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Maria Francisco has over three decades of professional experience focusing on global health issues and health care delivery systems in low- and middle-income countries. She has held positions in the public and non-profit sectors, serving in senior advisory, management, and leadership roles for a wide range of initiatives to advance universal health coverage goals and ensure equitable access and financial protection. She brings leadership in the areas of public health program and policy development, having worked extensively in maternal and child health, infectious diseases, and health systems strengthening programs throughout Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. She has led large multi-country flagship programs for USAID as a senior advisor for child health and immunization. She served on strategic multilateral fora for the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, GAVI Health System Strengthening, and Community Integrated Management of Childhood Illness. She also served in senior technical roles with USAID in Kenya and Vietnam. As an implementing partner, she provided technical direction in health systems strengthening and equity-centered programming under USAID’s Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator (HSSA), Quality Assurance Project, MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity, Acting to End Neglected Tropical Diseases | East, and the Maternal and Child Survival Program.

Adedayo Oduola is a public health entomologist with more than two decades of experience in Nigeria on malaria vector control programs in development institutions, research institutes, and academia. He has worked on malaria projects of national significance funded by the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank, the European Union, and the private sector. As a senior lecturer at the University of Ilorin, his passion for ensuring a well-trained vector control workforce led to a WHO capacity strengthening grant that enabled him to train and mentor 23 entomologists from across the country.

Chanry Im has more than 10 years of experience directing monitoring and evaluation and technical assistance for national health programs in Cambodia, working with government stakeholders from the peripheral, sub-national, and national levels. Trained as an epidemiologist, he also has experience in health management information systems (HMIS). His technical support to the Cambodian national tuberculosis (TB) program transformed the management of TB patient’s health data from a paper-based to web-based system for real-time data collection. His current focus includes working with the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology, and Malaria Control, the University of Puthisastra, and the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).

Dr. Tara Reed (she/her/hers) is a leading equity and inclusion expert with over 20 years of experience in community, program, and system level leadership. Her work has focused on inclusive system design, capacity building, participatory research, meaningful community engagement, intersectional approaches, and transformative action. 

MIchelle Wood has more than 30 years of experience managing large-scale national program evaluations and applied social science research. She has managed several national random assignment studies.Wood is the project director for the Social Security Administration’s Benefit Offset National Demonstration Project. She manages a large team, including subcontractors and consultants, to implement and evaluate a $1-for-$2 benefit offset for the Social Security Disability Insurance program. The project scope of work includes designing and executing large-scale participant outreach and recruitment, implementing secure data systems, managing complex data collection, designing a communications strategy, operating a call center, providing training and technical assistance to local agencies, and documenting the results in process, participation, net impact and cost-benefit analyses. 

Sarah J. Shoemaker-Hunt has more than 15 years of experience as a health services researcher and implementation scientist. As an experienced pharmacist, she brings a practice-informed lens to her role conducting mixed-methods studies and evaluations and delivering technical assistance and quality improvement projects for federal health agencies. They include the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Clients also include non-governmental organizations. Sarah is the Abt client account lead for AHRQ.

Dr. Josephat Shililu is a senior project manager and entomologist with over 20 years’ experience managing malaria control programs and conducting malaria vectors’ research. He has extensive expertise in project planning and implementation and has contributed to successful and timely implementation of IRS projects in Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Kenya. He has also contributed to Ministries of Health (MOH’s) capacity strengthening efforts in malaria research, environmental compliance procedures, logistics systems, and mobilization campaigns. Dr. Shililu has ensured sound financial management and timely completion of quality project technical and financial deliverables.

Dr. Gabriella Newes-Adeyi has more than 25 years of experience managing and implementing public health research projects that focus on disease epidemiology and surveillance, research-to-practice strategies, and health behavior change. A skilled manager, she has directed multiple large, complex multisite research projects. As a principal associate and client account lead for infectious diseases in Abt’s public health portfolio, Dr. Newes-Adeyi leverages all Abt’s capabilities to deliver solutions that match client priorities. She leads growth of new infectious disease work and ensures high-quality delivery of existing contracts.

Julio Pacca is a psychologist and innovative leader with more than 20 years of experience in sexual and reproductive health and rights. He focuses on HIV and AIDS; family planning; maternal health; adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health; and health systems strengthening. Pacca has worked with donors such as the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations, the World Bank, bi-lateral Scandinavian donors, and the William and Flora Hewlett, Goldman, and Bill and Melinda Gates foundations.