Scholars

Amanda Creary completed her graduate studies at Mercer University, gaining her Master of Public Health degree. She has been working for Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET), a program at The Task Force for Global Health, a non-profit subsidiary of Emory University. She previously worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supporting grants, proposals, contracts, and the Office of Budget Services. At TEPHINET, Amanda provides project management, logistical and programmatic support for multiple projects and special initiatives. Most recently, she has worked with Polio Eradication efforts in Pakistan and supports the in-country Field Epidemiology Laboratory Training Program. She has a passion for healthcare, humanitarianism, and servitude and excitement to use knowledge, skills, and mentorship to continue a career in global health. During Amanda’s free time, she volunteers as a patient advocate, helping low-income families and individuals with medical debt forgiveness, which has also influenced her career in the public health sector.

Anya has 5+ years of experience working with small companies and non-profits, and earned a Bachelors of Arts in Religion and Philosophy from Smith College. She currently serves as Corporate Communications Project Manager at MAPS Public Benefit Corporation, an organization focused on addressing unmet needs in the mental health field through the development psychedelic-assisted therapies, where she supports the leadership team with communications and company culture. Prior to her current role, Anya worked as a project manager, marketing research assistant, and ‘chief of staff’ in a variety of industries including: environmental advocacy and wildlife rehabilitation, cybersecurity, entertainment, wellness, and career coaching. Anya also spent a year serving the homeless population through a volunteer program, where she gained a greater understanding of the complexity of addressing poverty and public health, at scale for those who need it most. Throughout these experiences, she developed a greater understanding of the many systemic issues that get in the way of social innovation and development.

Ahmidu Barrie has over ten years of experience in non-profit administration, logistics, and management. Ahmidu earned his first degree in Peace and Conflict Studies at Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone in 2010 and later pursued his post-graduate degree in public administration at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM). His drive to help his country comes from seeing his parents work very hard to take care of their family, as well as his experience of being abducted and forced to be a child soldier during his country’s civil war. After working with Wellbody Alliance, a local NGO that helped care for amputees and others with war wounds, he knew his life’s work was to help the poorest of the poor. He established the Community Health Worker Program, which brought care to the doorsteps of people living with HIV and TB across Kono District. When Ebola came to Sierra Leone in 2014, Partners In Health began working with Wellbody, and they eventually merged. During this time, as lead Logistician, Ahmidu was tasked with creating Ebola care and treatment centers across two districts. Currently, as Chief Operating Officer for Partners In Health Sierra Leone, Ahmidu is helping shepherd the development of the Maternal Center of Excellence, which aims to improve health outcomes for women in a country with one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world. Ahmidu is eager to learn from the experiences of his colleagues and hopes that sharing his experience in health systems strengthening in low-resource settings will be of use to others. The skills and training that he hopes to acquire will enable him to improve his capacities as a leader and be an even stronger advocate of social justice, health equity, and education.

Eamon Penney serves as a Project Lead with Partners In Health, where his work focuses on supporting health departments in the U.S. to implement data-driven, equity-first agendas as they rebuild following the emergency phase of the pandemic. Previously, he held a number of roles with MSF (Doctors Without Borders) including coordinating logistics in South Sudan, supporting the Board of Directors in New York, and most recently, leading advocacy and COVID-19 response efforts in Rakhine State, Myanmar. Eamon earned his master’s degree in Public Health from Columbia University where he focused on epidemiological methods in complex humanitarian emergencies. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Vermont in Community and International Development. Eamon currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts but returns frequently to his home state of Vermont.\

Kate Hibbert brings five years of experience in the nonprofit sector to her Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy program at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. She previously held various roles at Global Village Project (GVP) in Decatur, GA, U.S., the only tuition-free middle school dedicated to serving newcomer refugee girls in the United States. As Development and Data Projects Specialist, she managed major campaigns and events for the development team and data projects across departments. As Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Leadership Circle co-facilitator, she convened a team to drive forward workplace and communications projects to achieve organizational goals. At the Coalition for Refugee Serving Agencies, she represented GVP at monthly meetings, supported World Refugee Day event planning, and coordinated data collection on the Annual Report committee. In a volunteering capacity, Kate serves on the board of directors for International Education Peace Volunteers, in addition to facilitating intercultural discussions and events and serving as the budding organization’s LinkedIn community manager. Her language skills in French, Spanish, and Arabic were gained through her B.A. in World Languages from Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana. Through her nonprofit experience, she has developed strengths in project management, organizational and peer leadership, and cross-functional collaboration. Kate hopes to strengthen DEI, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution efforts in her career in international relations and public service.

Lisa Henry is a humanitarian leader who has worked for the past 25 years in humanitarian response, support to civil society organizations, and human rights work. Lisa’s experience stretches from the Rwandan genocide, the Balkans War, the Ethiopian famine, and the Haiti earthquake. The response was always organized through the input and opinions of local or national organizations and leaders. Affected populations and lived experience are valuable elements in a well-functioning team that relies on strict adherence to human rights. Lisa’s strength is understanding, spotting, and motivating the best response from her team members, while convincing external stakeholders to understand and believe in the results generated.

Megan McKinley hails from Ohio, United States of America, and has been living internationally since 2013. For her Undergraduate studies, she attended Long Island University’s Global College where her education took her out of the classroom and into the field of ten countries across five continents. Additionally, she holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification through the world-leading Project Management Institute. Megan believes that the best education is through experience and thus has made it her mission to work in organizations which break down barriers and provide alternative education opportunities to marginalized communities. Professionally, she has worked at Global Leadership Adventures, Guild Education, and is currently serving as a Banyan Impact Fellow in Chennai, India where she partners with Playquity, an early-phase NGO which focuses on providing gender equity programming in rural areas. Throughout her professional career, Megan has worked as a Program Manager, Education Coach, Advisor, and Project Lead. Through these experiences, she has realized she works best in diverse environments where she has the opportunity to collaborate with others and contribute her adaptability and organization. Megan is a firm believer that through daily choices, individuals hold the power to change the world.

Taylor Jackson is pursuing a master’s degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences. She is committed to helping develop a positive and mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and Russia that is rooted in mutual respect and understanding. Her desire is to promote cross-cultural communication and assist, in any way that she can, in fostering an environment for open discourse and problem resolution between the United States and Russia. In addition to being a full-time student, she is also working at the Diversity Org as the Executive Assistant to the President of Global Partnerships. She handles research and outreach to Title 1 high schools, and she plays an active role in providing underserved students of color with professional development opportunities.