Who we are
Bridges is led by a team of experienced professionals who have demonstrated commitment and delivered solutions to global problems throughout their careers, leveraging experience in diverse organizations such as Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, The Global Fund and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Board members oversee and support the work of Bridges. They bring extensive public and private expertise through decades of work in global development, and hands on experience from local implementation to leading global organizations.
The Team
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Julie is a global health leader and physician with a life-long commitment to addressing complex public health problems with creative problem solving, innovation, and development of collaborative partnerships for delivering global results.
ReadDedicated to serving the underserved and building equity, Julie pulls from experience as a health care provider, researcher, and initiator of pioneering programs. She has tackled large scale global problems, removed barriers to success, and built trust amongst diverse stakeholders to achieve health impact for some of the world’s most marginalized populations. Julie brings wide-ranging experience from clinical care, disaster response, product development, and immunization as well as in-depth disease specific knowledge, particularly in neglected tropical diseases.
Julie has trained at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as in clinical tropical medicine. She has also recently served as President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).
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Alan is a recognized leader in forging partnerships, development, and delivering results. He has been recognized for excellence and innovation throughout a career of more than 25 years leading teams with developing countries and international partners to help individuals improve their lives and countries to strengthen systems and avert disease.
ReadFrom his professional beginnings working as a prison nurse, Alan has always sought to be challenged and learn from and with those around him. He grew ever more passionate about international development through work on public-private partnerships, education and capacity development, research and development for new interventions, infectious diseases, immunization, supply chain, and primary health care in the developing world.
Alan earned his doctorate with high honors from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute at the University of Basel, Switzerland. He holds an MSc from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a BA with highest honors from the University of Washington. Alan is also a Registered Nurse.
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Sarah is a proven manager with over 20 years of experience in international social and economic development, spanning public and private non-profit sectors. Sarah organizes high-performing teams and innovates to deliver results, challenging and improving on existing approaches in education and health.
ReadTeaching in rural Kenya first inspired Sarah to pursue development solutions to help people overcome barriers to schooling and help to enhance livelihoods. She oversaw multi-million investments through USAID to reform South Africa’s education system at a time of rapid political change. At The Global Fund, Sarah managed the access to funding process and guided innovative transformations to their business model. Most recently at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, she led key improvements to country engagement and grant-making. Recognized for operational excellence and multi-stakeholder collaboration, Sarah brings strong planning and management expertise to the Bridges team.
Sarah is a graduate of Williams College (BA in Political Science) and Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
schurchill@bridgestodevelopment.org
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Cathy has worked in Finance for the past 16 years in both the public and private sector, in a career that has bridged both health care and human impact.
ReadShe started her career as a Physiotherapist in Australia, working in brain injury care, from acute treatment to return-to-work. After transitioning into a career in finance, she worked as the Finance and Compliance Manager for a leading diamond company, and subsequently as Financial Manager for a technology company that provided RFID solutions to the healthcare and diamond industries. Having lived and worked in Asia, Cathy developed a concern for women in vulnerable situations and she became a Director of a non-profit that worked to empower the vulnerable to find and maintain meaningful work.
Cathy holds an MBA from the University of New England, a post-graduate diploma in Public Health from Curtin University, and a Bachelors in Applied Science from Sydney University.
cgrebert@bridgestodevelopment.org
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Nicole is a global health and development professional with extensive experience in communications, advocacy and project coordination. Nicole has worked for a decade in the fight against malaria and neglected tropical diseases in coordination roles for non-profits including NGOs, a global partnership and a parliamentary group.
ReadNicole brings to Bridges her extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, event planning and delivery and strategic communication management, ensuring seamless delivery across all channels and activities.
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Collaborators
The Bridges team includes several members who contribute to specific projects and portfolios.
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Bridges’ Internship Program
2019 - PresentBridges is committed to investing in the next generation of health, education, and sustainable development leaders. Launched in 2019, our internship program is designed for students and young professionals on their way to impactful and fulfilling careers. Below are our interns listed by their year of participation.
We are happy to welcome our interns for 2025, Israel and Nikita.
Read2025
Israel Wuresah is a public health professional and a promising health researcher. He holds an MPhil in Applied Epidemiology, and a bachelor’s in Public Health (BPH) Disease Control and Prevention, both from the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana. Israel is passionate about improving health outcomes through scientific research and global health initiatives. His experience covers sexual and reproductive health, and infectious diseases.
Nikita Kubal is a global health researcher and recent graduate with a Master’s in Global Health from Georgetown University, specializing in disease prevention and epidemiology. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from American University. Her work spans infectious disease research, health policy analysis, and community engagement. Nikita has conducted research both in the U.S. and internationally. Passionate about improving public health outcomes, she focuses on data-driven strategies to inform policy and healthcare interventions.
2024
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Board Members
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Harriet Stanley PhD
Board Co-Chair (United States and Switzerland)Harriet has worked in international development and global health for 30 years. She has lived and worked in several countries, including Ghana, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia and Timor-Leste. She provided technical support to many other countries on short term consultancies. The focus of her work has been on strengthening health systems, engaging communities, increasing access and equity, and improving the quality of health services to meet the needs of women and their families.
Harriet has served on non-profit boards including HealthBridge (was PATH Canada) and Planned Parenthood. She has also provided technical support to new and established boards in countries where she worked to strengthen civil society partners. Her experience managing projects at the country, regional and global levels has included executive positions during which she worked closely with board members. -
Amélie Baudot Esq.
Board Co-Chair (United States) and Board Member (Switzerland)Amélie Baudot is an international development professional who has spent the last decade working to build global, multi-donor impact-focused funds. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer at the International Fund for Public Interest Media where she oversees organizational strategy, legal and governance, finance, operations and talent. She was most recently the Chief Strategy and Legal Officer at the Global Innovation Fund.
Amélie started her career as a restructuring lawyer in New York and London. She is a solicitor in England and Wales and admitted to practice law in New York State. Amélie holds a Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law, a Master’s Degree from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and a Bachelor’s Degree from Connecticut College. -
Dirk Engels MD PhD
Board Co-Chair (Switzerland) and Board Member (United States)Dirk Engels is a global health expert, who holds a medical degree with additional qualifications in tropical medicine, public health epidemiology, and parasitology. He started his international development career in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Rwanda, and Senegal, with responsibilities spanning clinical practice, preventive medicine, health services management, and disease control. He spent the latter part of his career at the World Health Organization in Geneva where he devoted himself to the design, governance, and implementation of the global response to neglected tropical diseases. Since his retirement 2017, he has continued to provide technical, strategic and policy advice to Uniting to Combat NTDs, a global advocacy organization that aspires to end neglected tropical diseases. Dirk’s motivation is to help Bridges to Development grow and leverage its innovative approaches to find effective solutions to long-standing public health challenges in low- and middle-income countries.
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David Brandling-Bennett, PhD
Board Member (United States and Switzerland)David is a medical epidemiologist whose work has focused on global health, primarily on infectious diseases, especially tropical diseases such as malaria. He has worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which included extended assignments in Central America, Thailand, and Kenya. He serves on the boards of the Medicines for Malaria Venture and the Innovative Vector Control Consortium.
His hope is to help Bridges to Development foster the effective application of innovative ideas and technologies to address long-standing challenges in low- and middle-income countries. -
Catharine Howard Taylor, MSc (Econ)
Board Member (United States and Switzerland)Catharine is an international public health professional with over 30 years-experience in program design, and evaluation, including 10 years in senior leadership roles for large US-based international non-profit organisations. She has lived and worked in Seychelles, Vietnam, Nepal, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, and the USA. In 2019 she established a small women owned business - NOMA 360 Associates, registered in the US and UK, specializing in accelerating the introduction of maternal health commodities into low- and middle-income countries. She has served on several Boards and steering committees, including White Ribbon Alliance, the NCDA steering committee and technical advisory committee for Jacaranda Health, Kenya.
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Zabeen Moser-Mawji, BSc, PgDip
Board Member (United States and Switzerland)Zabeen Moser-Mawji is a global executive with 30+ years of experience in consulting and organisational transformation for financial services clients. In her most recent position at Accenture as Managing Director, she worked with Wealth Management firms across Europe and Asia to deliver successful outcomes. She thrives in a multicultural environment and has been fortunate to have lived and worked in Canada, USA, Indonesia, Hong Kong before settling in Switzerland. Zabeen is looking forward to growing the impact of the successful and passionate team at Bridges to Development to increase new sources of funding. She believes there is great potential for stronger collaboration between private clients and the non-profit sector, to deliver innovative ideas in health and education. Zabeen was educated in Canada, and holds a BSc in Health Information Sciences and a Post Graduate Diploma in Asia-Pacific Management.