Prior to academia, she was Program and Country Director of NGO run HIV prevention and treatment programs in Rwanda and Mozambique. Dr. Joseph Davey received her Masters in Public Health from Columbia Mailman School of Public Health with a focus on Population and Family Health and a PhD from UCLA focusing on infectious disease epidemiology and global health.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts
- Julius B. Richmond Professor of Health Policy
Dr. John Rowe is the Julius B. Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Previously, from 2000 until his retirement in late 2006, Dr. Rowe served as Chairman and CEO of Aetna, Inc., one of the nation's leading health care and related benefits organizations. Before his tenure at Aetna, from 1988 to 2000, Dr. Rowe served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mount Sinai NYU Health, one of the nation's largest academic health care organizations. From 1988 to 1998, prior to the Mount Sinai-NYU Health merger, Dr. Rowe was President of the Mount Sinai Hospital and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
Before joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Rowe was a Professor of Medicine and the founding Director of the Division on Aging at the Harvard Medical School, as well as Chief of Gerontology at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital. Dr. Rowe has received many honors and awards for his research and health policy efforts regarding care of the elderly. Currently, Dr. Rowe leads the Research Network on An Aging Society.
Dr. Rowe is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He. served on the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation, and was Chair of the Board of Fellows of Harvard Medical School and the Board of Trustees at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Dr. Rowe is a former Commissioner of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).
Dr Rowe has received many awards and recognitions including being listed in the top ten managers of the year, in the world, by Business Week in 2005 and being included in Harvard Business Review's 2013 listing of the best performing CEOs in the world, in all industries.
Dr. John Rowe is Julius B. Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Previously he served as chairman and CEO of Aetna, Inc., president and chief executive officer of Mount Sinai NYU Health, the Mount Sinai Hospital, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Before joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Rowe was a professor of medicine and the founding director of the Division on Aging at Harvard Medical School. He led the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Aging and currently leads the Foundation's Network on An Aging Society. Dr. Rowe is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Chief Science & Program Officer at the Alliance
- Chief Science & Program Officer at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation
(Ex-Officio Member): Dr. Kyle MacDonald is the inaugural chief science & program officer at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a national whole-child health and education nonprofit. Prior to joining Healthier Generation, Kyle advised state governments on health care programs and strategy for KPMG and previously led a CDC-funded team based at New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene that advised cities on their strategy for addressing the opioid overdose crisis. Kyle is also the Alumni Board president for Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and serves on the Dean's Board of Advisors. He is a qualitative researcher, writer, and proud advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
Kyle grew up in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and holds a Bachelor of Science from Queen's University and a Doctor of Medicine from Memorial University, trained in pediatrics at the University of Ottawa, and holds a Master of Public Health from Columbia Mailman. He lives in New York City with his partner, Trent, and rabbit, Jasper.
Job Titles:
- Member of the President 's Advisory Council of Princeton University
Dr. Xue Fang is currently a member of the President's Advisory Council and a member of the Graduate School Dean's Leadership Council of Princeton University. She also serves as a director in Teach for China, Inc. Born in Beijing, China, Xue studied Biology at Beijing University before attending the Graduate School of Princeton University in 1988 to study Neuroscience. She received a PhD in Neuroscience and Psychology in 1995 from Princeton University and an MS in Biostatistics from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in 1998. She has participated in medical research projects and has worked as a biostatistician in Schering-Plough, a pharmaceutical company in New Jersey. Xue has a special interest in education and enjoys reading extensively.
Job Titles:
- Partner at Centerview Partners / Board Member of the International Rescue Committee ( IRC )
E. Eric Tokat is a partner and a founding member of the Healthcare Practice at Centerview Partners, a leading independent investment banking firm specializing in general advisory, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and principal investing, with offices in New York, London, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Mr. Tokat has advised numerous clients on a broad range of strategic advisory assignments and transactions exceeding $200 billion in value across developed and emerging markets. He serves on the Board of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and is a member of the Global Leadership Council at The Brookings Institution. Mr. Tokat is also a vice chair of the Child Health Initiative under the Office of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Financing the Health Millennium Development Goals. Mr. Tokat received his BA from Bogazici University and MA from Columbia.
Job Titles:
- Director of Servers & Applications
Job Titles:
- Director, IT Client Services
Job Titles:
- CTO, Associate Dean for Information Technology
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- Managing Director at Perceptive Advisors
- Managing Director at Perceptive Advisors / Board Member of MeiraGTx, Kindbody, and Partner Therapeutics
Ellen Hukkelhoven is a managing director at Perceptive Advisors, a leading health care investment firm. She focuses on public and private development-stage therapeutic companies. Ellen serves on the boards of MeiraGTx, Kindbody, and Partner Therapeutics. Prior to Perceptive, Ellen received her PhD in Cancer Biology from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. During her tenure at MSKCC, she founded and built the life sciences division of InSITE, a top graduate fellowship program that helps early-stage companies with their most pressing needs. This program includes students across various Columbia University graduate programs. Ellen graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with degrees in molecular biology and finance.
Job Titles:
- Director, IRG - Central Team Lead
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- General Counsel of Raytheon Technologies
Frank R. Jimenez leads the Office of General Counsel of Raytheon Technologies, where he oversees a variety of legal and regulatory affairs, including corporate governance and transactions, ethics and compliance, litigation, contracts, and intellectual property. His career includes legal leadership positions in military agencies, civil government, and public companies in the private sector. Most recently he was vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of Raytheon Company prior to its merger with United Technologies Corporation in 2020. Jimenez previously served as general counsel of three S&P 500 Companies: ITT Corp., Xylem Inc., and Bunge Ltd. Before that, he served as the 21st General Counsel of the Navy, where he was one of seven U.S. Senate-confirmed Pentagon civilians of four-star equivalent rank overseeing the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. He was also the deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense, chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and deputy chief of staff and acting general counsel to the governor of Florida. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Miami, a juris doctorate degree from Yale Law School, an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a master's degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.
Gabriel Galindo, DrPH '09, MPH, CHES, serves as senior public information representative for University of California, San Diego's AntiViral Research Center and an adjunct assistant professor with the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University. Throughout his public health career, Galindo has worked in the field of HIV prevention and policy research. His research explores best practices to combat the health disparities and social justice inequities faced by ethno-racial, gender, and sexual minority communities within the United States.
During his postdoctoral fellowship at University of California, San Francisco, Galindo initiated a qualitative study to examine the intersection of culture, identity, and behaviors among Latino sexual minorities. This study was honored with the 2012 Innovative Dissemination Award by the school's Community Advisory Board.
During his time at the Mailman School, Galindo was president of the Public Health Doctoral Students Association. His efforts to unite students across departments was recognized by the Office of Student Affairs and he was named co-recipient of the Bernard Challenor Spirit Prize upon graduating in 2009-the first time the award was given to a doctoral student since its inception. He is also a member of the Mailman Alumni Board.
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio / Dean 's Office
- Founding Director of the HERCULES Exposome Research Center at Emory University
- Professor of Environmental Health Sciences ( in Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics )
- Vice Dean for Research Strategy and Innovation / Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
Gary W. Miller, PhD, Vice Dean for Research Strategy and Innovation, oversees Columbia Mailman Corporate Partnerships. Dr. Miller has an extensive history with industry partners, including several leading pharmaceutical and technology companies.
Dr. Miller moved to Columbia University in 2018 after 16 years at Emory University. Dr. Miller is the founding director of the HERCULES Exposome Research Center at Emory University, the first exposome-based research center in the U.S. He authored the first book on the topic, The Exposome: A Primer. His research focuses on environmental drivers of neurodegeneration. In his vice dean role, Dr. Miller partners with faculty to further their research success and serves as a catalyst to propel interdisciplinary work throughout the School.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor of Health Communications at Hunter College
Hannah Rosenzweig, MPH ‘05, is a health communications consultant, documentary filmmaker, and a member of the Mailman Alumni Board. She is currently working with New York City's Executive Deputy Commissioner of Health and First Lady Chirlane McCray on a citywide mental health initiative called "Roadmap to Mental Health for All NYC." Since serving as Hillary Clinton's personal videographer and producing many videos and television ads for her 2007-2008 presidential campaign, Rosenzweig has directed strategic media for leading women politicians including United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's Off the Sidelines campaign and United States Senator Barbara Mikulski. Rosenzweig has also produced media for health nonprofit organizations and government campaigns about issues of food policy, overdose prevention, and refugee rights.
Rosenzweig has served as a senior fellow and adjunct professor of Health Communications at Hunter College. From 2011-2014, she was a senior fellow at Hunter's Center for Health, Media, and Policy, where she conducted media trainings and moderated events about the role of media and film in shaping health policy.
Before media, Rosenzweig worked as a researcher and community health worker with a focus on HIV/AIDS. She was a research associate at the Urban Health Study, University of California, San Francisco, and the California Department of Health Services. She holds a MPH in Sociomedical Sciences from the Mailman School and a BA in History from Oberlin College.
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean, Career & Professional Development
Heather (she/her) has 24+ years' experience in career development. She is co-author of the book 101+ Careers in Public Health, (3rd Ed) and also wrote Jobs That Matter: Find a Stable, Fulfilling Career in Public Service. She has worked at the University of Washington and CUNY, and as an executive coach and recruiter. She holds a PhD in public health from Maastricht University, an MS in Nonprofit Management from the New School, and EdM from Teachers College Columbia University. The title of her doctoral dissertation was "Public Health Graduates in the United States: Employment Outcomes and Employer Demand," and she has published several journal articles on the public health workforce. She is a Certified MBTI Practitioner, Diversity Recruiter, and Employment Interview Professional, and serves on the National Consortium for Public Health Workforce Development.
Henryne Tobias has 20+ years' experience in career development with a specialization in health-related careers. Prior to joining the Mailman School of Public Health, Henryne was a Career Counselor at Pace University and Adjunct Pre-Health Post Baccalaureate Advisor at Hunter College. For 13 years, she founded and led a project called ExploreHealthCareers.org, designed to motivate and inspire students to pursue a broad range of health care careers. She earned a Master of Education degree from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director at C - Bridge Capital
- President & CFO of Everest Medicines / Managing Director at C - Bridge Capital
Ian Woo is a managing director at C-Bridge Capital, a health care-dedicated private equity firm focused on growth and late-stage investment opportunities with $1.7 billion under management. Ian is also the president and CFO of Everest Medicines, a biopharma platform started by C-Bridge Capital that is focused on bringing innovative medicines to Greater China and Asia emerging markets across four therapeutic areas: oncology, infectious disease, renal & immunology, and CNS. Previously, Ian was a managing director in the global health care group at Lazard, one of the world's premier financial advisory and asset management firms. He worked with numerous global biopharma companies and led Lazard's healthcare efforts in Greater China. Ian joined Lazard in 2005 and was based in New York, other than from 2012 to 2016, when he worked in the firm's Hong Kong office. Ian holds a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, a master's degree in molecular and cellular biology from Columbia University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and a bachelor's degree in biology from Tufts University. Ian was also a student at Harvard University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and conducted research at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he was an author on multiple published papers.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Igor Kirman is a partner in the Corporate Department at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he focuses on mergers and acquisitions, activism and takeover defense, corporate governance, private equity, shareholder activism, and general corporate matters. Mr. Kirman is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and has written articles in numerous professional publications on topics relating to mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance. He has been frequently recognized for achievement by professional organizations such as Chambers USA, New York Superlawyers, Who's Who Legal, and Best Lawyers in America. He was twice named as Dealmaker of the Year by American Lawyer (2006 and 2015). Mr. Kirman is the author of a book, M&A and Private Equity Confidentiality Agreements (Thomson Reuters). He is the chair of the Practising Law Institute's annual "Doing Deals" program in New York and teaches a course on M&A as an adjunct at Columbia Law School. Mr. Kirman received a BA in ethics, politics, and economics, magna cum laude, from Yale University in 1993 and a JD from Columbia Law School in 1996. He is involved in a number of civic institutions, including as a member of the Advisory Board of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, a trustee of the Trinity School, and a director of Renew Democracy Initiatives (RDI).
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to Dean Fried
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Founder, National Advisory Board for Health Policy and Management
James (Jim) Harden served for over 15 years as the founding chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and is now chair emeritus. He also created two doctoral fellowship funds for the history of medicine and public health. As a 1983 alumnus of the School's Health Policy and Management Program, Jim was a leader in the creation of the National Advisory Board for Health Policy and Management. He is also a 1978 graduate of Columbia Business School.
Having served the maximum term of twelve years as a trustee of Columbia University, Jim is now trustee emeritus. He served as chair of the Board's Nominating and Governance Committee, as well as a member of the Finance Committee and the Health Sciences Committee. A retired health care executive, Jim served a total of 30 years at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. For nine years until his retirement, Jim was the CEO of Catholic Health Services on Long Island, the second largest nongovernmental employer in the region.
Jason Friesen, MPH '12, founder and director of Trek Medics International, and his team secured a $250,000 seed grant from Google.org(link is external and opens in a new window) to continue developing a text message-based emergency telecommunications system that will serve as a "9-1-1" call system for two pilot projects for communities in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Trek Medics is a nonprofit startup based in New York City that seeks to improve emergency medical systems in developing countries without reliable access to formal ambulance services.
A paramedic by trade, Friesen has over ten years of experience working in international development in Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Before starting Trek Medics, he served as Haiti country director for Project HOPE.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of Clarify Health Solutions
Jean Drouin, MD, is the founder and CEO of Clarify Health Solutions, which enables health systems, payers, and life sciences organizations to deliver more satisfying and efficient care through advanced analytics, machine learning, and digital care optimization solutions. Prior to Clarify, Jean was a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, where his roles included leading the global Healthcare IT and Digital Practice, setting up the UK and Australian Healthcare Practices, and serving as the founding Head of McKinsey Advanced Healthcare Analytics (MAHA). He also served as Head of Strategy for NHS London, which oversaw London's $15 billion hospital and primary care system. In these roles, he served over 20 countries and 100 health systems and payers on engagements that generated over $1 billion in efficiency and quality improvements. Jean is passionate about transforming health care delivery across the continuum of care. He has written and spoken extensively on value-based care, population health, new payment models, and the role of big data and analytics in delivering better outcomes. Jean holds MD and MBA degrees from Stanford and an AB in Molecular Biology from Princeton. He is the former vice-chair of Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific.
Job Titles:
- Medical Student, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Jennifer Gates Nassar, a Seattle native, began her medical journey at Stanford University with a degree in Human Biology, specializing in Child and Adolescent Development. In 2019, she moved to New York to begin her Medical Degree (MD) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Jennifer is committed to contributing to the field of pediatrics, both clinically as a physician and through broader children's health equity and philanthropic initiatives. During a scholarly year from her MD program, she received her Masters of Public Health Degree in 2023 from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. After matriculation from her MD program in 2024, Jennifer plans to utilize the education and knowledge garnered at the Mailman School to enhance her clinical practice during and beyond medical residency
Job Titles:
- President of the Mailman Foundation
Jody Mailman Wolfe is the president of the Mailman Foundation. Retired after nearly 25 years in professional law enforcement, Ms. Wolfe has served on a number of nonprofit boards in New York and Miami with a range of interests, including child welfare, foster care, substance abuse prevention, independent school education, and the arts. Ms. Wolfe has long been involved in higher education and currently serves on the Board of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni based in Washington, DC. In addition to Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the Mailman Foundation has also been an important benefactor to institutions such as the Mailman Research Center in Psychobiology at Harvard's McLean Hospital in Massachusetts, the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
John LaDuca, Senior Director, Digital Strategy: jl4501@cumc.columbia.edu
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner of Equable Capital
- Founding Partner of Equable Capital / Member of the Council of Foreign Relations
Jonathan Smidt is the founding partner of Equable Capital, a New York-based private investment firm. Until May 2018, Jonathan was a Partner in KKR's private equity practice in both London and New York, where he spent the previous 18 years. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Smidt was at Goldman Sachs in New York and Ernst and Young in Cape Town, South Africa. Mr. Smidt holds a B. Bus. Sci. and GDA from the University of Cape Town. He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and serves on the board of Team Rubicon.
Job Titles:
- Investor
- Managing Director of Serious Change L.P
Josh Mailman is an active investor in the most game-changing for-profit and nonprofit enterprises he can find. He believes we must assist in advancing a reimagining of how finance can advance positive societal change. Currently, Mr. Mailman is Managing Director of Serious Change L.P., a $70 million impact investment vehicle started in 2006. Serious Change invests in early-stage companies committed to environmental sustainability, diversity, advancing social justice, and meeting human needs. He also founded Social Venture Network with Wayne Silby of Calvert Group in 1987 as well as the Threshold Foundation (1981) and Business for Social Responsibility (1992). Mr. Mailman's other nonprofit board activities include Echoing Green, the Fund for Global Human Rights, and the Calvert Foundation.
Julie Fisher Cummings, MSSW, presently serves as chair of the Board for the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. Ms. Cummings' work bridges academia, public service, and policy reform. She has dedicated over 40 years to civic leadership locally and nationally through her positions, amongst them: Corporation for National and Community Service (presidential appointee), Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health (Board), The Promise Fund (cofounder with Nancy Brinker), The Lord's Place (Board), Jewish Federation for the Palm Beaches (former campaign chair, women's philanthropy), Jewish Women's Foundation for the Palm Beaches (founding trustee), Center for High Impact Philanthropy, UPENN (Advisory Board), and the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation. She is the cofounder of Lovelight Fund and the Florida Women's Funding Alliance.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Health Policy and Aging at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Dr. John Rowe is Julius B. Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Previously he served as chairman and CEO of Aetna, Inc., president and chief executive officer of Mount Sinai NYU Health, the Mount Sinai Hospital, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Before joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Rowe was a professor of medicine and the founding director of the Division on Aging at Harvard Medical School. He led the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Aging and currently leads the Foundation's Network on An Aging Society. Dr. Rowe is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and Stephen Smith Professor
Administrative Contact: Yasmin Davis (yj12@cumc.columbia.edu
Job Titles:
- Chairman and Cynthia and Robert Citron - Roslyn and Leslie Goldstein Professor
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations
Ms. Sobel serves as Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations and oversees the management of the Columbia Mailman Board of Advisors. Ms. Sobel has held several executive leadership roles within educational, international development, community foundations, and healthcare non-profit organizations. Prior to arriving at Columbia, Ms. Sobel was Vice President for Principal and Major Gifts at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard teaching hospital, for seventeen years growing fundraising from $8M to $85M annually. Ms. Sobel has also held leadership positions at the Boston Foundation, Greater Boston's community foundation, Facing History and Ourselves, an international teacher training organization, and CARE, an international relief organization. Ms. Sobel spent her childhood in NYC. Ms. Sobel graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a degree in Economics and received her MBA from Northeastern University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Special Events
Leonard Tow - CEO, Chairman, Founder
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chief Executive Officer
- Founder
- Founder and Chairman of the Tow Foundation
Leonard Tow is the founder and chairman of The Tow Foundation and chief executive officer of New Century Holdings, LLC. Dr. Tow was previously chairman and chief executive officer of Citizens Utilities Company and founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Century Communications Corp., a cable television company. Dr. Tow was also the founder and director of Centennial Cellular Corp. He graduated from Brooklyn College and holds doctoral and master's degrees from Columbia University, and has taught economics and economics geography at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business, Brooklyn College, and Hunter College. Dr. Tow also served for several years as distinguished adjunct professor at New York University's School of Business. Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and the University of New Haven have awarded Dr. Tow Doctorates of Humane Letters. Dr. Tow serves on the boards of several organizations, including Lincoln Center Theater, Educational Broadcasting Corp., and The Tow Foundation. He is a trustee of Brooklyn College Foundation, a senior advisor of the Board of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and is also a director of AMC Networks.
Job Titles:
- Partner at Generation Investment Management
Lila Preston is a partner at Generation Investment Management, a global investment management firm focused on long-term sustainable investing (www.generationim.com), where she joined in 2004. At Generation, she coheads the firm's growth equity strategy, helping to scale sustainable solutions businesses. Prior to joining Generation, Lila was a director of finance and development at VolunteerMatch in San Francisco, and also a consultant for clients such as Save the Children (YouthNoise). Prior to joining VolunteerMatch, she was a Fulbright Fellow in Southern Chile, where she worked on community-based forestry and conservation projects. Lila graduated with honors from Stanford University with a BA in English and Latin American Studies. She also received an MBA from the London Business School. Lila is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Lila speaks fluent Spanish. Lila serves as a Board Director for CiBO Technologies, Recyclebank, and Seventh Generation's Social Mission Board, as well as Board Observer for Optoro and Toast.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Executive Vice President of Customer Experience at Becton Dickinson
Linda Tharby is Executive Vice President of Customer Experience at Becton Dickinson (BD). She leads a cross-company Global Customer Experience Council, comprised of leaders from across the functions, regions and businesses that focuses on a prioritized view of customers' needs that shape the company's value offers and ongoing process improvements. Ms. Tharby has served in every aspect of the BD matrix as a regional, business and functional leader. She began her BD career as a key account manager and later served as Country General Manager for Canada. She held several business leadership roles, including worldwide President, Diabetes Care, and Group President, Pre-analytical Systems and Biosciences, before leading the Life Sciences Segment as Segment President.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief of Staff & Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives
Job Titles:
- Member of the Health Policy and Management Team
Job Titles:
- Board Member of the 92nd Street YMHA, the N.Y. Road Runners, and the Emelin Theatre
Martin Oppenheimer practiced law for more than 50 years at the Proskauer firm. He specialized in labor and employment law representing Fortune 500 companies, served as chair of the labor and employment department of the firm and lectured and wrote extensively in his field. Most of his time is now spent in the not-for-profit arena, including serving as Board Member of the 92nd Street YMHA, the N.Y. Road Runners, and the Emelin Theatre, and as emeritus chairman of City Center of Music and Drama and director emeritus of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Mr. Oppenheimer graduated from Yale Law School and attended Goethe University in Germany as a Fulbright Scholar.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology Reproductive Medicine at Yale University / Managing Director of Golden Seeds / Founder of the Eritrean Women 's Project
Mary Lake Polan served as the chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Stanford's School of Medicine and is currently a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology Reproductive Medicine at Yale University. Dr. Polan served on the board of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and currently serves on the boards of Quidel Corp and several privately held life sciences companies. She chairs the Scientific Advisory Board on Women's Health and Hygiene for Proctor & Gamble and several other advisory boards of private life sciences companies. She is a managing director of Golden Seeds, an angel investing group which invests in women-led companies. A member of the Institute of Medicine, Dr. Polan has a long-standing interest in women's health research and international public health. She founded The Eritrean Women's Project to repair fistulas resulting from traumatic births. She received her BA from Connecticut College, her PhD in molecular physics and chemistry and MD from Yale, and her MPH from the University of California, Berkeley.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Career Services
Masako (she/her/hers), received an MS in Mental Health Counseling from Walden University in Minneapolis and a BA from Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Japan. Over the past 10 years, prior to joining Columbia Mailman, she worked at the Purchase College State University of New York and the University of Connecticut School of Business, holding several roles including Coordinator of Education Abroad for the Office of International Programs & Services, Career Counselor, and Alumni Career Counselor & Instructor. Prior to her higher education experience, she worked in industry in international business and marketing in IT solutions. Masako is a National Certified Counselor, Professional Coach/Career Coach, Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York, and Certified Professional Resume Writer. She also runs a social skill training group on weekends, especially for people on the spectrum.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Health Policy and Management Team
Job Titles:
- Vice Dean for Education / Associate Professor of Epidemiology
Dr. Joseph is a highly regarded teacher and curricular innovator, whose educational contributions and approach have been recognized locally, nationally and internationally. Dr. Joseph provides academic guidance for the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health's education portfolio, which enrolls more than 1400 students from around the world in doctoral and master's degree programs. As Vice Dean, he leads the Columbia MPH and directs a range of support services, including admissions and financial aid, student affairs, and career services.
Administrative Contact: Emily Kimberl (ek3268@cumc.columbia.edu
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner of Schulte Roth & Zabel
Mr. William Zabel is a founding partner of Schulte Roth & Zabel and head of its Individual Client Services Group. He has received numerous recognitions, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from The American Lawyer, the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Human Rights Award, Brandeis' Distinguished Community Service Award, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Extraordinary Leader Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Prize. Mr. Zabel is a member of the American Law Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations, a Fellow of Brandeis University, American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, and the American Bar Foundation. His civic and philanthropic activities have included chair of Human Rights First, life trustee of NYU, The New School, Princeton University Planned Giving Committee, Lincoln Center Theatre, American Academy of Poets, and the Sakharov Archives. Mr. Zabel is recognized as one of the country's most outstanding Trust & Estates lawyers. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University and cum laude from Harvard Law School.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Board Member of PepsiCo
Ms. Dina Dublon is a board member of PepsiCo and TRowe Price Group and is a member of IAQC at EY U.S. She is cochair of Columbia University Herbert Irving Cancer Center Advisory Council, and chair of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health's Board of Advisors. She served on the supervisory board of Deutsche Bank 2013-2018, on the boards of Accenture 2002-2017 and Microsoft 2005-2014, and on the faculty of Harvard Business School 2011-2012. She was cochair of the Women's Refugee Commission and on the board of Global Fund for Women. Ms. Dublon was, until the end of 2004, EVP and CFO of JPMorgan Chase, responsible for global financial management and related operations, strategy and acquisitions, corporate treasury, tax, and investor relations. She played a key role in negotiations and merger integration of Chemical Bank with Manufacturers Hanover, Chase, JPMorgan, and Bank One.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Member of the Board of Advisors at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Nancy Mesch Turrett is an innovator in generative leadership and health engagement.
Ms. Turrett has been with APCO Worldwide since 2019, where she is a member of the Global Leadership Team and serves as the firm's first Chief Health Strategist, advising clients across industries on strategies that advance health, enterprise and society.
Ms. Turrett established her WholeView consultancy in 2013 to focus on global health, working with World Bank Group, United Nations, MDG Alliance, World Health Organization, Roll Back Malaria, We Own TV, C(ancer)-Change, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, International Vaccine Institute, Rockefeller Foundation, BCG, Merck, and Omnicom.
In two decades at Edelman, Ms. Turrett built the communication industry's pace-setting health practice, forging deep relationships with clients and partners worldwide. She was the founding leader of signal firm-wide initiatives for thought leadership and IP, global practices, strategic programming, global citizenship, and service excellence; and managed major operations in the US, Canada, and Latin America.
Since 2007, Ms. Turrett has been a member of the Board of Advisors at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, where she is a Chair of the Enterprise Strategy Committee. Ms. Turrett is also a member of the Advisory Board for Project HEAL, and previous board/committee work includes the World Economic Forum's Global Education Initiative, American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, NYU's Center for Aging and Dementia, Resolve Fertility Association, and her alma mater, Princeton University.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Director for Field Practice
Nery Gonzalez, MPH, LMSW has over 20 years professional experience working in the fields of public health and social work, focusing on programs supporting children, adolescents and their families. She is the Administrative Director for Field Practice within the Office of Careers and Practice and is an alumna of the Mailman School of Public Health. Nery coordinates the Puerto Rico Interpofessional Education Fellowship, and assists students in exploring practicum and other fellowship learning opportunities that contribute to their public health training. She provides administrative support in facilitating practicum stipends and Scope of Work related issues.
Nicole Cushman(link is external and opens in a new window), MPH '11, was named executive director of Answer(link is external and opens in a new window), a national organization that provides sexuality education and training to teachers and other professionals serving youth and adults. Cushman has almost 15 years of experience as an educator and trainer in the sexual and reproductive health field. She has also helped to affect change in sexuality education policies and programs nationwide. As executive director, Cushman oversees the organization's education programs, fundraising, and finances.
Prior to her role at Answer, she served as director of education for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Early in her career she worked with teens and parents as a sexuality educator in the San Francisco Bay Area, and recently published a peer-reviewed journal article on promising sexuality education programs across the United States.
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Coordinator to Dean Fried
Job Titles:
- Board Member at Accenture, Bristol Myers Squibb, Western Digital and DaVita
Paula A. Price was EVP and chief financial officer of Macy's Inc. from July 2018 to May 2020 and currently serves as advisor to the renowned retailer. Price has been a visiting executive with Harvard Business School since July 2018, and was a full-time senior lecturer of business administration in the Accounting and Management Unit, having joined the faculty in July 2014. Until January 2014, Price was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Ahold USA, which she joined in 2009. At Ahold, Price was responsible for finance, accounting, and shared services; strategy and planning; real estate development and construction; and information technology. Price transformed the finance function; delivered a $1 billion cost-savings program to fund strategic growth initiatives; and led a team of over 1,000. Prior to joining Ahold, Price was senior vice president, controller, and chief accounting officer for CVS Caremark Corporation, and a key player in the $26 billion CVS/Caremark merger transaction. Previously, Price worked in the financial services industry at JP Morgan Chase and Prudential Insurance Co. of America; and in the consumer packaged goods industry at Diageo and Kraft Foods. Price began her career as an intern in public accounting at Arthur Andersen & Co. before joining full-time with clients that spanned financial services, consumer packaged goods, and health care. Price currently serves as an independent director for public, private, and not-for-profit companies. Today, she serves on the boards of the following publicly traded companies: Accenture, chairing its Audit Committee; Bristol Myers Squibb; Western Digital; and DaVita. Prior to her role as CFO of Macy's, Inc., she also served on the boards of Dollar General, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and Metropolitan College of New York. Price was previously board chair of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts. She is a qualified audit committee financial expert as defined by the SEC and a certified public accountant. Price's career includes senior-level finance, general management, and strategy roles based in New York, Boston, London, and Chicago in the retail, financial services, health care, and consumer packaged goods industries. Price earned her MBA in Finance and Strategy from the University of Chicago and her BSc in Accountancy from DePaul University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice
- Founder and Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice / Member of the National Black Environmental Justice Network
Peggy Shepard is cofounder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice and has a long history of organizing and engaging Northern Manhattan residents in community-based planning and campaigns to address environmental protection and environmental health policy locally and nationally. She has successfully combined grassroots organizing, environmental advocacy, and environmental health community-based participatory research to become a national leader in advancing environmental policy and the perspective of environmental justice in urban communities-to ensure that the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment extends to all. She serves on the Executive Committee of the National Black Environmental Justice Network and the Board of Advisors of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and was the first female chair of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her work has received broad recognition: the Jane Jacobs Medal from the Rockefeller Foundation for Lifetime Achievement, the 10th Annual Heinz Award For the Environment, the Dean's Distinguished Service Award from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and honorary doctorates from Smith College and Lawrence University.
Perri Peltz is a documentary filmmaker, journalist, and public health advocate who most recently directed the HBO documentary Warning: This Drug May Kill You, about the opioid addiction epidemic. She also coproduced and codirected the HBO documentary Risky Drinking, a no-holds-barred look at alcohol use. She codirected "A Conversation About Growing Up Black" as part of the "Conversation on Race" series for The New York Times op-docs. Other films include HBO's Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro, Sr., The Education of Dee Dee Ricks, Prison Dogs, and A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers. Perri hosts The Perri Peltz Show and Doctor Radio Reports for the SiriusXM satellite network. Before working in documentary films, Perri was an award-winning broadcast journalist for NBC, ABC, and CNN. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and attended Brown University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of the Mailman Foundation
- Vice President of the Mailman Foundation / Vice President of the Joshua Mailman Foundation
Phyllis Mailman attended Radcliffe College and is vice president of the Mailman Foundation and the Joshua Mailman Foundation. She and her late husband, Joseph L. Mailman, were principal donors to the Mailman Research Center at the McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, and to the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami. In 1998, the Mailman Foundation made a generous gift to name the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. In addition to sitting on the Board of Advisors for the Mailman School, Mrs. Mailman is also on the board of Lincoln Center Theatre.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of FoodShot Global
- Investor and Strategic Advisor
Rajiv Singh is an investor and strategic advisor in the food and agribusiness sector, serving corporations, funds, entrepreneurs, and professionals with a focus on innovation, value creation, and corporate finance. He serves as the cochairperson for FoodShot Global, a moonshot-style challenge program he helped found, designed to address key problems in the food sector to make it more healthy, sustainable, and equitable. He formerly served as CEO of Rabobank North America, where he established deep relationships with leaders, owners, and management at companies in the food, agribusiness, commodities, and energy sectors, collaborating with them in investments, financing, capital markets, and corporate transformation transactions. As CEO, Rajiv was responsible for corporate banking, private equity and venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, specialized products, food and agribusiness research, and capital markets activities, as well as all operational and support functions. He launched a number of innovation platforms while at the bank, focused on addressing challenges in the food sector. He has been the chair or member of principal risk committees focused on equity, credit, compliance, and reputation. As a special focus on food sector innovation, he led the launch of platforms like Foodbytes and MIT Food Prize (pitch competitions in the food and agribusiness sectors), and Terra (a science and technology-focused accelerator program for food/ag entrepreneurs with large corporates as sector partners). Prior to Rabobank, Rajiv had a career in investment banking and special situations investing at Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse and in corporate strategy and project operations at United Technologies and Nestle, Rajiv is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology and Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Health Policy and Management Team
- Ex - Officio
Job Titles:
- Senior Minister Emeritus of the Riverside Church / President of the Healing of the Nations Foundation
The Rev. Dr. James Alexander Forbes, Jr., is senior minister emeritus of The Riverside Church and president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation. Forbes, who was installed as the fifth senior minister of Riverside on June 1, 1989, and retired on June 1, 2007, was the first African-American to serve as senior minister of this multicultural congregation. He is an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches and the Original United Holy Church of America. He earned a doctor of ministry degree from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School, a master of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary, and a BA from Howard University, and has received numerous honorary degrees.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of AdaptHealth ( AHCO ) Executive Chairman of the Oncology Institute / Founder of RAB Ventures, LLC
Richard A. Barasch is chairman of AdaptHealth (AHCO), a leading HME and medical supplies provider; executive chairman of CareMax(CMAX), a value-based primary care provider; and executive chairman of The Oncology Institute, a value-based oncology provider. He is also the founder of RAB Ventures, LLC, which invests in growth health care companies. Portfolio companies include HouseWorks, LLC (private pay home health care), as chairman; and ELMC Risk Management (MGU for employer medical stop-loss) as cochairman. Richard was chairman and CEO of Universal American until its sale to WellCare Health Plans in April 2017. Universal American worked collaboratively with health care professionals, especially primary care physicians, to improve the health and well-being of Medicare beneficiaries and reduce unnecessary health care costs. Richard is chair of the Advisory Board of the Health Policy and Management program at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and board member of Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. Richard is a graduate of Swarthmore College (1976) and Columbia University Law School (1979) where he was an editor of the Columbia Law Review.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Health Policy and Management Team
Job Titles:
- Interim Chair and Professor
Administrative Contact: Sara Sternglass: (ss3808@cumc.columbia.edu
Job Titles:
- Population and Family Health
Job Titles:
- Executive Director for Public Partnerships
- Vice Dean for Finance and Administration Executive Director for Public Partnerships
Job Titles:
- Member of the Health Policy and Management Team
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President of Innovation at the Partnership for NYC
- Senior Vice President, Innovation, Partnership Fund for New York City
As Senior Vice President of Innovation at the Partnership for NYC, Stacey Matlen partners with New York governmental agencies to understand their challenges and recruits innovative solutions to solve these challenges. Of note, she oversees two programs with missions to make New York the global leader in transportation and water, The Transit Tech Lab and The Environmental Tech Lab. Through the Transit Tech Lab, Stacey works with the four of the largest transit agencies in North America to make their systems more accessible, responsive, efficient, and resilient. Through the Environmental Tech Lab, launched in May 2023, in partnership with New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Stacey works to enable the largest municipal water/wastewater utility in the country to source, pilot, and evaluate new technologies to better prepare and respond to the impacts of climate change.
Stacey has a public sector, startup, and public health background: she led multiple initiatives with the City of Detroit's Office of Mobility Innovation and founded an award-winning startup that increased healthy food access for low-income residents. Stacey holds a Master's in Public Health and a Bachelor's degree with high distinction from the University of Michigan.
Stacey has been recognized by Crain's New York 40 under 40, City & State New York Power Transportation 100, and Crain's Detroit 20 in their 20s.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications / Media Relations
Job Titles:
- Manager, IT Operations & Support
Job Titles:
- Venture Partner at Easton Capital Investment Group
Thomas Campbell Jackson is a Venture Partner at Easton Capital Investment Group. He has over 25 years of experience in health policy and health economics, including as Director of New York City's Employee Health Benefits Program, which arranges health coverage for over a million city employees and retirees. He has worked in think tanks and consulted on health policy and insurance matters. Mr. Jackson has served on the Board of Directors of Nanotronics Imaging; Cell Machines, Inc.; and other tech startups, and is also an active producer of works in film and theatre. He serves on the Board of Governors of the New York Academy of Sciences, the Board of Directors of the Galen Institute, and the boards of numerous arts and sciences organizations, including Imaginal Disc Productions and the Bellevue Literary Press. He is also President of the Brandt Jackson Foundation. Mr. Jackson received his MPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; studied at the Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany; and earned a BA from Tufts University.
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean
- Chief Communications Officer
Ms. Gowda is a strategic communications and advocacy professional with more than 20 years' experience in the public and private sectors, focusing on initiatives to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable and underserved populations around the world. She started her career as a reporter in Washington DC, covering Capitol Hill and national affairs. Vanita earned her MPA from Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs and earned her BA from the College of William & Mary.
Job Titles:
- Center Director
- Director and John Snow Professor of Epidemiology and Professor of Neurology and Pathology and Cell Biology
Job Titles:
- Director, Strategic Engagement & Project Management
Job Titles:
- Vice Dean for Faculty / Professor, Biostatistics
Dr. Cheung joined the faculty of Biostatistics at Columbia Mailman in 2000 and has since served on numerous department-level and school-level initiatives. In his role as Vice Dean for Faculty, Dr. Cheung oversees the faculty hiring plan, recruitment, mentoring, promotion, and tenure process across the Mailman School; he strives to promote a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion across the faculty community. He was the founding Director of Pharmaceutical Statistics track in Biostatistics; chaired the school-wide Precision Public Health Taskforce; and led the FORWARD action corps on faculty/staff recruitment and retention. He is a recipient of IBM Faculty Award on Big Data and Analytics. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, and a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Career Services
Yuliya Mykhaylovska earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University. Prior to joining Mailman, she led early career talent programs and hired top tech talent for portfolio companies of Greylock. At Stanford in New York, she managed the internship program, focusing on student career advising, professional development, employer relations, and alumni engagement. Prior to her role at Stanford, she was a platform manager at Lerer Hippeau, a seed-focused venture capital fund. Yuliya worked in business development, sales, and project management roles across three NYC-based startups (spanning pre-seed to Series B to Series E).
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Yvonne Ortiz has a breadth of experience in higher education, serving in student affairs, program review, and teaching roles at diverse higher education institutions. For 30 years, Yvonne has led and coached institutions on building diversity, equity and belonging and how to improve success for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, led dynamic teams, guided strategic planning, facilitated professional learning for equity-minded practice; and created a culture of evidence for reaffirmation of accreditation.