Board of Directors
Marissa works in public health research, and is a passionate advocate for evidence-based health programming and policy. Marissa currently works with Global Give Back Circle as their MEL Senior Lead, working on programs to advance girls’ and women’s socioeconomic empowerment in rural Kenya. Her previous positions include work around gender equity and health policy at UCLA’s WORLD Policy Analysis Center and at the Population Council in Zambia. She completed her LLM in Public International Human Rights at Universiteit Utrecht, her MPH at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, and BA at University of California, Berkeley.
Alison serves as an emergency medicine physician at Brown University Emergency Medicine and Assistant Professor at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She has been involved in Uganda Village Project as co-founder since its inception in 2003 and served as Assistant Director and Director from 2005 to 2013. Alison completed her MD at Penn State University and her BA at the University of Rochester.
Raj has a background in accounting and supports community development and education efforts for those in need. He previously interned with PricewaterhouseCoopers, working on SOX and SOC 2 audits for top technology companies. Prior to that, he interned with the Texas Government to determine the amount of funding cities would receive for economic development. Raj completed his B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from The University of Texas at Dallas.
Jeff has over a decade of private, non-profit, and government sector experience in development, communications, operations, and project management. Jeff holds a BBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and an MPH in Community Health Sciences from the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA, during which he completed field work in Bangladesh. Jeff is passionate about global health, health equity, and strengthening health systems. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Krista is a purpose-driven marketing professional with a passion for using business for good. She has a special affinity for Africa, having spent time in developing a sustainable pricing model for a community-based NGO in Johannesburg and leading marketing for a social enterprise in Kenya. Krista completed her MBA at the University of California, Irvine and holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Chico.
Elise serves as Global Health Specialist at Deloitte and previously served as a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), supporting programs on infectious disease outbreak response and building capacity of sub-Saharan African countries’ ability to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats. Elise completed her MPH with a concentration in Epidemiology and Health Systems and Design from Texas A&M University and BS in Neuroscience and Africana Studies from Augustana College.
Kristina has experience working in the life science industry, spending several years in strategy consulting, and interning in marketing at Pfizer. Kristina has always been passionate about improving community health, from standing up and running local Memory Cafes for Alzheimer’s patients to partnering with a nonprofit in Thailand focused on equitable healthcare access for Burmese refugees. Kristina completed her MBA at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and BS in Neuroscience and Global Health from Dartmouth.
Brian currently serves as Director, Brand Marketing and Communications at the Bowery Mission. A communications specialist, he also previously worked at International Justice Mission in Uganda where he led public information campaigns and high-level advocacy engagement to galvanize community leaders, the police force, and the judiciary to stop forcible eviction and land grabbing in Uganda. Brian completed his BA in Journalism and Mass Communication at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
Sarah currently works as the Director of Project Management for Mass General Brigham Global Advisory. She has an extensive project management background, previously working for Emergency Medicine International and in the clinical research industry. Sarah was a UVP Healthy Village summer intern in 2010, serving as Team Leader for the Health Centre team. She earned a MPH in 2011 with a concentration in International Health and Development. Outside of work, Sarah is passionate about animal welfare and triathlon.
Stephanie is passionate about the intersection between food security, forced migration, livelihoods, and innovation. She is a results-oriented development practitioner with experience working internationally and in the U.S., with multilaterals, government agencies, universities, and nonprofits. She currently serves as Foreign Service Officer at USAID and recently worked with the United Nations migration agency IOM, the U.S. Congress on agriculture and oversight, and with the United Nations Development Programme supporting environment and disaster risk reduction projects. Stephanie completed her MPA at Columbia University and BA at University of California, Berkeley.
Carey is a grants and program management professional. She previously worked at the Fistula Foundation to improve access to obstetric fistula repair surgery throughout Africa and Southeast Asia and with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Research in Bangladesh to track the country’s cesarean delivery trends. She currently serves as Senior Practice Specialist, Global Health Division at Chemonics International. Carey completed her MPH from the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA and BA from St. Mary’s College of California.
Emily is a criminal prosecutor in Pennsylvania. She previously worked in Uganda for two years at International Justice Mission where she developed public information campaigns with the objective of ending violent land seizure from widows and orphans in Uganda's central region. Emily obtained her Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, and her B.A. from the University at Buffalo.