Board of Directors

President: Anne Peterson, MD, MPH

Anne Peterson, MD, MPH is Senior Vice President of Global Programs at Americares. She began as a missionary in Kenya and Zimbabwe, consulted on Neglected Tropical Diseases for CDC and WHO and then moved into policy/political positions, first as Health Commissioner for the State of Virginia and then as Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Global Health at USAID from 2001 to 2005. In that position, she oversaw all of USAID’s global health programs in maternal and child health, AIDS, family planning, NTDs, health systems and the launch of the Bush administration’s PEPFAR program. | eannepeterson [at] yahoo.com

Vice President: Rebecca Waugh, MDiv, MIA

Rebecca Waugh MDiv, MIA serves as Senior Programs Advisor at IMA World Health | Lutheran World Relief. She has more than 25 years of program development and management experience in multi-cultural NGO/not-for- profit environments, including 15 years in the international development and human rights arena. Rebecca served as a Country Director for IMA’s work in South Sudan before her current position. She has a Master of Divinity in Theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (1977) and a Master’s Degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (2000). | rwaugh [at] imaworldhealth.org

 Secretary: David J. Olson

David J. Olson has more than 25 years of strategic communications, social marketing and nonprofit management experience in 40 countries on five continents. Currently, he is on extended assignment, working for World Food Programme in Burundi, designing a social and behavior change communication strategy and campaign in nutrition. After serving as a Peace Corps agricultural volunteer in Togo, he managed an agricultural program in Mali for Lutheran World Relief, then led PSI social marketing programs in Zambia, Bangladesh and Paraguay (two of which he started). All three programs are social marketing leaders in their regions. He was director of Policy Communications for the Global Health Council from 2009-2011. Since 2011, he has managed his own global health communications and social marketing consulting firm, Olson Global Communications, with diverse global health clients. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @davidjolson | olson.david.jule [at] gmail.com

Treasurer: Amy Hewitt

Amy Hewitt, Grants Manager for International Aid, believes grants are more than just money…grants bring people together to work on solutions. She works closely with program staff in conceptualizing, planning and submitting proposals. Amy focuses on long-term relationships, common interests with foundations and communicating the effectiveness of programs. In previous roles, Amy connected with mission-minded organizations working in global health development to assess and deliver appropriate and sustainable medical equipment to rural clinics and hospitals. Amy’s interests – when she is not advocating for global health – include writing, crazy quilting and spending time with her husband and family. | hewitta [at] internationalaid.org

Bob Blees has been in Medical Ministry Support for the last 12 years. He joined SIM USA in 1980 as a Services Division mechanic and Services Division Director in Liberia. He later went on to serve as ELWA ministries manager overseeing its five divisions which included Services, Hospital, ELWA Academy, West Africa Christian High School, ELWA Broadcasting, Print Shop and Dental Clinic. For nearly 30 years, Bob has contributed to the management of SIM worldwide operations. | bob.blees [at] sim.org

Dennis Cherian, MD, MHA is a physician with a keen interest and specialization in alternative systems of medicine; he also has graduate degrees in public health administration and psychological counseling. Dennis currently serves as the Senior Director of New Program Development for Jhpiego. Prior to that role, he was Senior Director of Health for World Vision U.S., where he designed and implemented a broad range of public health programs in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East for 20 years. A native of India, he previously managed the Church of South India Mission Hospital. Dennis has also worked as a Public Health rep for the  New York State Department of Health. He serves on the board of the Core Group and is an Advisory Member of Social Behavior Change for Faith-Based Organizations and the Country Task Force for mPowering Frontline Health Workers. | dennis.cherian [at] jhpiego.org

Dick Day, MSc is Senior Vice President of Programs and Volunteers at CMMB. Dick has more than 35 years of experience in international development, including extensive field-based work, much of it focused on community-level development. He has a passion for assisting and empowering the poor and most vulnerable, particularly women and children. Most recently, as Peace Corps’ director for Africa, Dick provided strategic direction, leadership, and overall management of operations in 25 countries, responsible for more than 3,000 volunteers. Prior to his service at the Peace Corps, Dick was managing director at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, where he led the design of large-scale infrastructure programs. | dday [at] cmmb.org

Mwai Makoka, MBBS is Programme Executive for Health and Healing at the World Council of Churches in Geneva. Dr. Makoka also serves on the boards of the Africa Christian Health Associations’ Platform and the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network. He qualified as a doctor of medicine in Malawi in 2002, and received further training in public health microbiology and infectious diseases in the U.S. Besides clinical practice, Dr. Makoka previously worked in the national HIV programme and in academia and was previously Executive Director of the Christian Health Association of Malawi.

Ronald Mataya, MD is a Professor of Global Health at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health in Loma Linda, Calif., a Seventh-day Adventist academic institution. He also directs the MPH Global Health program. Prior to joining Loma Linda University, he was Director of Health Programs at the Adventist Development and Relief Agency’s head office in Silver Spring, Md. Ron is a native of Malawi and divides his time between teaching at Loma Linda University and at the University of Malawi College of Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. | rmataya [at] llu.edu

Paul Mikov is Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships at the New York Academy of Sciences and is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Political Science at Fordham University. Previously, he served as Vice President for Institutional Partnerships at CMMB, where he was responsible for advancing partnerships with leading foundations, corporations, academic entities, large health-care networks, and relevant UN and governmental agencies. Prior to that, he was Director of Development and a Visiting Scholar at the School of International and Public affairs at Columbia University in New York City. For about ten years, Paul held leadership roles at World Vision International, where he was the organization’s main UN Representative. He played a pivotal role in the preparation, mobilization of resources, and the successful launch of major global health campaigns, such as the Every Woman Every Child campaign. | pmikov [at] nyas.org

Jim Oehrig, MA, Vice President of Integral Mission at American Leprosy Missions. Jim develops partnerships and collaborations with Christian organizations and churches in communities where American Leprosy Missions works. He ensures that the organization continues to implement programs in a way that honors God and protects and restores people’s dignity. Jim graduated from Houghton College with a B.A. and received a M.A. in Latin American studies/international development from the University of Connecticut. He also did post-graduate work at the Centre for Development Studies at Swansea University, Wales in the United Kingdom. Before joining American Leprosy Missions, Jim and his wife were World Relief staff members in Honduras and Guatemala; from 1993 to 2005 they served with MAP International from the Latin America Regional Office in Quito, Ecuador. | joehrig [at] leprosy.org

Gordon Raley serves as CEO of the Family Service Foundation. Prior to that, he was the Director of Public Policy at FHI 360 from 2004 until November 2014. Before joining FHI 360, Gordon served as Vice President of Federal Relations and Membership Services at Mental Health America and was President and CEO of the National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations. He has a master’s degree in Community Organization and Planning from Tulane University. | gordonaraley [at] gmail.com

Doug Fountain, Ex Officio. Doug Fountain serves as CCIH Executive Director. Previously, he ​​​​​served as Vice President for Strategy and Impact for Medical Teams International. Before coming to Medical Teams International, Doug served on the executive staff at Uganda Christian University, where he began in 2004 as the head of the Department of Health Sciences and later served as Deputy Vice Chancellor for Development and External Relations as the university grew to five campuses. He helped establish the Christian Journal for Global Health to promote evidence-based practice. He is an advisor on evaluation and strategy for the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations, a consortium of corporations and NGOs working on disaster response and health system strengthening. He also brings a diverse background in teaching health and wholeness, conducting applied research in behavioral health, and promoting community reforestation in Tanzania. Doug has been a member of CCIH since 2006 and served on the board for four years. He holds an MPA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.S. in Political Science and Economics from the University of Oregon. | doug.fountain [at] ccih.org