>>  COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING DEPARTMENT  <<

Miriam Sidibé, Interim Head of Department 
Aminata Seydou Traoré, Women’s Health Financing Program Assistant (meet Aminata)
Sien Diarra, Program Assistant, Cooperatives
Addis Dakouo, Program Assistant, Gnaman ni Sôrô ani Kènèya Project

>>  HEALTH DEPARTMENT  <<

Dr. Lamine Sogoba, Head of Department
Dr. N’Diaye Sidi Bathily, Quality Improvement Coach

>>  HEALTH PROMOTION DEPARTMENT  <<

Oumou Camara Ouattara, Head of Department
Abdou Touré, Interpersonal Communications Manager
Aïssata Touré Kouyaté, Storyteller (meet Aïssata)
Malick Yalcoué, Community Health Worker Supervisor

>>  ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE  <<

Chiaka Ouattara, Operations Director
Oumar Coulibaly, Administrative Assistant

>>  MONITORING AND EVALUATION DEPARTMENT  <<

Boubacar Fomba, M&E Coordinator

>>  DIRECTORS  <<

Dramane Diarra, Mali Director (meet Dramane)
Tara Hopkins, US Director

Note about our leadership: Since 2016, Mali Health’s Directors have shared responsibility and leadership of our organization as equal partners. All decisions related to programs and operations in Mali are made in Mali and all revenue generation, and management/compliance for our 501(c)(3) status are handled by our US Director.

US BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Agnes Yeboah, PhD

Agnes is an Executive Director, Global Regulatory Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) – Biologics and Cell Therapy at Celgene Corporation, now Bristol Myers Squibb Company. Agnes joined Celgene in November 2016 and has significant experience from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Sellas Life Sciences. She has her PhD and MSc in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from Rutgers University and a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University. Agnes serves on the steering committees of the Women Advancing Leadership at Celgene and the Scientific and Technology Committee of Alliance for Regenerative Medicines (ARM). Born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, Agnes is fluent in African dialects such as Twi and Fante. She is passionate about initiatives that seek to improve access to quality healthcare and medications for the African continent.

Nicole Warren, PhD, MPH, CNM

Nicole is an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and a Certified Nurse Midwife providing antenatal and well woman gynecologic care at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Since serving as a PCV in Mali, she has continued to collaborate on programs and research in Mali and other low resource settings. Her clinical expertise is in nursing and midwifery care of childbearing women and her research is focused on building capacity of front-line maternal health providers across setting, improving the clinical care of women affected by female genital cutting (FGC), and Respectful Maternal Care (RMC).

Christine Sow, PhD, MPH

Christine is the President and CEO of Humentum, a membership network providing operations support to more than 300 international development organizations. A seasoned convener and coalition-builder, Dr. Sow brings deep experience in best practices associated with organizational membership models, having relaunched and led the Global Health Council, which connects advocates, implementers and stakeholders around global health priorities worldwide. Dr. Sow led Palladium’s impact bond work and directed the first development impact bond for maternal and newborn health in India. She also served as Chief Operating Officer of Population Services International, where she led global operations across more than 60 countries. Over the span of her career, Dr. Sow has worked for non-profit, academic, bilateral and multilateral agencies and spent more than 14 years in West Africa with organizations including UNICEF and USAID. She holds a PhD in epidemiology from Tulane University, an MPH and an MA from the University of Michigan, a bachelor degree from Vassar College. She is fluent in French and English.

Kristin Schrader

Kristin Schrader is the Marketing and Communications Director for Coffee Quality Institute, a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) that works globally to improve the quality of coffee and the lives of those who produce it. She has been working internationally in nonprofit communications since 2007 and was in for-profit marketing before that. Whether communicating biology, data or agricultural education, her work is always targeted, easy to understand and respectful of an organization’s individual voice.

Crystal Lander

Crystal Lander is an experienced senior policy and development expert both in the United States and globally. Ms. Lander is Pathfinder’s Chief Strategic Engagement Officer, where she manages the global advocacy, communications, and engagement teams at Pathfinder. In this role, Ms. Lander leads and shapes strategies for engaging a wide range of constituencies including the private sector, governments, and civil society organizations, working to increase funding and access to reproductive health in the 20 countries where Pathfinder works.  Prior to her role at Pathfinder, Ms. Lander developed and led the advocacy team at Living Goods, where she managed the organization’s engagement on global health policy. She and her team worked to drive lasting and systemic impact that will enable every family to access quality health care in the community in which they live. Ms. Lander also developed and led the advocacy unit at Management Sciences for Health (MSH) for more than seven years where she successfully managed the organization’s engagement on global health policy in the United States and in more than 30 countries. Ms. Lander is a graduate of the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Economics and a Master of Public Health from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine with a degree in International Health Policy. She sits on the boards of Coalition for Racial & Ethnic Equity in Development (CREED), and chairs the Steering Committee for the Frontline Health Workers Coalition. She is engaged in her local community as an active  member of the National Association of Parliamentarians, Alexandria West Rotary Club and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Neelum Jeste, MD, MPH

Neelum is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist who currently works in research and drug development in the pharmaceutical industry. She completed her undergraduate studies in psychology and Spanish at Duke University and her medical school at the University of California, San Diego. During her medical training, she worked in clinics in India and South America and conducted a research study in the Dominican Republic

Margot Fahnestock, MPP

Margot Fahnestock is a philanthropy and policy expert in family planning and reproductive health. In her role as Vice President, Strategic Development for nonprofit pharmaceutical organization Medicines360, Margot is helping align the organization through a strategy process integrating program development, impact measurement, and resource mobilization. Margot served as a Program Officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, responsible for making grants to reduce unintended pregnancies and improve reproductive health and rights in sub-Saharan Africa. She was a founding member and catalyst for the Ouagadougou Partnership, which has mobilized more than $400 million in additional funding for family planning in Francophone West Africa. She served two years as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer teaching English at a secondary school in Mali. Margot has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Los Angeles and master’s in public policy from the University of Chicago.

MALI ADVISORY BOARD

Ben Aboubacar, MD

Dr. Ben Aboubacar is the Director of Health Programs for the Millennium Development Goals Center for West and Central Africa. He coordinates Millennium Villages’ Community Health Worker programs in countries such as Senegal, Ghana, and Mali, and his advice is sought by local and national health authorities as well as by international organizations such as the United Nations and UNICEF.

Sidiki Coulibaly

A member of the local mayor’s office, Mr. Sidiki Coulibaly is one of Mali Health’s chief advisers. He has hosted Mali Health Coordinators in his home in the past, and was one of our first community supporters.

Yaye Danfakha, MD

Dr. Yaye Danfakha is currently working with a UNICEF-partner program to evaluate the effectiveness of an in-home health care program for childhood respiratory infections.

Abdoul Diallo

Mr. Abdoul Diallo is the former head of the West African Water Initiative for USAID. He has also taught at the School for International Training in Mali. Mr. Diallo splits his time between Mali and the United States.

Alpha Zancoura Doumbia

The adjunct for health at the Mayor’s Office of Commune 1 (Bamako), Mr. Doumbia is an invaluable liaison between Mali Health and the local government.

Mamadou Niare

As the Sikoro Village Chief, Mr. Mamadou Niare supervises activities in both Sikoro and Sourakabougou. He is also a member of the Bamako committee of traditional chiefs.

Saloum Soumaré

Mr. Saloum Soumare has worked with the USAID Program in Shared Governance (PGP) in Bamako for years, and is an expert in creating community/government accountability in Bamako. He has also worked with the Peace Corps as a language teacher.

Mary Magdalene Togo, MD

Dr. Mary Togo is a member of our Board and the Technical Consultant to the Minister of Health. Dr. Togo was the first female chief of medicine of Mali’s premier national hospital (Hôpital Gabriel Touré) and is a figurehead of Malian health care policy. She meets often with project staff to develop appropriate protocols, address potential problems, and spearhead the distribution of our results within the Malian government.

Boubakar Traore, MD

Dr. Boubakar Traore serves as the Chief of Medicine of the Reference Hospital of Commune 1 and supervises all primary health activities in the district.