GIANT - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Director General, Global Immunization Action Network Team, Voting Member Representing the USA

A dynamic, creative, and results-driven professional with over 15 years of work experience and with unique leadership and management career leading in WHO and UNICEF. Assisted strengthening of the immunization program, VPD, and integrated disease surveillance and responses. Designed and developed monitoring tools, implementing, and consolidating, analyzing, and interpreting disease surveillance and EPI data. Coordinated with the health promotion unit to plan advocacy programs, design health education materials, developing and dissemination of immunization messages throughout the country. Supported the regional public health offices in planning, preparing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating routine immunization and supplemental immunization activities to interrupt transmission of polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Supported the regional offices in conducting training, orientation, and social mobilization for vaccine-preventable disease surveillance. She is a fully certified on Comprehensive Training for Promotion of Vaccine Demand to Maintain and Restore Routine Immunization and Promote COVID-19 Vaccination by the WHO, CDC,.UNICEF and GAVI. As a medical doctor/ General Practitioner she worked in the referral hospitals and private health facilities. She provided patient care, delivery service, minor surgical procedures, Tuberculosis, HIV/ AIDS prevention, and care. She managed the preventive and curative health services in the outpatient department. Through her national career in clinical practice, Dr. Zahra worked in the Ministry of Public Health at different levels and served as Head of Control and Prevention of Communicable Diseases in the zonal health department. She was involved in the prevention and control of major epidemic diseases in the zone, control of endemic disease, provision of MCH and family planning, immunization services, and integrated disease surveillance. She speaks and writes fluent English, Amharic, and Russian languages and has good communication and presentation skills. She has vast national & international experience in immunization and polio eradication programs. She worked in culturally sensitive and politically unstable countries (Afghanistan, Somalia, Nigeria, and Pakistan). She is very bold and dedicated to public health work irrespective of the hardships.

Job Titles:

• Director of Scientific Education

Dr. Leah Johnson is a Clinical Hepatitis B Vaccine Educator and works with providers and their teams to inform on the most up-to-date information on the 2 dose Hepatitis B vaccine. She is also an accomplished, highly driven clinical Long-Term Care & Rehabilitation pharmacist, with primary focus in pain, mental health (depression, anxiety, Insomnia, etc.) and sexual health medication management. She also holds 3 patents (under the name: Leah Haibi) for natural herbal remedy tinctures, which she helped develop as the Head of Research & Development for an herbal supplement company. Dr. Johnson has come to understand that complete physical & mental health and well-being can be influenced by the utilization of all types of medication, including herbal remedies and supplements, in conjunction with pharmaceutical medications. She believes that most patients are given too many and inappropriate prescription medications, while not being offered the knowledge for utilizing effective herbals and supplements to reduce pill burden. She also holds the opinion that many patients are unable to get full relief of their ailments due to the missing components in their medication regimens. In an effort to improve the overall health and well-being of patients, Dr. Johnson works with patients and their healthcare providers, from all over the country, to reduce the amount of medications taken, alter timing and dosing of medications to improve effectiveness, and identify medications which could be causing issues. Dr. Johnson holds a Doctorate degree in Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, as well as certifications as a Diabetes and Immunization Trainer from the American Pharmacist Association.

Job Titles:

• Deputy Director of Public Affairs

I have a BSc (Political Science) University of Nigeria, Nsukka, am an Infodemic Manager, Communication Specialist, Journalist and Sign Language Consultant. Deputy Director Public Affairs at Giant (Global Immunization Action Networking Team), California and Media/Communications Manager at Sign It Communications LTD, Nigeria. I graduated from the 3rd WHO Infodemic Management Class of the Fall 2021, Member of the Association of Sign Language Interpreters in Nigeria, Chairman Training Committee, Association of Sign Language Interpreters in Nigeria, Member World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (Africa). Worked as Sign Language Consultant and Radio/TV program host at Human Rights Radio and TV, Nigeria. Volunteered at S-DELI (Save the Deaf and Endangered Languages Initiative). I enjoy working to raise awareness with the public on how they can prevent the transmission of diseases and therefore alleviate untold suffering, misery and have access to interventions that prevent the loss of lives.

Job Titles:

• Professional Social Worker, Security Expert from Dubai Police

Kiyini Jimedine, is a professional social worker, security expert from Dubai Police academy, Abu Dhabi National Security Institute (UAE), and has worked with Uganda Red Cross Society as a support worker with the Stigma Project as a country Ambassador, HIV Hope International as a Peer Educator, AHI-Uganda Co. Founder. He is the founder of Zidan Benevolence, a nonprofit organization with a mission to work towards the elimination of HIV/AIDS stigma and fight against pediatric HIV/AIDS through disease prevention, disease awareness, professional and child education. Mr. Jimedine is also improving the scientific capacity, strengthening the health care and treatment services for women, children, and families. As a community activist, he is trying to drive and innovate people to make positive change through adopting healthier lifestyle behaviors. He steers online and groundbreaking campaigns to end HIV/AIDS and COVID19 stigmatization while also addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and disinformation in Uganda.

Job Titles:

• Director of Special Projects

Job Titles:

• Assistant to Senior Advisor, Marketing Coordinator, Public Affairs Team

I am a student at the University of Arizona enrolled in Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. After understanding the inequities people face due to the challenges in the healthcare system, I decided to go into the emphasis of ' Health Systems Theory and Practice.' I have taken various courses, which include, health economics and policy, public health law and ethics, marketing, and strategic planning. I have a great passion for helping others and I fulfill my passion by volunteering at various non-profits. I have been involved in promoting wellness through education to children and parents in vulnerable situations and promoting vaccination by volunteering at various vaccination sites of COVID-19 at my university and local county facilities. With my previous experience, I have gained executive abilities in the public health area and began to provide my knowledge and skills to the Global Immunization Action Network Team (GIANT). My role in GIANT is to work with over fifty countries globally to bring awareness about immunization/vaccines through education using various communication channels. I have come to understand the importance of battling the current infodemic throughout the world in the endeavor to stop misinformation and disinformation concerning vaccinations, which I have become very enthusiastic about.

Job Titles:

• Chief of Research and Education Operations
• Master of Applied Science

Maysa Ahmed, MD, is a Master of Applied Science graduate from the University of Johns Hopkins, United States, in 2019. Dr. Ahmed is the Chief of Operation of Education and Research in GIANT (Global Immunization Action Network Team). Dr. Ahmed graduated from the University of Gezira School of Medicine. After graduation from medical school in 2002, she got the ERASMUS MUNDUS Scholarship to do an MSc in International Health from Charite- Berlin, UCL-London, and Karolinska Institutet- Stockholm in 2010. Dr. Ahmed enjoyed practicing medicine and public health for several years in Sudan's Ministry of Health and WHO country office for several years. Dr. Ahmed earned her doctorate working on a two-year project, Standard precautions interventional study among health care workers, 2013. Dr. Ahmed served as Public Health regional Coordinator in Saudi Arabia from 2013-2017. She conducted training and orientation workshops for hundreds of HCWs in communicable diseases preventions and control fields. Dr. Ahmed was selected to join the first WHO infodemic managers program, then to join the consultants' rosters since November 2020. Dr. Ahmed Has over 15 years of experience in different fields of epidemiology and public health. She is also an active member of many organizations as, APHA, Iowa Immunize, and member of the Board of director of a local community organization. Dr. Ahmed is passionate about closing the gaps and increasing access to primary health care, including immunizations reducing vaccine hesitancy and health disparities.

Shamiya Nazir is a medical professional who has graduated from Bangladesh Medical College and Hospital with a MBBS degree, obtained an MPH degree from the University of Nottingham and completed an MSc Clinical Skills in Integrative Psychotherapy at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has a diverse range of experience from the hospital to the humanitarian sector to careers and organizations. Recently, she joined GIANT as Director of Research.

Job Titles:

• Director of Training

I am a public health educator from metro Atlanta, Georgia. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Biology concentration Environmental Science and Master of Public Health from Clark Atlanta University and Walden University, respectively. As Director of Training with the Global Immunization Action Network Team (GIANT) Team I assist with intern training and development programming, keep up with developments in area of expertise, and seek to improve individual skills and educational outcomes. With 15 years of experience, I have served as a Lead Analytical Scientist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division, as a Biological Information Technician with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as an Outreach/HIV Tester/Health Educator for the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, and guest lecturer at Clark Atlanta University and Southern Polytechnic State University partnering with the American Liver Foundation and the Grady /Emory Hospital hepatitis support group. In my professional roles I have trained and engaged culturally diverse teams, coordinated with students, community-based organizations, and businesses, promoted compliance and health literacy, facilitated support groups, and advocated for individuals and communities who were temporary displaced, previously incarcerated, drug abusers, or marginalized. I am most passionate about learning, incorporating feedback, awareness, and mentoring.

Job Titles:

• Director of Education

I have always had a passion for health education with a focus on prevention and health promotion. I am currently a student at the University of San Francisco, where I am completing my Master of Public Health degree with a specialization in Community and Public Health Practice. I also hold a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree, with a concentration in Community Health Education from California State East Bay. As an undergraduate I worked as a Peer Advocate for Wellness (PAWS), where I organized programs for the Sexual Health Track within the Student Health Services Center. I also developed the curriculum for the "Sexual Health Condom Cart. This roving campus cart provided sexual health information to student in an easy-to-understand format. I was also instrumental in developing interactive games and interventions for student health fairs that were held on campus twice a year. I have held many administrative positions within healthcare and human resources. My most recent position was working with Alameda County managing the COVID-19 response. Throughout my experiences in school and life, I have learned that public health professionals play a key role in preventing and combating disease within populations. As a current participant in the 3rd World Health Organization's (WHO) Infodemic Manager Training class, I now realized that public health professional can also play a role in preventing the spread of misinformation and disinformation regarding immunizations and attitudes with vaccine hesitancy. I feel passionate that vaccine hesitancy and promotion of health literacy needs to be addressed not only to bring this COVID-19 pandemic under control, but to make sure we are better prepared as a worldwide community to address the next global pandemic and beyond. I plan to use the knowledge gain from my experience with the Global Immunization Action Network Team (GIANT) and WHO Infodemic Manger Training to increase global awareness, promote health literacy and strength healthy behaviors that will guarantee more communities are made aware of the importance of immunization, and scientifically researched and accurate health information. In my free time I am enjoying traveling, reading, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.

Umyeena Bashir is a passionate advocate for public health and health literacy. She has a diverse background in which she has received her bachelor's in applied mathematics and is currently getting her master's in organic chemistry at the University of San Francisco. In her program, she is doing research on developing a library of small molecule derivatives that can be used to design a drug candidate against staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Her research involves predicting possible chemical structures with docking software and synthesizing these molecules in wet labs through organic synthesis techniques.

Veronica Avalos is a WHO Infodemic Manager, a physician trained in public health with professional experience in development for health services organizations, intervention implementation programs, clinical risk assessment and management. She has been involved in scientific collaboration activities within the framework of evaluation of health technologies and the impact of their introduction and distribution in specific contexts, as well as new approaches to health care access, ranging from health communication to the integration of the different professional profiles. Her focus of interest is with the diffusion and strengthening of health promotion, patient education programs through the interaction with patients and professionals from multiple disciplines. Her guiding aim is to drive optimizing the care processes of diseases with the greatest impact on the population's health, and enhancing the quality of the healthcare services provided to the community.

Job Titles:

• Coordinator
• Member of the Leadership Team
• Senior Advisor

William (Bill) Martin Remak, Founded the Global Immunization Action Network Team (GIANT) and now serves as its senior advisor. He is a Medical Technologist and former faculty member of the University of California, San Francisco. Armed with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health Administration from San Francisco State University and a Master of Science in Clinical Science, Remak became a volunteer for the American Liver Foundation (ALF) and after a year joined the Board of Directors at the Northern California Chapter from 1994 through 2002. In close collaboration with the ALF Board and the Medical Advisory Board on advocacy, Remak worked on educational outreach campaigns and facilitated support groups for liver disease for many years. Remak is the founder and CEO of the California Hepatitis C Task Force, current Chairman of the International Association of Hepatitis Task Forces, Emeritus founding board member of the California Chronic Care Coalition (CCCC) in Sacramento. He is Executive Director of the National Working Group on Evidence Based Healthcare in Alexandria, Virginia and serves on the community advisory board to the VA National Hepatitis C Program. Remak sits on the Board of Directors and the community advisory committee of Partnership Health Plan of California, a managed care plan for Medicaid subscribers serving 14 Northern California Counties. He is also a founding senior executive board member and advocacy director of the FAIR Foundation, a national research advocacy and educational organization seeking reforms in our nation's organ transplant policies. Remak is a core advocate for the political action (American For Cures Foundation) that led to the creation of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and sat on the task force that developed its operational strategy. Remak has been an active driver of this research with the Americans for Cures Foundation and is one of its outspoken designated ambassadors. For several years Bill has been a preceptor for Master of Public Health and PhD students doing their internships at the University of San Francisco, School of Nursing and Health Professions. Remak is a cancer survivor, twice received a liver transplant and a diabetic. He is an active member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, now in his 37th year. He is the recipient of the American Liver Foundation- Excellence in Community Outreach and Education Award 2001 and the 2013 and 2016 National Health Pioneer Award for Hepatitis Advocacy from the Georgia Doty HIV and Hepatitis Outreach Foundation, Chicago, IL. As a respected author of articles on patient advocacy issues and healthcare innovation, Remak is also sought-after international speaker. He has served on review panels for the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, Guidelines Working Groups for the American Society of Clinical Oncology and is a member of the Society for Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, and Association of Health Care Journalists. Remak is a native of San Anselmo, Marin County, California, father of four, a grandparent, currently resides in Petaluma, minutes away from the beautiful wine district in Sonoma County, California.