Final Speaker Bios - Timmy Global Health

Timmy’s 2013 Student Leadership Conference, sponsored by
CONFERENCE SPEAKER BIOS
Saturday, Sept. 7: Morning Introduction and Welcome
Dr. Evan Lee
Dr. Evan Lee assumed his role as Eli Lilly and Company’s Vice President of Global Health Programs and Access
in January 2012. In this position, Dr. Lee oversees Lilly’s global health activities and represents Lilly on the
global health stage in Geneva, Switzerland. He is also responsible for Lilly’s signature CR initiatives, the Lilly
MDR-TB Partnership and the Lilly NCD Partnership, as well as efforts related to access to medicines.
Dr. Lee joins Lilly from the Geneva-based Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) where he served
as Senior Policy Officer and led several efforts to reduce the burden of TB and malaria. His accomplishments
included the launch of EXPAND-TB, a project funded by UNITAID, which is helping to introduce new TB
diagnostics in 27 countries. Prior to FIND, Dr. Lee served in various positions, including for Management Sciences for Health and Médecins
Sans Frontières. Dr. Lee graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and physics. He received his Doctor of
Medicine degree from New York University School of Medicine, and his Master of Business Administration from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Sloan School of Management.
Dr. Chuck Dietzen - President and Founder of Timmy Global Health
As Founder and President of Timmy Global Health, Dr. Chuck Dietzen boasts a diverse career as pediatric
physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, international medicine enthusiast, entrepreneur, professor,
and athlete. Growing up in Kokomo, Indiana, over 150 foster children came through his family’s home. It was
then that it became apparent to his mother that he had a special gift with children and encouraged him to
become a pediatrician. In 1996 and 1997, Dr. Chuck traveled to India on orthopedic missions working
alongside Mother Teresa. Inspired to make a deeper commitment to the medically-underserved, Dr. Chuck
founded Timmy Global Health (formerly the Timmy Foundation) in 1997.
His work with Timmy Global Health has taken him to Ecuador, Guatemala, Nigeria, Haiti, and the Dominican
Republic. He has also traveled to Albania, Cuba, Kenya, Honduras, Bolivia, El Salvador, the Ukraine, and Brazil.
Dr. Chuck earned his Bachelors Degree in Agriculture from Purdue University and his Doctor of Medicine from Indiana University. He received
his training as a pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at the University of Alabama Birmingham. He currently practices at St.
Frances Hospital and Easter Seals Crossroads, where he also serves as Medical Director.
Nitin Shrivastava
Nitin Shrivastava started working with Timmy as a freshman at Tufts University. During his time at Tufts,
he worked extensively with Timmy's programming in Guatemala, and served as a trip leader and a
leader for Tufts Timmy's Clean Water Initiative. After graduating with a degree in biochemistry and
community health, Nitin moved to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala to work as Timmy's Medical Programs
Coordinator alongside Asociación Pop Wuj. After his five years working with Timmy, he has just started
his first year of medical school at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine and hopes to
return to Timmy as a medical professional.
Saturday, Sept. 7: Morning Sessions
Nathan Hand
Nathan Hand is a professional fundraiser and nonprofit blogger who enjoys connecting people with the
causes that need them. He has helped countless local, national and international organizations build
awareness and raise more funds for their respective organizations. He currently serves as Director of
Advancement at The Oaks Academy in Indianapolis. He is President-Elect of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Indiana, serves on the board of several nonprofit organizations and presents
regularly on a variety of topics including fundraising, social media, nonprofit marketing, leadership and
more. Nathan has a masters in Philanthropic Studies from the School of Philanthropy at Indiana
University, an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University and did his
undergraduate work at DePauw University. When he's not working, he's tweeting at @nathan_hand and writing at
www.nonprofitnate.com.
Saturday, Sept. 7: Early Afternoon Sessions
Dr. Miguel Garcia – Banelino
Dr. Garcia has lived in the town of Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic, for the last 17 years, since
he entered into the Seminary. He completed his temporary vows with the Missionaries of the
Sacred Heart, and five years later, entered the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo,
where he studied Medicine. At the same time, he also studied and received a degree in Clinical
Psychology. In 1985, Dr. Garcia studied epidemiology in Mexico, and has since completed other
post graduate work in Medical Administration, Social Security, and Adolescent Health. Dr.
Garcia has been the Medical Director of the Monte Cristi hospital, as well as the Director of
Health for the Province of Monte Cristi, and has been at the forefront of medical programming in those communities. Currently, he is the
Medical Director of the Preventive Medicine program at BANELINO, a banana cooperative and Timmy’s partner in the Dominican Republic,
en the bateyes of Monte Cristi. Dr. Garcia has three children with wife Lulú and is very active in the social and religious life of his community.
Dr. Cristian Carrión – Santo Domingo, Ecuador
Dr. Cristian Carrión received his medical degree from the Universidad Central del Ecuador (in
Quito, Ecuador), where he received his certification in medicine and surgery. He completed
postgraduate studies at the Universidad Estatal de Guayaquil (in Guayaquil, Ecuador), earning a
degree in immuno-deficiency diseases and a masters in tropical medicine. Dr. Carrión completed
an emergency medical residency in Santo Domingo, Ecuador. Following this, he worked for the
Ecuadorian Red Cross. Dr. Carrión currently serves as the Medical Director of the Hombro a
Hombro Medical Center in Santo Domingo, Ecuador, where he has been since 2007. He is profesor
and chair of Anatomy and Physiology at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, as well as a
professor for the community health department of the University of Kentucky school of Family
Medicine.
Dra. Patricia Elizabeth Quezada de Calderon - Hospital Nacional de Niños
Benjamín Bloom
Dra. Patricia Elizabeth Quezada de Calderon graduated with a medical doctor degree from the Universidad Evangelica de El Salvador. She completed her general medicine residency at the Hospital Nacional de
Cojutepeque, and a residency in both pediatrics and pediatric surgery at the Hospital Nacional de Niños
Benjamín Bloom. Following this, Dra. Quezada de Calderon completed a final residency in plastic
reconstructive surgery, specifically focused on burn victims. Dra. Quezada de Calderon has spent time in
both Atlanta, GA, and Galveston, TX, working with the Chief of plastic surgery and an acute burn reconstruction surgeon, respectively. She has also assisted in the coordination of a training on basic first aid for
burn victims. She worked for several years as a plastic surgeon at the Hospital Nacional de Niños
Benjamín Bloom, and is currently the Chief of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Burn Surgery there. In addition.
Dra. Quezada de Calderon assists with Dr. Rajiv Sood’s burn victim teams, which visit El Salvador annually
in conjunction with Timmy Global Health.
Ramiro Javier Montoya Chapungal - Patronato
Ramiro Javier Montoya Chapungal is from Baños Tungurahua, Ecuador, but moved at an early age to
the Napo Province, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where he still lives today. Mr. Montoya received his
bachelor’s degree from Leonardo Murialdo in Archidona, Ecuador, his higher education degree from
the Polytechnic Amazonian University in Cuenca, Ecuador. He is a licenses profesor of Educational
Administration, and he has a masters degree in Education and Social Development. He is married
and has five children.
Mr. Montoya has spent most of his career in the field of education, as a teacher and vice chancellor
of the Distance Education Program in Napo, an institution that provides an alternative form of
education for the geographically distant communities of the Ecuadorian Amazon. He has also held
public positions, such as the Director of Education and the Administrative Director of the Napo
Province Government. Currently, he serves as the Director of General Administration for Patronato, the provincial government of Napo, an
institution whose misión is the provide social services to the highest priority populations, such as the elderly and people with limited
resources, which is achieves with the strategic alliances of Timmy Global Health. Together with Timmy, Patronato has been able to improve
the quality of life and health standards in many of the local indigenous communities.
Dr. Carmen Rosa Alvarado Benítez – Pop Wuj
Dr. Carmen Rosa Alvarado Benítez was trained at the University of San Carlos in Guatemala as a surgeon. In 2011, Dra. Benítez studied neurology and conducted neurological
research at the Univerisity of Alcalá in Madrid, Spain. She has certificates in Vascular
Access for Neonatology, as well Mayan Medicine. She has served as the Medical
Coordinator of Nutrition Programs and Comprehensive Care in the Municipality of
Cajolá, and has conducted nuerous studies, such as how altered sleep patterns affect
children in primary school who have repeated grade levels. Dra. Benítez most recently
created a protocol for the use of Nutributter, a nutritional supplement, in programs targeting malnutrition in Guatemala. She is currently a
doctor at the Pop Wuj clinic , in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and is the Medical Coordinator of Nutrition and Referral programs for Pop
Wuj, in conjunction with Timmy Global Health.
Marcela Cruz – Fundación Tierra Nueva
As an anthropologist in Chile, Marcela Cruz has worked on intercultural health in
indigenous communities of the southern part of the country. At the Universidad Católica
de Temuco, in Chile, She also served as adjunct professor for undergraduate students,
teaching a certification class on culture. Marcela has lived in Ecuador for seven years.
Currently, she is the director of Social Protection Services at the Tierra Nueva Foundation. There, she directs various projects for the local community of the south of Quito,
including a Project for the eradication of child labor, community health, and the improvement of the diasabled children’s center.
Saturday, Sept. 7: Late Afternoon Sessions
Dr. Paul Park
Dr. Paul Park is a District Clinical Adviser for Partners in Health - Rwanda and an associate
physician/clinical instructor at PIH's partner institutions, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard
Medical School. As an Indiana native, Paul graduated from Brebeuf Preparatory School as well as
Indiana University for undergrad (BS, Chemistry) and medical school. Paul’s global health experience
began at the Indiana U chapter of the Timmy Foundation as a trip leader and fundraising chair. His
involvement with Timmy grew to include a summer internship in Quito, Ecuador as the partnership
liaison with Tierra Nueva, which resulted in a successful grant proposal of $15,000 from Kiwanis
International to expand the mobile medical unit. During his second year of medical school, he
completed multiple trips to Guatemala to spearhead the founding of the Pop-Wuj – Timmy partnership. Paul then took a year off after third year to work in Eldoret, Kenya with AMPATH focusing on
implementation and research regarding community-based multi-drug resistant TB treatment. Paul
also volunteered as a medical coordinator for the Red Cross during the 2008 Kenyan post-election violence. He then went on to complete
an Internal Medicine - Global Health combined residency program at Duke University. During this time, he spent a second year with
AMPATH and established a community-based diabetes management program. This implementation research project additionally served to
complete his Masters of Science in Global Health degree. Paul's policy experience includes serving on the board of directors of Universities
Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) – an access to medicines international NGO – as well as founding the UAEM IU chapter. Paul's
career focus encompasses improving primary care delivery infrastructure through community-based implementation and research, as well
as sustainable partnerships.
Dr. Meg Sullivan
Meg Sullivan, MD, is a board certified pediatrician and works at Mary’s Center
for Maternal and Child Care in Washington, DC. Mary’s Center is a Federally
Qualified Health Center that serves a diverse group of patients, regardless of
their ability to pay. In addition to her role as a pediatrician, Meg serves as the
medical coordinator of the center’s Teen Clinics and the student placement
coordinator for rotating clinical students.
Prior to Mary’s Center, Meg was the Medical Director at Timmy Global Health.
In addition to overseeing the organization’s medical protocols and practices,
she worked at the Pop Wuj Clinic in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. At Pop Wuj, Meg directed patient care, oversaw medical service trips, and
developed the Supplemental Nutrition Project to address children’s nutritional needs in Guatemala, which has the third highest rate of
childhood malnutrition in the world. Before entering the medical field, Meg taught middle school math at a New York City Public School in
the South Bronx as a Teach For America AmeriCorps member. Meg has a B.S. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University, where she was a two-time All Ivy selection in soccer. Meg received her MD from the University of California, San Diego and completed
her pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of New York/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. In addition to her work in
Guatemala, Meg has past medical experience in Mexico, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. She grew up in Minneapolis, MN and is
an avid Minnesota sports fan. Meg lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and two young sons.
Dr. Raj Sood
Dr. Sood was raised in Albany, New York. He attended Union College in Schenectady,
New York, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and French.
Dr. Sood attended Albany Medical College of Union University, graduating in 1984.
Following that, Dr. Sood completed five years of General Surgery Residency training
at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He then completed his
Plastic Surgery Residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio in
1991. Dr. Sood furthered his career in 1992, by completing a fellowship in hand and
microsurgery, at the Raymond Curtis Hand Center in Baltimore Maryland (Johns
Hopkins University.)
After completing his training, Dr. Sood joined the faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis Indiana. In 1992, he
became the Medical Director of the Richard M. Fairbanks Burn Center. Dr. Sood is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and
has a CAQ in Hand and Microsurgery. Dr. Sood was promoted to Professor of Surgery in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 2006. Dr.
Sood’s primary areas of interest are breast surgery, cosmetic surgery, and burn reconstructive surgery.
Dr. Sood is a recognized member of several boards and committees. He has given more than 50 presentations, for which he has been
recognized both nationally and internationally. He has won numerous awards for his research projects. He was recently voted one of
Indianapolis Top Plastic Surgeons by his peers in 2005, 2006, 2007 and again in 2009. Dr. Sood has also published a textbook on burn
reconstruction, Achauer and Sood's Burn Surgery: Reconstruction and Rehabilitation. He stays active in public service by educating the
community on burn prevention.
Charla Cain, MPH – Timmy Global Health
Charla is Timmy’s Organizational Learning and Project Coordinator. Charla serves as a stateside
point-person for specific health projects within Timmy’s international programs, providing
support to our on-the-ground country teams and working closely with the Programs Coordinator to develop Timmy’s overall programming and organizational impact. Charla guides Timmy’s
organizational learning priorities, including data management, data processing, and overall
evaluation and monitoring at the institutional level, program level, and project level. She leads
Timmy’s Long-Term Volunteer Program and is coordinating Timmy’s new Safe Water Solution
project in collaboration with MedWater for Timmy international communities. Charla has her
Master in Public Health Degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
with a certificate in Environmental Health. Prior to this career change to public health, Charla
worked as a physical therapist in New York State and PT Director in Minnesota and has been
heavily involved in numerous community health related education projects within Indiana.
Darrell Adams – MedWater
Darrell Adams is Co-Founder and CEO of MedWater. After graduating from
Oklahoma Baptist University in 1971 with a degree in Psychology Darrell worked at
West Virginia University as a Campus Minister for 2 1/2 years with the US2
program. He then did two years Graduate study in Theology at The Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Darrell spent the next 28 years
traveling the country as an advocate for Peacemaking and Justice disguised as a
folksinger. He performed in a wide variety of venues which includes several
performances with Garrison Keillor on A Prairie Home Companion. In 2004 Darrell
joined with EDGE Outreach, now called WaterStep, as Communications Management and IT Director. He left WaterStep in December
2012 and with Chana Gwynette started MedWater. Darrell is married and lives in Louisville, KY.
Francesca Kingery – MedWater
Francesca Kingery is a medical student at the University of Louisville School of
Medicine where she is pursuing a dual MD/MA degree in Bioethics and Medical
Humanities. She was selected to take part in the Distinction in Global Health
Track where she is currently exploring her research interests which include:
cultural competency in healthcare, bioethics in global health, health disparities,
social determinants of health and community health worker (CHW) development.
Francesca's passion for global health developed in undergrad as she worked with local refugee populations and read about the works
of Paul Farmer in her Anthropology classes. After receiving a BA in Biopsychology from Transylvania University she worked with
Louisville's local immigrant and refugee population as an AmeriCorps VISTA for 18 months. Additionally, she has worked in healthcare
settings in Honduras, Ecuador (with Timmy Global Health) and Kenya. After receiving a grant from the Gold Humanism Foundation she
completed a Community Photovoice Project in rural Kenya which demonstrated perceived barriers to health experienced by local
women. Francesca hopes to continue to work in Kenya studying social determinants of health and CHW's role in improving community
health outcomes.
Dionissi Aliprantis, PhD – Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Dionissi Aliprantis is a research economist in the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Cleveland. He is primarily interested in applied econometrics, development, labor and urban economics,
education, and program evaluation. His current work investigates the identification of causal effects, with
a focus on identifying neighborhood effects on education and labor market outcomes. He completed his
PhD at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his BS in mathematics and BA in economics and
Spanish at Indiana University. When not doing his research, Dionissi is involved with community groups
in Cleveland and elsewhere. He serves as the Associate Director (and Minister of Humor) of the Math
Corps at Cleveland State University, an academic enrichment and mentoring program that brings middle
and high school students from Cleveland public schools together, with college students, to learn mathematics from each other and to interact with university faculty. Dionissi is also involved with Cleveland’s
Promise Neighborhood Initiative, the Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED) in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and has volunteered with Timmy Global Health.
Muz Ahmed – Timmy Global Health
Muz Ahmed was working as a software engineer at Microsoft in Seattle when he caught the travel
bug and wanted to get away (temporarily) to experience other places and cultures. In November
2012, he traveled to Tena, Ecuador with the Microsoft Medical Team and decided to stay! For
nearly 6 months he has been working as a long-term volunteer in the Amazon Basin, combining
his passions for health and technology to help revolutionize Timmy’s work via an electronic
medical record system called TimmyCare.
Dr. Michael Hole
Michael Hole is an MD/MBA candidate at Stanford University’s Schools of Medicine and Business.
He is Founder of Be Haiti, a campaign supporting the construction of a hospital for women and
children in post-earthquake Haiti, and Butler University chapters of Timmy Global Health and
Ambassadors for Children. Michael has authored a book, five book chapters, and over 20 peerreviewed articles on various global health topics, and he serves on the Board of Directors for
non-profit service organizations in Chicago, Indianapolis, NYC, and San Francisco. Michael was
Director of Child Health Services at Mental Health America before graduating from Butler in 2008
with degrees in Biology and Spanish. He currently works on federal policy issues surrounding
domestic child poverty at the American Academy of Pediatrics in Washington, DC.
Saturday, Sept. 7: Conversation on Global Health
Jon Shaffer - Partners in Health
drinking good coffee, and being from Portland, OR.
Jon Shaffer is the Community Engagement Coordinator at Partners In Health. In
this role, he is working to build a community organizing strategy that can
strengthen the growing movement for global health equity. Previously, Jon served
for two years as the Executive Director of GlobeMed, during which time the
national network grew from 17 university-based chapters and 500 students to 46
chapters and more than 1,500 students, all working in partnership with 47
grassroots health organizations on four continents. Jon is so thrilled to be a part of
this discussion because he’s seen how high-quality primary health care is so vital,
especially to those living in desperate poverty. He loves tossing the Frisbee,
Jennifer Goldsmith - Seed Global Health
Ms. Goldsmith is the Chief Administrative Officer and Director of Partnerships and Planning for Seed
Global Health. Seed partners with the Peace Corps to cultivate the next generation of medical providers
and educators in resource limited settings, through one year partnership faculty placements.
Prior to joining Seed, Jennifer worked as Director of Strategic Initiatives in Graduate Medical Education
at Partners Health Care where she developed programming in many areas including global and
humanitarian medicine. Previously Jennifer was Director of Finance and Administration for the Harvard
AIDS Prevention Research Project, Assistant Dean for Finance at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at
Harvard University and Special Advisor to the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries
based at Harvard Medical School. Ms. Goldsmith earned her MS in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, her MEd at
Boston College and BA from the University of Michigan.
Sonia Sarkar – Health Leads
Sonia Sarkar serves as Chief of Staff to the CEO of Health Leads, a national nonprofit that
connects patients to the basic resources they need to be healthy. In her role, she oversees
all of the CEO’s internal and external initiatives and represents the organization externally.
As an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University, she co-founded and served as campus
coordinator for Health Leads’ Baltimore site, as well as a student member of the
organization’s national Board of Directors. Sonia also co-developed the university’s first
undergraduate course on Urban Health and Advocacy and participated in efforts to expand
Medicaid legislation in Maryland.
A 2008 Truman Scholar and Member of the USA Today All-Academic Team, Sonia has
worked as a Mayoral Fellow with the Baltimore City Health Department, where she studied
the effects of inadequate housing on health outcomes in urban neighborhoods. In 2009,
Sonia was named SAALT's South Asian Changemaker of the Year, and also received a Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship to
conduct work with local paramedic teams in San Jose, Costa Rica. Sonia is a Boardsource Judith O’Connor Emerging Nonprofit Leader, a
World Economic Forum Young Global Shaper, and served as a founding board member for the Boston Young Healthcare Professionals
as well as the Healthworks Foundation Young Professionals Board. She holds degrees in public health and international studies from
Johns Hopkins, and is also a published poet.
Jennifer Gottesfeld – Global Health Corps
Before joining the Global Health Corps team as US Program Manager, Jennifer Gottesfeld was a
2011-2012 Global Health Corps fellow placed with Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative in
Malawi where she worked as a Health Promotion Officer. Prior to her departure for Malawi, Jennifer
worked in resource development for International Medical Corps. Previously, Jennifer worked as a
Health Project Facilitator for a small organization under the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), for which she
implemented a health education center in Kala Refugee Camp in Zambia. Jennifer graduated cum laude
and with college honors from University of California at Los Angeles with a degree in Anthropology, and
took time off to volunteer as an EMT in Israel. During college, Jennifer participated in a year of service
with AmeriCorps, where she worked as a paralegal at the Inglewood Courthouse providing legal aid to
self-representing litigants. In addition, Jennifer had a brief stint in the movie industry, working as a
production accountant and associate producer on movies in Hollywood and Peru.
Sunday, Sept. 8: Conversation on Global Health
Jamie Cartwright - Long Term Timmy Volunteer
Just off six months as Projects Assistant LTV for Mobile Health & Strategic
Communications, Jamie is a rising senior at Lawrence University (WI) studying
biological anthropology and human communication. Since March, he has
lived in Napo, Ecuador, working to expand Timmy’s community-based health
projects using technology, communication, and ethnographic research. Jamie
is a long-time supporter of the global movement for health equity, and has
been an intern and assistant at Timmy headquarters as well as a chapter
president of GlobeMed, another student-powered global health network. Prior to his work with Timmy, Jamie co-founded an online HIV
prevention network in Rwanda, and is currently looking forward to a career in community-based health promotion and social marketing.