GLOBAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INCUBATOR - Key Persons

Aaron Emmel

ae..@advocacyincubator.org

Job Titles:

Director of Strategic Outreach and Marketing

Aaron Emmel develops new partnerships and oversees marketing for the organization. Prior to joining the Incubator, he launched the American Academy of Pediatrics' global health advocacy portfolio and served as senior policy advisor at PATH, where he helped establish and grow the organization's advocacy and public policy department. Aaron has drafted and secured the passage of federal laws, contributed to numerous policies issued by federal agencies, and led successful grassroots advocacy campaigns both nationally and globally. Aaron launched and sold two media companies and has extensive experience forming innovative partnerships, creating and leading coalitions, and advising organizations, including serving for three years as a New Ventures Competition judge for George Washington University. He writes and speaks frequently on global development and health and has been quoted in media including PBS NewsHour: The Rundown, Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, and Nature Medicine.

Abdullahi Hamza Hassan

Job Titles:

Kano State Coordinator, Nigeria

Abdullahi Hamza Hassan coordinates our epidemic preparedness work in Kano state, Nigeria. He provides strategic and technical support to government and civil society advocating for increased spending on health security. Prior to joining the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Hamza worked for more than a decade in both the public and nonprofit sectors, including as the Africa Field Epidemiology Network's technical advisor for advocacy and community mobilization on the Nigeria AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey, and as Nasarawa state project manager for the Second World Bank HIV/AIDS Program Development Project. Hamza holds a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and a master's in clinical psychology, and is pursuing his doctorate in clinical psychology.

Abhishek Pratap

Job Titles:

Senior Advisor
Senior Advisor for GHAI 's Food

Abhishek Pratap is Senior Advisor for GHAI's Food and Nutrition program in India. He works with a diverse group of civil society organizations, alliances and associations for safeguarding public health. He is a public policy professional with almost two decades of diverse experience in building public policy campaigns, facilitating alliances to nurture collaboration and designing actionable research & strategic communication tools. A passionate public policy strategist & strategic communications specialist, Abhishek has also worked in climate change, agriculture and food production, forest governance, international waste trade, development finance and children's rights. Prior to joining GHAI, he worked with different offices of Greenpeace International for close to a decade.

Adeolu Adebiyi

Job Titles:

Regional Senior Advisor for the Food and Nutrition Program
Regional Senior Advisor for the FPP Advocacy Fund in Africa

Adeolu Adebiyi is the Regional Senior Advisor for the Food and Nutrition program in Africa. In this role, he oversees and coordinates the Advocacy Fund portfolio across the region. Adeolu has a wealth of experience in advocacy campaign development and implementation, grants and program management, capacity building, and policy development. He has worked on a wide range of issues relating to communicable and non-communicable diseases. Prior to joining GHAI, he helped establish the National Harm Reduction Program within the Nigerian Ministry of Health, developed national guidelines and provided technical support on behalf of WHO in Nigeria, and facilitated the establishment of the West Africa CSO Network on Drug Policy which is now active in 15 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries. He served on the Johns Hopkins-Lancet Commission on Drug Policy and Public Health, West Africa Commission on Drugs and has managed several projects funded by the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB & Malaria, USAID, World Bank and private foundations.

Anup Kumar

Job Titles:

Senior Consultant
Senior Consultant for the Food and Nutrition Program

Anup Kumar is a Senior Consultant for the Food and Nutrition program in India. He works closely with a diverse group of civil society organizations and a coalition of partners in the development and implementation of strategies to help engage with policymakers at a national level to build voices of support on hypertension, food policies and tobacco control issues. As a public policy advocate specializing in government communications with over 15 years of experience, Anup has worked extensively in building public policy campaigns with policymakers both at national and state level to build voices of support across diverse issues like child protection, renewable energy, tobacco control, women empowerment, food policy etc. Anup Kumar holds a master's degree in marketing from Pune University and holds a post-graduate diploma in advertising and public relations from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.

Ariana Childs Graham

Job Titles:

Program Director
Road Safety Program Director

Ariana Childs Graham is the Road Safety Program Director working with partners in Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Uganda, Ukraine and Vietnam. The global road safety team fosters enabling environments, enhances the leadership and impact of advocates at country-level and helps to catalyze evidence-based policy change to achieve long-term and sustainable reductions in road traffic deaths and injuries. For 20+ years, Ariana has worked to tackle some of the most intractable global health issues alongside civil society advocates and policymakers. A systems thinker and coalition-builder, she advances health, equity & rights addressing commercial, economic, environmental, and social determinants of health through strategic initiatives, social change programs and campaigns. She has held roles with PAI, Aspen Institute, UN Foundation and Nike Foundation, among others, as well as served on the Advisory Group of the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism for UHC2030 and WHO's International Advisory Group on Primary Health Care for Universal Health Coverage. She is fluent in English and Spanish, and has dabbled with French, Mandarin, Portuguese and Russian over the years. She earned a bachelor's degree in international studies from Macalester College and a master's degree in International law and human rights from the University for Peace. She lives in Takoma Park, MD with her partner Kate, a speechwriter, and son Asher, an aspiring firefighter.

Asim Khan

Job Titles:

Associate Director of Communications With the Global Health Advocacy Incubator 's Road Safety
Associate Director, Communications

Asim Khan is the Associate Director of Communications with the Global Health Advocacy Incubator's Road Safety program, where he supports in-country partners across Asia and Africa. Asim has more than 10 years of experience leading and implementing marketing and communications strategies, both domestically and internationally. Most recently, Asim led communications and capacity strengthening efforts at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Institute for Global Tobacco Control. He has extensive experience working with partners across the globe, including in China, Ukraine, India and Bangladesh. In his free time, Asim enjoys reading, writing and listening to music.

Aura Guerrero

Job Titles:

Global Legal Advisor for the Food and Nutrition Program

Aura Guerrero is a Global Legal Advisor for the Food and Nutrition program. In this role, she collaborates with and supports partner organizations across the program. Previously, Aura worked at the Health and Human Rights Initiative at the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center. Aura completed her law degree at the Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City and her master's degree in Human Rights Law at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México. She also holds a master's degree in International Legal Studies from Georgetown University. Aura has experience working in the field of Human Rights and public health law. She has worked and carried out projects for the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, the Pan-American Health Organization and the Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy at the Organization of the American States. Aura is an at-large board member of the Hispanic Bar Association of DC and a member of the New York State Bar Association. She is fluent in English, Spanish and French.

Ben Orton-Vipond

Job Titles:

Associate Director of Communications for GHAI 's Overdose Prevention Initiative
Associate Director, Communications

Ben Orton-Vipond is the Associate Director of Communications for GHAI's Overdose Prevention Initiative. Prior to joining the GHAI team, Ben worked for ten years at Reingold, a communications and marketing firm, focusing on communications around mental health, substance use, and stigma reduction. At Reingold, Ben worked on projects including an opioid overdose prevention effort for the Commonwealth of Virginia, a mental health initiative for the NBA, and a COVID-19 communications campaign for the Virginia Department of Health. Ben is a two-time GW grad, receiving a BA in Psychology in 2012 and an MPH in 2016.

Berta Bekele

Job Titles:

Industry Advisory, Africa

Berta Bekele coordinates our Food and Nutrition program work in Ethiopia. He has more than 13 years of experience as an attorney, legal consultant, and law lecturer. He has served as an attorney and consultant at law in federal courts and legal consultant in the Ethiopian Food and Medicine Authority, drafting more than 20 food- and medicine-related directives in collaboration with partners. He was involved in presenting a brief on food and medicine regulations before the Council of Ministers in 2012, and has provided high-caliber legislative and policy advice to public, private, and civil society sectors. Berta holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws in Business and Investment Laws.

Bui Thi Thu Giang

Job Titles:

Program Assistant, Vietnam
Program Manager for the Drowning Prevention

Bui Thi Thu Giang serves as program manager for the Drowning Prevention and Tobacco Control program in Vietnam. She supports the CTFK/GHAI Vietnam Country Director in implementing annual strategies and work plans, and provides research support. She also provides technical assistance for grantees and partners to organize advocacy and training workshops and communication campaigns in coordination with government agencies and other partners to reduce child drowning deaths and strengthen tobacco control regulations. She holds a bachelors degree in finance and a masters degree in marketing from the University of Liverpool. Before joining the GHAI team, Giang worked at an education non-profit and then pursued a professional career at a technology communication organization for nearly eight years.

Christy Arevalo

Job Titles:

Associate
Program Associate

Christy is the program associate for the Global Health Advocacy Incubator's (GHAI) core team. In this role, she works across all program areas to support the organization's capacity-strengthening work. She also supports organization-wide marketing and visibility initiatives. Prior to joining GHAI, Christy completed a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland. She has previous advocacy experience in a wide range of issue areas, including global health and health equity. Christy speaks English, Spanish and French.

Chunhui Wang

Job Titles:

China Coordinator

As in-country coordinator of our Cardiovascular Health program in China, Chunhui Wang provides technical support to partners in the areas of sodium reduction and trans fat elimination. Chunhui has extensive experience working in policy advocacy and communication. She is a seasoned journalist who has also worked as an advocate to promote tobacco control legislation and implementation in China. Chunhui is a co-author of the book "Tobacco Control in China" and has contributed to a variety of research, including World Health Organization reports on tobacco control. Prior to joining GHAI, she co-founded Food Think, a communications platform that disseminates knowledge on sustainable agriculture, food and nutrition. Chunhui holds a master's degree in public policy from King's College London.

Cindy Olivarez - CCO

Job Titles:

Director of Communications
Director of Communications for GHAI 's Road Safety

Cindy Olivarez is Director of Communications for GHAI's Road Safety program. In this role, she develops communications and media strategies that help civil society organizations in various countries advance road safety policies. Prior to joining GHAI, Cindy worked for more than 10 years with a focus on health and STEM education communications for government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She has also worked extensively in the private sector managing public relations for consumer brands. She is fluent in Spanish.

Corina Alvarez

Job Titles:

Associate Director of Communications for Road Safety at GHAI
Associate Director, Communications

Corina Alvarez is the Associate Director of Communications for Road Safety at GHAI. In her role, Corina provides strategic communications support to advocacy coalitions across Latin America working to advance public health policies that save lives. Corina is a fully bilingual communicator with more than fifteen years of experience in developing and implementing bilingual programs to educate consumers and serve as a point-of-contact between government agencies, industry, nonprofits, and the public. Corina has served as a spokesperson for various nonprofits and businesses and at one-time hosted a weekly, local talk show. Corina grew up in Latin America and is uniquely positioned to understand the culture and political pressures of the region.

Daniel Zinn

Job Titles:

Communications Associate

Daniel Zinn is the Communications Associate for GHAI's Food and Nutrition program. In this role, he supports in-country partners' communications and media strategies. Daniel brings significant experience advancing food systems programs and advocacy efforts through communications campaigns. Prior to joining GHAI, he worked with Montgomery County Food Council, Food and Drug Law Institute, and the UN World Food Programme in Armenia. Daniel has completed his Master's degree in Food and Development from the University of Sussex and Institute for Development Studies. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Deborah Backman

Job Titles:

Global Program and Financial Compliance Officer

Deborah Backman is a Global Program and Financial Compliance Officer for the Food Policy Program at the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, where she supports the Advocacy Fund. Her portfolio currently includes Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Prior to joining GHAI, Deborah supported breastfeeding support programs through capacity building, technical assistance and grants management at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Deborah has a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from the University of Pittsburgh.

Doan Thi Thu Huyen

Job Titles:

Country Director, Vietnam

Huyen Doan is the country director for the Drowning Prevention, Tobacco Control and Food and Nutrition programs in Vietnam. She provides strategic vision and leadership to achieve the legislative and program objectives in Vietnam. She closely coordinates with policymakers, government ministries, civil society organizations and research institutions, and localities in joint policy advocacy, development and community-based interventions. Huyen has more than 18 years of experience in public health programs. Prior to joining the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids/ Global Health Advocacy Incubator, she served as a program manager and researcher at the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, focusing on tobacco control, injury prevention and avian influenza control programs.

Edward Otico

Job Titles:

Coordinator
Philippines Coordinator

Edward Otico coordinates our work with the Food and Nutrition program in the Philippines. He holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and a master's in business administration. Emmanuel has managed salt iodization projects in Philippines for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). Most recently, he served as a consultant with the Iodine Global Network, focusing on salt iodization initiatives in Southeast Asia. Edward also has experience in consumer marketing for the pharmaceutical industry.

Ela Dhankhar

Job Titles:

Program Associate

Eli J. Ramamonjisoa

Job Titles:

Madagascar Coordinator

Eli J. Ramamonjisoa is coming the in-country coordinator for the Prevent Epidemics program in Madagascar. He works with various stakeholders to advocate for improved and sustainable funding for epidemic preparedness and other policies related to health security. He has prior experience working with Palladium Make It Possible, Health Policy Plus Project as a Senior Health Financing Advisor and UNICEF as a Health Programme Specialist in several African countries (Madagascar, DRCongo, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire). He holds a doctorate in medicine and certificates in epidemiology and health economics. He is a member of The African Association for Health Economics and Policy, and is an active member of Health Economics and PBF Community of Practices. He was made a Knight of the National Order of Madagascar in 2011.

Elinami Mungure

Job Titles:

East Africa Coordinator

Elizabeth Orlan

Job Titles:

Associate Director of Research for the Food
Associate Director, Research

Elizabeth Orlan is the associate director of research for the Food and Nutrition program. In her current role, she supports research translation and dissemination for advocacy efforts, including development of research alerts and fact sheets. Prior to this position, Elizabeth worked on tobacco control advocacy and research in the United States and Indonesia with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the U.S. National Cancer Institute and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has published over a dozen peer-reviewed articles, and has given numerous presentations at national and global academic conferences. She has advanced training in research design, quantitative methods and analysis, and holds an MSPH degree in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She speaks Bahasa Indonesia.

Emmanuel Alhassan

Job Titles:

Nigeria Coordinator
Nigeria Coordinator for the Prevent Epidemics

Emmanuel Alhassan is Nigeria coordinator for the Prevent Epidemics program. He works with various stakeholders to advocate for improved and sustainable funding for epidemic preparedness and other policies related to health security. He has prior experience working with the corporate private sector, government and international development partners (including USAID and DFID). Prior to joining the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, he was Project Manager for Nigeria's Second World Bank HIV/AIDS Program Development Project (HPDP II). He holds a Master of Science degree in Organisational Psychology, an MBA and PhD Psychometrics. He is a Senior Executive Fellow of the Harvard University Kennedy School and an IP3-certified Public-Private Partnership Specialist. He is a Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Management (Chartered), Fellow of the Nigerian Psychological Association and Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria.

Esubalew Dadi

Job Titles:

Africa Regional Director for the Food and Nutrition Program
Food Policy Director, Africa

Esubalew is the Africa Regional Director for the Food and Nutrition program. In this role, he shapes the strategic vision and framework, providing ongoing support to partner organizations in low- and middle-income countries to achieve Food and Nutrition programmatic goals. Leading in program design, planning, implementation and evaluation, he collaborates with core partners and in-country grantees, ensuring alignment of work plans and building consensus on project deliverables. Esubalew maintains program excellence, overseeing active advocacy campaigns to advance evidence-based and best-practice-informed food policies in the region. Scaling Food and Nutrition policies operationally, he directs policy strategic planning, institutional immersion and country-level strategy development for policy change. Leading policy advocacy implementation teams, Esubalew ensures capacity building, technical assistance and manages overall operations, staff and budget. With over 13 years of diverse professional experience at national and international levels, he previously served as Legal Advisor for GHAI's Africa region, Senior Manager of Policy Analysis at Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry Campaign, Lead Policy Analyst at the Florida Policy Institute, Assistant Lecturer and Head of law school at Mizan Tepi-University and Program Manager of the refugee resettlement program at Lutheran Services Florida. Esubalew earned his law degree from Mekelle University, Ethiopia, and two LL.M degrees from the University of Oslo and Loyola University Chicago, respectively.

Evelyn Gitz

Job Titles:

Senior Advisor, Food and Nutrition Policy

Evelyn Gitz (MSc, PhD) serves as the Senior Advisor for the Food and Nutrition Policy Programs. In this role, she provides overall programmatic and operational support across the portfolio. She previously served as the Argentina in-country coordinator where she was instrumental in supporting a broad coalition of partners in the development of advocacy strategies with two policy wins, the comprehensive "Health Food Promotion Law" that includes FOPL, marketing restrictions, healthy school environment and food procurement, and the TFA regulation. Evelyn has experience in the public and nongovernmental sectors in the areas of public policy, health, advocacy and gender. She has a degree in nutrition, a master's degree in design and management of social programs and a PhD in public health. Before joining the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, she worked in the Ministry of Health of Argentina as Coordinator of the Healthy Eating Plan for Children and in different civil society organizations.

Gema Granados Hidalgo

Job Titles:

Colombia Coordinator

Gema Granados Hidalgo is the in-country coordinator for the Road Safety program in Colombia. She is a communications professional with a masters degree in public policy. Before joining the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Gema worked for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Colombia, the National Cancer Institute, and the Health Secretariat in Bogotá. In her experience, she has been able to work with governmental institutions, civil society organizations, international donors, the media and key populations in creating successful and innovative strategies to promote public health and human rights fulfillment.

Gillian Williams

Job Titles:

Strategic Partnerships Program Manager for the Overdose Prevention Initiative

Gillian Williams is Strategic Partnerships Program Manager for the Overdose Prevention Initiative. She is responsible for managing and building relationships with national partners with the goal of expanding treatment access and harm reduction to reduce overdose deaths in the United States. Prior to joining GHAI, Gillian was the Program Manager for Strategic Partnerships at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, supporting the advancement of federal tobacco control policy through a national coalition of over 180 public health, medical, faith, education, youth, and civil rights organizations. Gillian received her Bachelor's degree in public policy from the University of Delaware.

Hema S. Khanchandani

Job Titles:

Program Director
Director for the Food and Nutrition Program

Hema Khanchandani is the Director for the Food and Nutrition program. With the cardiovascular health program focusing predominantly on food policies, Hema brings nearly 20 years of experience in research, research translation and dissemination, policy advocacy and implementation, culinary instruction and menu development for institutions (i.e., workplaces and universities). Prior to joining the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Hema was a sous chef at Stanford University, and was charged with developing healthy, plant-forward recipes for its dining halls. Preceding her experience as a chef, Hema spent a good portion of her career translating evidence-based research into implementation toolkits; she was also previously at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in a research capacity with the South-Asia teams, and spent a year in India supporting the India team with implementing India's national tobacco control policy. Hema pursued a culinary path to complement her public health background, with the intent of advancing healthier food practices to promote population health and prevent disease. Hema is fluent in Hindi.

Henry Sookram

Job Titles:

Global Program and Financial Compliance Officer

Henry Sookram is the Global Program and Financial Compliance officer for GHAI's work in health systems strengthening. This includes the Data for Health, Immunization and Prevent Epidemics programs. Henry's current portfolio spans the Africa, Asia and Latin America regions. He holds a Master of Public Health, Global Health from Brown University. Henry's prior experience includes conducting HIV-treatment and gender justice research in South Africa and nutrition research at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Jackie Okao

Job Titles:

Coordinator
Uganda Coordinator

Jackie Okao is the Uganda in-country coordinator for the Road Safety program. She provides strategic guidance to various civil society groups to inform and implement the global Road Safety program in Uganda. Jackie brings more than 12 years in international humanitarian and development work with a focus on policy advocacy and campaigns, working on a wide range of issues including internally displaced persons and refugee protection, labor rights for women in the garment sector in Asia, post-emergency recovery and land rights, child protection, and others. Prior to joining the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, she worked at various international organizations including Oxfam GB, CARE USA, Norwegian Refugee Council and Tear Fund across the globe in Africa (East and West), Asia and the Caribbean.

Jake Palley

Job Titles:

Associate Director
Associate Director, Advocacy

Jake Palley is the Associate Director, Advocacy for Road Safety in Latin America. Jake brings more than a decade of experience in public policy advocacy, strategic planning and grants management to this position. He has worked on mercury reduction, tobacco control, obesity prevention and HPV vaccine as cervical cancer prevention. His experience stems primarily from his seven years with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, where he oversaw dozens of grants and spearheaded two campaigns. One campaign supported the flavored tobacco ban in Brazil, and the other resulted in a comprehensive tobacco control law in Bolivia. In all that he does, Jake draws heavily upon his time in the Peace Corps in Paraguay and speaks English, Spanish, Guaraní and Brazilian Portuguese.

Jamil Gunawan

Job Titles:

Indonesia Coordinator

Jamil Gunawan is the in-country coordinator for the Data for Health program in Indonesia. Previously, he has worked the specific fields of research, knowledge management and policy advocacy and has experience working at both the national and sub-national levels especially in the Indonesian provinces of Aceh, West Papua, Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan. He has also worked on development programs with the Government of Indonesia, UN Institutions and has worked for global and national non-government organizations in the areas of child-rights, human rights, decentralization and governance, domestic resource mobilization, climate change mitigation and adaptation, poverty alleviation and community-based health programs. He has a degree on communication studies and a master's degree of political science from the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.