THE END FUND - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Member of the International Board
- Managing Director, Legatum
Alan McCormick is a founding Partner of the purpose-driven investment firm Legatum. He serves on the Board of Directors for the END Fund, and is Chairman for the Luminos Fund, the Legatum Institute and the Freedom Fund. Mr McCormick is also a supporter of many other causes that promote greater freedom and prosperity around the world.
Legatum is a global investment partnership that invests its proprietary capital in private and listed businesses and focuses its other energies on surfacing ideas and supporting initiatives that enable people, communities and nations to prosper. Mr McCormick sits on the firm's investment committee and has been particularly engaged with the group's social investment portfolio.
Over the last decade, Mr McCormick and his Partners have founded several philanthropic funds, which include the END Fund, the largest private investment vehicle for eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Legatum started tackling NTDs in 2006, in Rwanda and Burundi, by trialling the first mass drug administration, which ultimately treated over 9.7 million people in four years. Seeing that NTDs affected over one billion of the world's population, Legatum established the END Fund in 2012 as an independent vehicle to bring together private donors to accomplish one big goal: to see an end to the most prevalent NTDs once and for all.
Mr McCormick has been with Legatum since its founding in 2006. He was formerly part of Legatum's predecessor, Sovereign Asset Management, and a member of its special situations team. Prior to that he worked for JP Morgan.
Job Titles:
- Director, Strategy & Operations
Alessia joined the END Fund in 2016, as an Executive Assistant. She currently serves as a Director on the Investor Relations team. Prior to working with the END Fund, she researched health issues and elderly rights for the Health and Human Rights division of Human Rights Watch. In previous roles, she helped refugees resettle with the International Rescue Committee in New York City, and contributed to international exchange programs orientations with AFS Intercultural Programs in Italy.
Alessia received her MA in Liberal Studies from the CUNY Graduate Center, majoring in International Studies, and focusing on human rights and humanitarian action. During her undergraduate at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy, she majored in Mandarin and studied abroad in Beijing and Shanghai.
In her free time, she takes long suburban walks with her husband and keeps up with the social life of her Corgi, Guinness. She also loves spinning, trying new recipes, and learning new sewing skills. Alessia speaks Italian, Mandarin, and Spanish.
Job Titles:
- Senior Analyst, Evidence, Monitoring and Evaluation
Alison joined the END Fund in January 2021 and serves as a Senior Analyst, Evidence, Monitoring and Evaluation for the Deworming Innovation Fund. Prior to joining the END Fund, Alison was a member of the Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Epidemiology Research Group at Imperial College London, where her primary research objectives were centered on the epidemiology and control of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) in sub-Saharan Africa.
Alison worked for three years as a Research Assistant on the Geshiyaro project, a large-scale deworming effort for STH and schistosomiasis in Ethiopia. The Geshiyaro project aims to interrupt the transmission of STH and schistosomiasis in the Wolayita zone through the implementation of expanded drug treatment, in combination with water and sanitation interventions. Her work focused on project evaluation and the development of data driven tools, with a particular interest in understanding trends in compliance to treatment.
Alison holds a MSc in Epidemiology with a focus in Infectious Disease Epidemiology from Imperial College London, and a BSc in Neuroscience from McGill University. Outside of the office, Alison enjoys spending time running, hiking, and cooking.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Programs for the Reaching the Last Mile Fund
Anne Heggen serves as a Senior Director, Programs for the Reaching the Last Mile Fund at the END Fund. In her role, she provides project management and knowledge management support to government NTD programs working toward the elimination of transmission of onchocerciasis and elimination of lymphatic filariasis.
Anne has 20 years of experience supporting country programs to reach NTD elimination goals. Over the last 12 years, she has contributed subject matter expertise and guidance on NTDs to countries in Africa and Asia in her roles as consultant, Senior Trachoma Advisor for the Fred Hollows Foundation, and Senior Program Advisor at the International Trachoma Initiative. She also managed behavior change and health promotion programs in Ghana and South Sudan for The Carter Center Guinea Worm Eradication and Trachoma Control Programs and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Northern Ghana.
Anne holds a Master of Public Health specializing in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University. Outside of work, Anne enjoys trying new experiences with her partner and three children, the great outdoors, and reading.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate, Strategy & Operations
Brandon joined the END Fund in January 2023 and serves as Associate, Grants Management, Strategy & Operations.
Prior to joining, Brandon worked as Senior Grant Management Analyst for Prison Fellowship. There, he managed large Foundation grants from proposal writing to reporting. He also worked across departments to create new and leverage existing tools and systems allowing for increased efficiency and efficacy in writing and grant management. His previous experience includes monitoring and evaluation of Family Engagement Services for the South Carolina Department of Social Services and National Youth Advocate Program, as well as managing operations of a local federally qualified community health center's satellite sites. Brandon began providing grant writing and consulting services in 2016 and earned the Grant Professional Certified (GPC) credential in 2022.
Brandon is a Licensed Social Worker with an MSW from Monmouth University focused in international and community development and a BA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of South Carolina. Brandon lives in Rock Hill, SC, with his wife, Celeste, and two children, Ava and Jack. There, he also helps lead his church, The Welcome Table, as Executive and Worship Minister.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Investor Relations
As Senior Director of Investor Relations, Bridie works with activist philanthropists in Europe who are committed to harnessing the power of collaborative philanthropy to control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases.
Formerly Head of Principal Giving at Oxfam, Bridie led the research and launch of a new department focussing on £1m+ gifts, including Islamic finance, and secured a groundbreaking multi-million-pound forgivable loan during the institutional suspensions of 2018. She has worked with high-net-worth clientele in the private and non profit sectors for over a decade, advising philanthropists on a wide range of giving across health, humanitarian, development, education, and the arts. Bridie currently serves on the board of Amref Health Africa UK, Africa's leading health charity.
Bridie believes in the potential for philanthropy to be strategic and impactful but also joyful, and enjoys building deep, meaningful connections between philanthropists and the people and places they support. She holds an MSc in International Development from Birkbeck University and a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Leeds. Bridie speaks English and French and is based in Oxford, UK. A seasoned traveler, she loves opera and ballet, long-distance running, cycle touring, and spending time in the Alps with her family.
Prior to joining the END Fund, Carol served a Chief of Party for a USAID funded integrated health project implemented by IntraHealth International in Eastern Uganda, where she provided technical, financial and overall managerial oversight across 30 districts and in over 600 health facilities. Previously, Carol served as project director for multiple HIV and AIDS, maternal child health, family planning and human resource for health projects supporting the design phase, implementation, evaluation and documentation with international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and South Sudan. Throughout her career, Carol has played leading roles in health workforce development, identifying and strengthening health service delivery gaps and building partnerships with governments and local communities for sustainable solutions.
Carol received her Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH) and Master's in Public Health (MPH) from Boston University School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science (Botany and Zoology) from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya. Carol's doctoral research which employed quantitative, qualitative and quality improvement methodologies focused on building evidence to improve retention of HIV positive women enrolled in the prevention of HIV from the mother to the child programs in Kenya. Carol is a 2014/2015 American Association of University Women (AAUW) International Fellow; a 2010 Boston University Distinguished Alumni Award recipient; a 2004 recipient of the Boston University Women's Guild Award for Academic Excellence and a 2003 recipient of the PEO International Peace Scholarship.
Outside of work, Carol enjoys reading, long distance running, and visiting new places.
Job Titles:
- Director, Investor Relations
- Senior Associate
Catherine joined the END Fund in July 2018 and serves as a Senior Associate, Investor Relations. Prior to joining the END Fund, she worked at the office of Massachusetts Senator, Elizabeth Warren. While there Catherine worked on constituent casework, and answered policy concerns and federal agency assistance inquiries from constituents.
She previously was an office assistant at the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, assisting with donor relations and other administrative duties. Furthermore, Catherine was a Teacher's Assistant for the Saturday Scholars Program and STEM Summer Scholars Program at Hofstra University.
Catherine received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Political Science at Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Arts in Government at Johns Hopkins University. During her leisure time, she likes to travel and read, and dabbles in cooking.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Finance & Administration
Cecilia currently serves as an Associate Director, Finance & Administration supporting the End Fund financial activities, such as general accounting, budgeting, data analysis, treasury, accounts receivable, and accounts payable.
Prior to joining the End Fund, Cecilia worked for New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services. She served as citywide Purchasing card program administrator to monitor daily operation and compliance of over 70 agencies bank accounts and over 1300 cardholder accounts. She also worked as an auditor for New York City Comptroller's Office leading compliance and performance audits for city agencies and city funded programs.
Previously, Cecilia held the staff accountant position at Social Science Research Council where she supported the organization accounting and finance functions, including Accounts Payables and Receivables, payroll, month-end closing and reporting.
Cecilia received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Guangzhou University in China and her Master of Science in Accounting from St. John's University. She is a Certified Public Accountant. When she is not in the office, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and two daughters.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate, Public Affairs
Cedric joined the END Fund in March 2022 as a Senior Associate, Public Affairs. He will be part of the team working to attain the END Fund's communications and advocacy goals, promote the growth of locally-driven NTD programs, and support prioritization and efficient workflow within the Public Affairs team.
Prior to joining the END Fund, Cedric worked with Management Sciences for Health in Malawi on USAID's ONSE Health Activity with the aim of reducing maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality. During his tenure at MSH, Cedric served in various roles managing logistics and providing support to Ministry of Health and MSH teams implementing community health interventions. He was also responsible for managing external relationships with service providers and suppliers. Furthermore, he successfully revised the Standard Operating Procedures on fleet management to improve efficiency and user experience.
Cedric graduated cum laude from the University of Bradford with an MSc in Economics and Finance for Development and also holds a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Malawi.
Outside of work, Cedric loves going on adventures and exploring new places with Luna, his mountain bike.
Job Titles:
- Pathologist
- Senior Technical Advisor, Programs
Charles Mackenzie is an Australian pathologist who has worked in various areas of basic research and tropical medicine as a bench scientist, as a diagnostic pathologist, and as field worker focused on filarial infections in Africa, Asia and South America. Following a research position at the National Medical Research Council laboratories in London, he headed up the Tropical Pathology Section at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine before moving to become Chair of the Pathology Department in the Medicine Schools at Michigan State University.
He has spent many years working in Cameroon, Sudan and Tanzania defining the clinical conditions associated with onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis, and working towards better treatments for these conditions. In 1999 whilst seconded to the Mectizan Donation Program in Atlanta he worked with African countries to develop their new filariasis elimination programs. He continued with one of these, the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, to develop and assist their National Lymphatic filariasis program to be the first country in Africa to distribute treatments for this devastating debilitating infection.
Charles has chaired various committees in the NTD world including the DMDI Committee of the NNN, The Onchocerciasis NGO Committee, The Onchocerciasis Expert Committees of Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen, as well the Global Alliance for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis.
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Board
- Co - Owner of Winston Wächter Fine Art
- Co - Owner, Winston Wächter Fine Art Gallery
Christine Wächter-Campbell is the co-owner of Winston Wächter Fine Art, a contemporary art gallery and consulting firm based in New York and Seattle. Founded in 1996 with her now Seattle-based partner Stacey Winston-Levitan, the gallery has been located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York since 2008.
Raised in Switzerland, Ms. Wächter-Campbell received her graduate degree in art history from the University of Zurich. In 1985, she worked at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice. In Paris, Ms. Wächter-Campbell headed the public relations office of internationally renowned artist Christo and assisted on "The Pont Neuf Wrapped" project. In 1986, she began working at the Blum Helman Gallery in New York;in 1989, Ms. Wächter-Campbell became the director of the Blum Helman Gallery.
Ms. Wächter-Campbell currently serves on the END Fund Board of Directors. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York. She is also a member of the art committee for The Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation in New York, and is actively involved with the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Job Titles:
- Senior Writer, Public Affairs
Christine started her journey as the Senior Writer in the Public Affairs Department at the End Fund on the 1st of February 2023. Writing as a second nature, she strives to bring her creative, analytical and storytelling abilities and passion towards the continuous work to end NTD's.
After a 5 year journalism period in various capacities at the BBC, Christine joins the End Fund bringing with her social media management, podcasting and radio as well as video production skills. Prior to which, Christine has Marketing, PR & Communications as well as Logistics and Operations Management experience with an MA in International Trade.
In addition to her journalism experience that extends for over 10 years with online and print columns she periodically and regularly contributed to, Christine is a poet, a playwright and an upcoming novelist who spends all her waking hours writing for work or writing for pleasure. Christine has represented her country at the Iowa International Writing Program in 2016 and remains to date the only female writer to have attended the IWP's from Ethiopia.
She wrote, directed and produced her first play at the Kenya National Theater in February 2022 and her second in July of the same year; she now aims to keep writing, directing and producing plays for social impact.
Joining the End Fund, means Christine can keep writing any and all types of content that helps the work that is being carried out towards the elimination of NTD's from a local perspective all the while maintaining truth, transparency and dignity.
Job Titles:
- Director, Strategy & Operations
Christopher is the Director, Strategy & Operations. Currently he is responsible for the day to day operations of the office as it relates to infrastructure and office management. His background consists of a variety of service oriented positions in administration, operations and facility management.
Christopher has completed two tours of duty in the United States Marine Corps. As a Marine he also performed the duties as an Accounting Technician in the Office of the Controller. He has served in countries such as Okinawa, Japan and the Philippines, and domestically, at Parris Island SC, Camp Lejeune NC, and Quantico VA.
After leaving the Marines, Christopher has worked in numerous capacities for several nonprofits and public healthcare institutions, including The Consortium for Worker Education, Elmhurst Hospital Center and Columbia University Medical Center.
Prior to joining The END Fund, Christopher' most recent employment was as an Associate Operations Manager for The Atlantic Philanthropies. His responsibilities included the day-to-day operations and facility management of fifty thousand square feet of multi-use space. His duties were in support of the Atlantic Philanthropies dedication to bring about global social change for the last 35 years.
Christopher has a B.A. in Public Administration from the City College of New York. He enjoys cooking, running and riding motorcycles.
Job Titles:
- Associate, Investor Relations
Crystal joined The END Fund in September 2022 and serves as an Associate, Investor Relations. In this role, she supports the day to day activities related to executing the organization's strategic fundraising goals that advance the global fight against neglected tropical diseases.
Prior to joining the END Fund, Crystal was serving as a consultant for the operations team at Luminate Group, a global foundation engaged in governance and citizen engagement issues. Her role was to provide internal documentation for staff reference to contribute to a culture of information sharing and operational discipline.
Previously, she worked in different capacities in creative and corporate communications; she was the lead fashion writer and researcher at BEDA Magazine, a staff writer at ePreneur Kenya, and an editorial intern at True Love East Africa Magazine. She also has bylines in local and global publications. In addition, Crystal worked as an e-commerce writer for global copy shop, CopySmiths.
Crystal has a B.A Communications (Print Media) from Daystar University. In her free time, she enjoys visiting art galleries and cooking hearty meals for her family and friends in Nairobi, Kenya, where she lives with her cat, Mushu.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration
Dan currently serves as a Vice President, Finance & Administration at the END Fund. He oversees the operations of the Accounting and Finance Department, maintains a documented system of accounting policies and procedures, and is ultimately responsible for the preparation and issuance of accurate financial reporting.
Prior to joining the END Fund, Dan worked with YPTC, an accounting firm providing nonprofit clients, including the END Fund, with accounting services such as month-end transaction processing, monthly financial report preparation, budgeting, cash flow planning/analysis and outside audit facilitation.
Previously, Dan held senior financial management positions at MovieTickets.com, UGG Australia Outerwear, Timberland, Deloitte, and the American Red Cross.
Dan received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Le Moyne College and is a Certified Public Accountant. When he is not counting beans, Dan likes to spend his time traveling and learning about the history and culture of other countries. He splits his life between New York City and The Hague, and is determined to learn to speak Dutch.
Job Titles:
- Senior Technical Advisor, Programs
As the Senior Technical Advisor, Programs, Daniel provides technical support to program countries for onchocerciasis elimination in line with current WHO guidelines and develop strategies and capacity building training to better equip endemic countries with the tools and knowledge to implement surveys, data collection and analysis, and diagnostic activities. Of particular focus is technical advice around program plans for the Reaching the Last Mile Fund portfolio in the context of onchocerciasis elimination and, where necessary, other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
Daniel has over 40 years of research and program experience working on a wide range of vector borne-diseases and other NTDs (onchocerciasis, malaria, lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminsts, Buruli ulcer and leishmaniasis). He worked as the cytotaxonomist for the WHO's Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa, was the Program Advisor for the African Program for Onchocerciasis Control and the Entomologist and Laboratory head in ESPEN. He has been providing support to NTD programmes nationally and internationally on the use of research results to improve program implementation and some NGO partners such as SightSavers International. He has served on various expert committees in WHO on onchocerciasis, LF, the Global Vector Control Response and malaria entomology. He served on the Mectizan Expert Committee and was a Panel member of the Leverhulme-Royal Society Africa award scheme of the British Royal Society. He currently serves on the National Onchocerciasis Expert Elimination Committees of 15 Endemic African countries
Daniel has a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Science and Technology, Ghana; an MSc in Applied Entomology and Parasitology, University of Jos, Nigeria and a PhD in Medical Entomology from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. He did an internship at the CDC, Atlanta and a Post-doc at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He holds a Professorship at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Ghana
In his free time, Daniel enjoys soccer and dancing.
Diana Benton Schechter is Chief Operating Officer at the END Fund. Her work ensures excellence in governance and operations across the organization's global team, and alignment of all financial, operational and human resources towards the END Fund's strategic aims within and across its philanthropic investment funds. She oversees the Strategy & Operations, Finance & Administration, Communications, and Culture & Talent teams, and also serves as Secretary to the END Fund US and END Fund UK Boards of Directors.
Prior to joining the END Fund in 2017, Diana led strategic planning at the Atlantic Philanthropies, the limited life foundation founded by Charles F. Feeney. Between 1982 and 2016, Atlantic committed more than $9 billion to social change around the world. Prior to joining Atlantic in 2007, Diana was a consultant at Robinson Lerer & Montgomery (now FGS Global), a strategic communications and crisis management firm based in New York. With 20 years of experience in nonprofit operations, communications, and philanthropic grantmaking, Diana is an advocate for collaborative philanthropy and nontraditional philanthropic models.
Diana's nonprofit board service includes One World Surgery and Discovery to Cure (Yale University). She is a member of the Columbia College Young Leaders Council and a longtime fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. She earned a BA from Columbia University and an MPA from New York University. Diana lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Investor Relations
Diana serves as the Associate Director, Public Affairs, supporting the Senior Director, Public Affairs in advocacy, domestic resource mobilization, country (s) ownership, stakeholder engagement, and partnership development in Kenya and other priority countries across Africa.
Diana began her career in Kenyan media as a multimedia journalist, focusing on telling the stories of the most vulnerable members of society, with a particular focus on women, children, and girls. She is a four-time national and international award-winning journalist.
Prior to joining the END Fund, Diana worked as the Communications and Development Manager at Kakenya's Dream, where she managed the organization's internal and external communications, maintained and strengthened partnerships with current and prospect funders, managed stakeholder engagement, and mobilized resources in Kenya. She previously worked for the Guardian Global Media Campaign to End FGM, which transitioned to Global Media Campaign, as a media liaison officer and the Nation Media Group (QTV) as a producer/reporter.
Diana is a 2016 Guardian News and Media fellow, an SDG fellow at UNLEASH and UNLEASH+ , having participated as a talent in the Education and Zero Hunger themes respectively.
She holds a bachelor's degree in mass media and communication from Mount Kenya University, a diploma in public relations from St. Paul's University and a Certificate in film and video programs production from Kenya Institute of Mass Communication. Diana spends her free time mentoring youth, swimming, and experimenting with new recipes.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Director, Culture & Talent
Dorcus is a seasoned HR professional; with over ten years experience both locally and internationally, highly motivated individual with ability to understand organizational needs.
Prior to joining The END Fund, Dorcus served as the Human Resources Manager at African Wildlife Foundation where she oversaw a team of two in East Africa, Central and West Africa to manage all aspects of HR, including Compliance, Talent management, Payroll, Change management, Compensation, Performance management and HR operation, also supported AWF managers, employees in Africa, UK and Europe.
Dorcus has a Master of Arts in International Human Resource Management and Bachelor of Science in Computing (Hons) from University of West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom and Higher National Diploma in Human Resource Management from Cambridge International College - United Kingdom. She is a member of the Institute of Human Resource Management Council that regulates HR Professionals in Kenya under the HRP Act and Certified by Human Resource Management Professionals Examination Board in Kenya.
Born and raised in a town outside Capital city Nairobi, Kenya public health is something that is close to her heart. Dorcus is passionate about health and fitness and has appreciation for organizations whose mission is to improve community wellbeing. When not working she loves to spend time with family, traveling or spending a day at the beach. She is currently based in Nairobi, Kenya
Job Titles:
- Pharmacist
- Associate Vice President, Programs
- Strategic Leader
Dr. Abdinasir Amin is a skilled communicator and an experienced public health practitioner with a wide range of technical interests and expertise from global media and digital cultures, health system strengthening (HSS), health systems research, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), infectious disease control and elimination, to pharmaceutical and supply chain management.
Dr. Amin has excellent knowledge of grant-making and performance-based financing systems gained through providing grant oversight and practical experience in country Global Fund application processes and operations, including performance frameworks, preparation of M&E plans, procurement, and supply chain management plans, and in-country partnership-building and coordination.
Amin is a trained pharmacist, holds a Ph.D. in malaria epidemiology/public health from the United Kingdom, and previously worked in senior scientific and leadership roles at country, regional and international levels with ICF, PSI, Management Sciences for Health, and the KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme.
Dr. Amin is a strategic leader skilled in analyzing complex situations and working with multicultural teams in both fragile and non-fragile settings. He is fluent in English, Kiswahili, and Somali and has basic knowledge of French.
When he is not at work, Amin enjoys hiking, follows the politics of the Horn of Africa with passion, and writes on topical public health issues, politics, identity, and social justice. His work has appeared in peer-reviewed scientific journals and in popular and trade publications such as the Daily Nation, The Standard, East African, Ethnotraveler, and AWAAZ magazine. Amin is just as comfortable talking about the latest 8-aminoquinolines for the treatment of malaria as he is discussing the migration patterns of the peoples of Africa.
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Board
- Director for Neglected Tropical Diseases at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Director, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Dr. Katey Einterz Owen is the Director for Neglected Tropical Diseases at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the foundation's lead for pharmaceutical industry engagement. Katey has end-to-end responsibility for the Gates Foundation's investment portfolio in controlling, eliminating, and eradicating the diseases of the London Declaration. This includes active investment in lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, STH, trachoma, Guinea Worm, HAT, and visceral leishmaniasis, diseases that collectively put at risk more than one billion people in the world. The portfolio funds projects with global private and public partners across the value chain, from research and innovation to project demonstration through on-the-ground delivery of interventions in Africa and Asia. In her role as the foundation's liaison to pharmaceutical company leadership, Katey facilitates regular interaction between the CEOs of pharmaceutical organizations with Mr. Gates, to advance global health goals through collaboration and innovation. Previously, Katey was the Deputy Director for Vaccine Development at the Gates Foundation. She joined BMGF in 2013 from the pharmaceutical industry. She combines a technical end-to-end view of product development and quality manufacturing, with a commercial understanding of the for-profit pharmaceutical business, coupled to practical solutions for funding and delivery in LMICs, all with a solutions-focused mindset and disposition. Her perspectives have also been shaped by her oldest sister, who spent her career as a primary care physician and health-district chief in rural northern Cameroun and her older brother, who co-founded the program AMPATH-Kenya with the Kenyan MoH and Ministry of Education. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Katey carried out academic research on influenza at the National Institute for Medical Research in Mill Hill (London). She earned her PhD in molecular virology from Purdue University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Technical Advisor, Programs
Prior to joining the END Fund, Dr. Haile attended medical school in Addis Ababa University School of medicine. After graduation, she went to Rural attachment and started working in a primary hospital as a general practitioner. In short time she was appointed as the Quality Committee head as well as head of the Inpatient Department. She was fortunate enough to have participated in the kalazar (visceral leishmaniasis) care and treatment program. In association with Kalakore, we were able to have the kalazar center up and running in our hospital. After that Dr. Haile joined Doctors without borders Holland, where she worked as a medical doctor in the kalazar and snake bite research and treatment center. We managed Kalazar patients and participated in research focusing on efficacy of kalazar treatment. Shortly after we also expanded our project to emergency response in northern Ethiopia.
Dr. Haile also holds a mental health diploma as well as SGBV certificate. Afterwards, she had the opportunity to join the Coordination Office for MSF Holland as a medical coordinator support as the staff health and clinical management focal person.
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Board
- CEO, Big Win Philanthropy
Job Titles:
- Member of the Panel of Experts
- Senior Health Financing Advisor, Public Affairs
Vincent Okungu serves as the Senior Health Financing Advisor, Public Affairs. He is a health economist with a track record in research and program implementation. He has served in various technical leadership roles to advise on, and produce policy documentation and presentations on health sector planning, and sustainable health financing. As a consultant, he has worked for various organizations including the World Health Organization, the UN Institute for Training and Research, USAID, the African Medical and Research Foundation, and World Vision. Throughout his career, he has engaged governments, and the private sector to communicate reform proposals, provide economic analysis and capture evidence to inform decision making on policies.
Some of his achievements include forecasting costs for national strategy deployment and finances for sustainable NCD-related public health interventions (UNITAR-Rwanda); introducing an evidence-based M&E framework for performance monitoring in primary health facilities in Kenya; improving the potential of domestic mobilization of resources and planning health expenditure using the cost model and sustainability plan (WHO-Rwanda); co-authored and produced a comprehensive international report on care quality improvements, policy reviews and evaluations (the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine);improved planning, budget allocation, execution and reporting through the design and implementation of program based forecasting in Kenya and Uganda (USAID).
Okungu is a member of the Panel of Experts at the National Institute for African Studies (UK), the Health Financing Technical Network (WHO), and the International Health Economics Association (iHEA). He has a PhD and MPH in Health Economics with emphasis in health financing from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Programs for the Visceral Leishmaniasis
Duncan serves as a Senior Director, Programs for the Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) initiative responsible for technical management and financial oversight of the visceral leishmaniasis (VL) portfolio in East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya,South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda). Prior to joining the END Fund, Duncan was the Country Lead for the UK funded Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Diseases (ASCEND) Project in Kenya, where he was responsible for the entire country activities. Previously, Duncan served as the Program Director for the Interchurches Medical Assistance World Health (IMA) in South Sudan where he was responsible for management and technical support of the VL control program funded by the UK - DFID, primary health care funded by the World Bank, reproductive health funded by UNFPA, emergency health and nutrition funded by USAID and the control of HIV/AIDS funded by the Global Fund. Duncan has also served as the NTD focal point for the World Health Health Organization (WHO) where he provided technical support to the government and the partners in the control of NTDs in South Sudan. Throughout his career, Duncan has played leading roles in control and management of NTDs. Some of his achievements include the development of the strategic plan for control of Leishmaniasis and conducting the Schistosomiasis precision mapping in Kenya.
Duncan has Masters of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Liverpool. Duncan's main interest is in medical field and spends most of his free time reading medical literature. Outside work Duncan enjoys spending time with his family.
Eli has joined the END Fund in April 2023 and serves as Salesforce Administrator, looking after the database used by all parts of the organization, empowering users and optimizing the system to support the organization's goals.
Prior to joining the END Fund, Eli worked with a variety of tech companies in roles of managing support and operations. For over 10 years he worked extensively with Salesforce technology, helping organizations make the most out of it as an administrator, consultant and an owner of a consultancy business.
Initially working with for-profits, having come across Effective Altruism inspired Eli to focus his career on helping organizations working on important and impactful causes.
Eli studied Computer Science and Linguistics at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel and lived in several countries. When not working, he enjoys traveling, learning about cultures and languages, playing the piano and playing with dogs.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Programs
Ellie is committed to accelerating the local ownership of development outcomes through systems approaches. She has spent approximately ten years working in multiple fields within international development including housing/human settlements, wildlife conservation and rural livelihood development, water security and WASH, and food security.
Prior to joining the END Fund, Ellie spent over four years developing W12+ Programs from a start-up to a globally recognized consortium of international NGOs. In particular, she launched and led a localized partnership model that uses systems approaches to identify leverage points for WASH and water security interventions in South Sudan, Egypt, and South Africa. She also Ellie is deeply interested in and committed to locally-led partnership work and using Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) programs to share and apply lessons learned. She has extensive experience working in remote contexts supporting local implementation partners across a variety of technical areas.
Ellie holds a Master's in Environmental Science with a specialization in Social Justice and Sustainability from Antioch University, New England and a Bachelor's in Environmental Studies with minors in Political Science, Psychology, and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies from Franklin University Switzerland. She lived, worked, and studied in Switzerland and South Africa and studied in Kenya and the USA. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellie returned home to Cape Cod, Massachusetts where she now works remotely. Outside of work, Ellie enjoys cooking, horseback riding, traveling, and gardening.
Ellen serves as the CEO of the END Fund, working to see an end to the suffering caused by five neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affecting 1.7 billion people. The END Fund has supported partners across more than 30 countries to deliver over 1.1 billion NTD treatments to hundreds of millions of people since its founding in 2012.
Ellen has worked in global health and humanitarian response for over 20 years in more than 70 countries, for organizations including International Medical Corps and Operation Smile.
Ellen holds graduate degrees in International Health from the Harvard School of Public Health and in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.
Ellen currently serves on the boards of Global Institute for Disease Elimination and the 100x Impact Accelerator Advisory Board. Additionally, she serves on the Mwele Malecela Mentorship Program for Women in NTDs Steering Committee.
Ellen's book, Under the Big Tree: Extraordinary Stories from the Movement to End Neglected Tropical Diseases (with foreword by Bill Gates) was published in January 2019 by Johns Hopkins University Press. Ellen was also named as one of Fortune Magazine's "World's 50 Greatest Leaders" for 2019.
Job Titles:
- Head of Legal & Global Operations
Ellie Dehghan is passionate about utilizing her legal background to help nonprofits maximize impact. Most recently, Ellie served as Head of Legal and Director of People for Callisto - a nonprofit tech startup working to combat sexual assault and advance justice.
Ellie began her career as a litigation associate at Bryan Cave LLP. She then spent six years designing and delivering legal services to meet the needs of vulnerable populations throughout California. This included working with youth experiencing homelessness in Silicon Valley through Bay Area Legal Aid's Youth Justice Project, assisting patients of St. John's medical clinic in South Los Angeles through the Medical Legal Community Partnership at Neighborhood Legal Services, leading the delivery of legal services to rural and isolated communities, throughout Northern California at OneJustice, with a focus on immigrant communities, and creating Callisto's legal advice and counseling program for victims of repeat offenders of sexual assault.
Ellie's commitment to her work is influenced by her own family's story. The daughter of Mexican and Iranian immigrants, she has called the San Francisco Bay Area her home since her family fled the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
Ellie is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Stanford Law School. She enjoys hiking, writing, cooking, and spending time with her husband and their mischievous and smiley five-month-old son.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, International Programs
- Associate, Programs
Elyse serves as an Associate, Programs assisting in the management and oversight of the END Fund's programs portfolio.
Prior to joining the END Fund in 2019, Elyse was at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights facilitating work in historical dialogue and accountability, indigenous people's rights, and human rights advocacy. Elyse received her MA in International Affairs from the New School where she worked on NYC Council legislation for free and accessible menstrual health products in schools, detention centers, and homeless shelters. While earning her masters she completed internships in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she worked in maternal and children's health and education as well as economic empowerment. She received her BA from the University of California, Davis where she studied International Relations and Art History.
In her free time Elyse enjoys training for marathons, learning the cello, and playing darts in her local neighborhood league.
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Board
- Co - Founder, Impact Thread
English Sall is a data enthusiast and researcher at heart. English holds a PhD in Industrial Organizational Psychology (IOP) from North Carolina State University. English specializes in Humanitarian Work Psychology and is interested in how IOP can be applied to cross-cultural leadership and work-force development within informal economies. English is also a board member of the Sall Family Foundation. Additionally, she is on the boards of CARE USA, The END Fund, African Philanthropy Forum, Carolina for Kibera, Ideas42 and Aspen Management Partnership for Health. English also currently serves as a principle at the Community Health Acceleration Partnership.
English is co-founder of the organization Impact Thread which uses IOP to address workforce and organizational development through a social good lens. Before co-founding Impact Thread, English was co-director for Aspen Institute's Impact Careers Initiative. English has also worked as a Data Strategist Fellow with Organize and as a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists-United Nations Liaison team. English is also the co-founder of Embark, a Gender Justice initiative powered by CARE. English served as Visiting Research Fellow at the Social Science Research Institute Duke University in the center for Advanced Hindsight. English is currently a Post-doctoral Fellow in the Carolina Health Informatics Program well as an Adjunct Assistant professor in the department of Health Behavior at the UNC Gilling's School of Global Public Health. English also serves as an Adjunct professor at Meredith College.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Programs
Prior to joining the END Fund as a full-time employee, Eugene was a consultant as Senior NTD Technical Advisor for the END Fund. For five years, his main functions have been to provide technical support to the Rwanda national program and to manage grants from the END Fund. Previously, he served in the same role for four years as In-country Program Manager for the SCI at Imperial College London. Eugene has been involved in the National NTD Control Program since its inception in mid-2007, working as the NTD Research and Treatment Coordinator at the Access Project - Columbia University, Kigali. A few months earlier, he had been recruited as a consultant to develop the first NTD grant proposal and the implementation plan. He was also Head of the NCD Department for the MOH and GP at Byumba District Hospital, Rwanda. Since 2015, Eugene has had the opportunity to support ESPEN/WHO/AFRO in Brazzaville as Consultant.
Eugene holds a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from the National University of Rwanda, and an MScPH (Disease Control) from the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium. He also has a Certificate in "Health and Human Rights - Dimensions and Strategies" from WHO&GIZ. He is a guest lecturer in NTDs at the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), Rwanda. Eugene is the author of an article on schistosomiasis in Rwanda which earned him the Rwanda Medical Journal's 2008 Aimée Niyikiza Memorial Award as the Best Young Rwandan Biomedical Researcher of the year; honored by the presence of the President of the Republic of Rwanda, H.E Paul Kagame. The awarded study was his first initiative on schistosomiasis carried out in 2005-6.
In his free time, Eugene enjoys jogging, watching football games, and visiting his family's pig farm.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Director, Programs
Eve currently serves as a Senior Associate Director, Programs supporting the END Fund's programs portfolio. Prior to becoming a member of the END Fund team, Eve was a health and education consultant supporting NTD programs as well as education access programs for high-achieving Zimbabwean students from low-income backgrounds. Her experience spans across corporate, entrepreneurship and non-profit sectors; including a role advocating for support of NTDs among local Zimbabwe private sector
Job Titles:
- Director, Investor Relations
- Senior Associate
Evelyne joined the END Fund in February 2022 and serves as a Senior Associate Director, Investor Relations (Events). She will
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Board
- Executive Director, Children 's Investment Fund Foundation
Born in Ghana, Faustina's family migrated to the UK at the age of seven. She began her career as a nurse, a role that has had a significant impact on her ever since. She has 15 years in Senior leadership roles, her career has evolved from private health care management in London to Founder of Marie Stopes Ghana, Senior West Africa Advisor, Country Director of Marie Stopes Kenya, Director of the Women's Health Project for PSI, leading PSI's Reproductive Health and Rights portfolio in 25 countries in Sub Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America and the United Kingdom.
In her current role as the Executive Director for Africa and Child Health and Development, she leads on strategy, continental partnerships and CIFF investment portfolios in Africa. She oversees a vast portfolio from Child Nutrition, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Climate and Adolescent Reproductive Health.
Faustina is a champion and advocate for women and girls' rights and has worked to change policy on access to reproductive health services in West and East Africa. She believes in harnessing the potential of the girl child, through improved health, education and economic opportunities to contribute to a thriving self -determining Africa. She is passionate about growing leaders and was recognized and named as top 100 influential African women 2021.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of MITOSATH, Is Optimistic for a Nigeria Free of NTDs
Franca Olamiju, the executive director of MITOSATH, is optimistic for a Nigeria free of NTDs: "We don't have to see any more generations of blind people. We don't have to see any more generations where people are disfigured by river blindness and elephantiasis. And, how can we do that? By lifting the dignity of everybody."
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Director, Director, Public Affairs
Greg serves as a Senior Associate Director, Director, Public Affairs. In this role, he assists the communications team in developing content for the END Fund's various platforms and maintaining the website.
Previously, Greg has worked for non-profits in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and a newspaper in Southeast England.
Born in Philadelphia, Greg received his Bachelor's degree from Drexel University in International Area Studies and his Master's degree from the University of Kent in International Multimedia Journalism.
Outside of work, Greg is usually hiking, listening to podcasts, or being disappointed with a Philadelphia sports teams.
Job Titles:
- Finance
- Senior Director
- Senior Director, Finance and Administration
Hannah currently serves as a Senior Director, Finance at the END Fund, responsible for managing financial operations and reporting for the organization.
Prior to joining the END fund, she worked in Bristol Myers-Squibb's Global Internal Audit department leading financial, compliance, and operational audits for US-based operations and international markets. She also worked as a program manager for Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation supporting the central and eastern Europe Bridging Cancer Care portfolio.
Previously, Hannah worked at Deloitte in Boston and Honolulu leading external audits for various clients including those in healthcare, nonprofit and government. She serves on the Board of Dong Ji Hoi - Hawaii, a nonprofit providing scholarships to students in Hawaii. In addition, Hannah serves on Nomi Network's Board of Advisors, assisting the organization whose mission is to create economic opportunities including training and job opportunities for survivors and women at risk of human trafficking in India and Cambodia
Hannah received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University's Questrom School of Business with a concentration in Accounting. She loves rooting for her Boston sports teams in spite of the New York rivalries. On weekends, you can find Hannah exploring New York City for local restaurants and live music.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate, Strategy & Operations
Harmani joined the END Fund in September 2020 and serves as an Associate, Investor Relations. She supports the day to day management and activities related to executing the organization's strategic fundraising goals.
Prior to joining the END Fund, she worked at Community Resources for Science, a California nonprofit dedicated to ensuring science learning and exploration is accessible for all students, where she assisted with data management and donor relations. Previously, Harmani worked with various organizations that operated along the intersection of women's empowerment and public health, including a domestic violence agency and a women's group she co-founded to improve equitable access to menstruation products.
Harmani holds a BA in Economics with a focus in Poverty and Inequality from University of California, Davis. In her free time, she enjoys camping and exploring new places, getting lost in a novel, and expanding practice on meditation and mindfulness.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate, Communications
Throughout his career, Henry has endeavored to help solve broad social issues both locally and abroad. After graduating with a master's degree in Communication for Development and Social Change from Temple University in 2020, he worked for New Western, an inclusive ESL education program in Colombia and Peru, both teaching job readiness skills and coordinating the opening of several satellite campuses in rural areas of the countries. Before that, Henry's experience focused on disabilities rights and advocacy in the greater Philadelphia area. Henry co-founded Adaptive Design of Greater Philadelphia, a foundation-funded non-profit that designed and fabricated sustainable adaptive devices for children with paralysis-causing conditions.
Henry is an avid athlete, enjoying basketball and baseball whenever he is not recovering from injuries. Henry loves experimenting with new vegan recipes and exploring the world in search of new cuisines and cultures.
Ms. Irene currently serves as a Director, Programs for the END Fund. She possesses over 20 years' experience in public health programs development and management in Africa. This entails the establishment, expanding and advancing projects/programs, implementing multi-sectoral approaches for impact, nurturing strategic partnerships with public/governmental institutions, the private sector, non-governmental agencies, regional, national and community-based institutions.
Irene joins us from World Federation of Haemophilia where she was the Africa regional lead responsible for giving leadership, enhancing service delivery, and providing advisory and technical support in advancing and expanding the organization's healthcare development agenda. She expanded the WFH regional presence to 28 countries in Africa and expanded the program portfolio by over 35%. She influenced the activation of four country governments to recognise and support bleeding disorders programs including facilitating the established of Haemophilia Youth of Africa, a youth led initiative to empower youth to lead and make a difference in their respective bleeding disorders community in Africa among other accomplishments. Earlier, she worked with IntraHealth International, Research Triangle Institute International, University of Maryland and PATH International.
She brings added value with skills in Health Systems Strengthening, Human Resources for Health, Policy development/review, advocacy, capacity building, community development, resource mobilization, knowledge management, contracting, monitoring and evaluation, research and financial/grants management among other skills and experience. Irene derives much joy in developing healthier communities.
In her free time, she loves traveling, keeping fit and enjoys spending quality time with family, friends and making new connections.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Director, Programs
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- Associate, Investor Relations
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- Associate Director, Global Strategic Partnerships
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- Director, Investor Relations
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- Associate Vice President, Progams
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- Senior Director, Finance & Administration
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- Associate Vice President, Programs
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- Director, Strategy & Operations
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- Senior Director, Programs
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- Senior Director, ARISE Fund Operations
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Measurement, Evaluation & Learning
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President, Programs
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- Senior Director, Investor Relations
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- Senior Associate Director, Programs
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- Senior Director, Programs
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- Associate Director, Programs
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- Senior Associate, Programs
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President, Investor Relations
Melese Kitu is a 25-year-old Ethiopian trichiasis surgeon working tirelessly to save rural and impoverished communities from succumbing to the advanced stages of blinding trachoma. He is one of the thousands of people in Ethiopia dedicated to ending neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Director, Finance & Compliance
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- Member of the International Board
- Chairman, Changing Our World, Inc
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- Vice President, Investor Relations
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- Senior Associate, Programs
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- Member of the International Board
- Regional Director for Africa, European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership
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- Senior Director, Investor Relations
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- Senior Associate Director, People Operations
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- Senior Associate, Executive Office
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- Senior Associate, Programs
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- Senior Associate, Strategy and Operations
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- President and Founder of Amen Foundation
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- Member of the International Board
- Board Member, the ELMA Philanthropies
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- Vice President, Global Strategic Partnerships
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- Member of the International Board
- Chief Operating Officer, Wells Fargo
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- Member of the International Board
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner, Helios Investment Partners
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the International Board
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President, Global Communications
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- Director, Finance & Administration
Job Titles:
- Chairman Emeritus of the Board
- Member of the International Board
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Director, Public Affairs