KAY MACKENSON CLINIC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board and Advisors Team
- Pediatrician and Associate Professor at the University of California San Francisco
Chris Carpenter is a pediatrician and Associate Professor at the University of California San Francisco. After graduating from Albert Einstein Medical College, he completed pediatric residency at the University of California San Francisco and earned a master's degree in International Health at the BU School of Public Health. Having worked in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, he sought additional global health field work experiences in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor and Liberia before returning to academia in 2011 to complete a fellowship in global child health at Boston Children's Hospital. His training site was in Haiti, where he worked as a pediatrician at St. Nicholas hospital, a Partners in Health affiliated facility. Chris is one of the co-founders of Kay Mackenson.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board and Advisors Team
- Founding Medical Director
Julia von Oettingen is the founding medical director of Kay Mackenson. She is a pediatric endocrinologist at the Montreal Children's Hospital, Assistant Professor at McGill University, and Junior Scientist at the McGill University Health Center Research Institute. Originally from Germany, she completed her MD-PhD at Leipzig University, her pediatric residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and her endocrine fellowship training at the Boston Children's Hospital. She obtained her master's in clinical and translational investigation from Harvard University. Her research focuses on pediatric diabetes in non-Caucasian populations, and on pediatric endocrine care delivery in global health settings. Julia is a site adviser to the International Diabetes Federation's Life for a Child program in Liberia and Haiti, technical adviser to Partners in Health in Haiti, executive committee member of Global Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, and a member of the Pediatric Endocrine Society International Relations Council where she leads the Haiti subcommittee.
Liz Hunt is a pediatric nephrologist. She completed medical school at the University of Vermont and did residency at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, and pediatric nephrology fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital. She is now a pediatric nephrologist and assistant professor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics at UCSD / Rady Children 's Hospital of San Diego
Michael Zimbric is a Pediatric Neurologist and Assistant Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics at UCSD/ Rady Children's Hospital of San Diego. He completed undergraduate work and medical school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and pediatrics and neurology residencies at the University of California- San Diego. His main clinical focus is general neurological conditions, including epilepsy, migraine, concussion, and developmental impairments.
A native of St. Marc, she received her medical degree from the Haitian State Medical School (Hôpital Universitaire d'État Haïtien) in 2012. She has had a long-standing interest in children's health and well-being and volunteered in a local prison for minors, as well as with Fondation Espoir during her time in medical school. Following her social services year, she completed her residency in pediatrics at Mirebalais University Hospital in November 2016. The Kay Mackenson Clinic team was fortunate to hire their first pediatrician as the medical director that same month.
Job Titles:
- Special Projects Administrator
Edgard Miliace, a Haitian native and project administrator for the faith-based non-governmental organization Project Help, has been involved with Kay Mackenson Clinic from its inception, and worked as our program administrator for 3 years before transitioning to a role as special projects administrator. Edgard is motivated by being part of a team that helps those who are in need, and by serving as a liaison and translator between the US and Haitian culture. He plays a key role in organizing the Kay Mackenson Diabetes Camp.
Job Titles:
- Public Health Specialist With a Master
Lisa Dickey is a public health specialist with a Master's in Public Health from Boston University. She is a native English and Spanish speaker with oral fluency in French and Haitian Creole. She is currently the Clinic Operations Manager at the RotaCare clinic, a free clinic serving an underserved community in Oakland. Lisa has worked throughout the developing world providing patient advocacy, medical interpreting and facilitation of workshops with the goal of improving access to medical information and services. Lisa is the founding clinical director of Kay Mackenson and now serves as KM's public health advisor.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board and Advisors Team
Michele Sainvil is a 4th-year medical student at the University of Massachusetts. She completed her college education at Smith College and has 4 years of work experience as a research assistant at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. Born in Haiti, Michele moved to the United States at age 8 years. Having experienced the vast divide in health care delivery in Haiti vs. the US, Michele decided to work towards providing resource-rich health care to resource-poor communities like those of her home country. When asked to participate in establishing the Kay Mackenson Clinic as a free clinic for Haitian children, run predominantly by Haitian people, Michele was attracted by its innovative approach and believed this type of clinic was essential to the sustainable health of the country. Michele has been part of the Kay Mackenson team since its inception as Webmaster and part of the communications team and became a board member in 2014.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board and Advisors Team
- Physician at Dell Children 's Hospital
Ric is a pediatric emergency physician at Dell Children's Hospital in Austin, TX, and Wendy is the pediatric director of Ruth's Place Free Clinic in Granbury, TX. They have provided volunteer medical services in Haiti since 2007 and were particularly involved with the coordination of surgical missions in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. Ric previously served as the Director of Global Health for the University of Texas, Dell Medical School, where he worked extensively on pediatric medical projects in Africa and Central America. Drs. Bonnell co-founded Kay Mackenson when the oldest of their five adopted Haitian children, Mackenson, developed Type 1 Diabetes while still living in an orphanage and they realized the lack of resources available for pediatric chronic diseases.