Dr. John N. Nkengasong
U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy – The United States President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief
Dr. John N. Nkengasong was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy (S/GAC) May 5, 2022 and officially sworn in on June 13, 2022. In this role, Dr. Nkengasong leads, manages, and oversees the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); which is the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history, prevent millions of HIV infections, save lives, and make progress toward ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Born in Cameroon, Dr. Nkengasong is the first person of African origin to hold this position.
In 2017, Dr. Nkengasong was appointed as the first Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Through his leadership, a framework for moving Africa CDC into a full autonomous health agency of the Africa Union was established. Dr. Nkengasong led efforts to create policy frameworks to guide countries to establish and strengthen their public health institutes and defined and implemented a system to collate national surveillance data. He also led the COVID-19 response in Africa, coordinating with heads of state and governments across the continent, among other achievements to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped secure 400 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines at the height of vaccine scarcity. During his tenure, he was appointed as one of the World Health Organization’s special envoys on COVID-19 preparedness and response.
Dr. Nkengasong served as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Global HIV and Tuberculosis’ International Laboratory Branch Chief and as the Associate Director for Laboratory Science. Subsequently, he served as Acting Deputy Director at the CDC Center for Global Health and Co-Chair of the PEPFAR’s Laboratory Technical Working Group.
As a leading virologist with over 30 years of experience in public health, Dr. Nkengasong was appointed as a board member for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in New York, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, in Norway.
He received his B.Sc. from the Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé, Cameroon; his M.Sc. from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; and his Ph.D. from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Brussels, Belgium. He also received a Diploma in Leadership and Management from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Dr. Nkengasong is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and recognitions. Most recently, he served as one of the World Health Organization Director General’s Special Envoys for COVID-19. In 2021, Dr. Nkengasong was recognized as Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, where he was described as “a modern-day hero.” Additional awards include the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Award for excellence in Public Health Protection Research, the Shepard Award, the U.S. Director’s Recognitions Award and the William Watson Medal of Excellence, the highest recognition awarded by CDC; which was awarded for outstanding contributions and leadership in advancing global laboratory services and programs to support the PEPFAR. Most recently, Dr. Nkengasong was invited to become a member of the National Academy of Medicine; became the first-ever laureate of the Virchow Prize for Global Health, for his dedication to improving the health and wellbeing of the world’s most vulnerable people; and received the African of the Year Award from All Africa Business Leaders Award in partnership with CNBC Africa and Forbes Africa. He has authored or co-authored over 250 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters in professional journals.
Dr. Mamadi Yilla, PhD.
Acting Principal Deputy U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator
Dr. Mamadi Yilla, PhD., is a member of the Senior Executive Service of the U.S. government and is currently the Acting Principal Deputy U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. As such, she serves as the second in command to the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and supports the daily oversight, coordination, leadership, management, and implementation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to ensure that all its activities and resources, including its annual budget of approximately $6 billion in over 50 countries are as impactful, effective, and efficient as possible
Prior to joining the Dept. of State, Dr. Yilla served the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a research fellow in immunology, improving diagnostic tools for vaccine-preventable childhood diseases.
Dr. Yilla completed undergraduate and graduate training at the State University of New York at Buffalo and post-doctorate training at MIT in Cambridge, MA.
Born and raised in Sierra Leone, she was educated in Sierra Leone, the United Kingdom and the United States. Dr. Yilla is married and the mother of three daughters; her eldest is a graduate of Penn State University, and her twins are recent graduates of Harvard College.
Maureen Bartee, MPH
Senior Advisor for Health Systems and Health Security
Maureen Bartee is the Senior Advisor for Health Systems and Health Security in the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy at the Department of State. She has more than twenty years of experience leading, managing, and implementing public health programs and policies both domestically and internationally. She has worked on the U.S. response to numerous public health emergencies, including the 2022 Uganda Ebolavirus outbreak, the monkeypox epidemic, the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and SARS.
Maureen most recently served as the Director for Emerging Biological Threats and COVID-19 Advisor in the Global Health Security and Biodefense Directorate at the National Security Council, where she led U.S. government policy development for the global COVID-19 response and drove interagency consensus on key policy issues related to the World Health Organization. Prior to this position, Maureen was the Associate Director for Global Health Security at the Center for Global Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she was responsible for leading Global Health Security strategy and policy, including coordination with U.S government interagency and international partners on CDC’s implementation of the Global Health Security Agenda. Maureen was instrumental in launching the multilateral Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) and in designing and implementing the U.S. interagency GHSA program.
Maureen previously served in various roles at CDC, including as the CDC liaison to the U.S. Department of Defense, Chief of CDC’s Global Health Security Branch, and Deputy Director of CDC’s Central Asia Regional Office in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Maureen also worked to implement and support Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP) in several countries, including Kenya and the Central Asia Region. Outside of the US Government, Maureen has worked for International Medical Corps in Washington, D.C., and l’Agence de Médecine Préventive in Paris, France.
Maureen is a doctoral candidate in Health Policy and Management at the University of Georgia and holds an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of California at Berkeley. She currently resides in the Washington, D.C., area with her husband and three children.
William Dilday
Interdepartmental Liaison
Bill Dilday serves as the Interdepartmental Liaison in the Office of the U.S Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy (S/GAC). The office implements the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). With an annual budget of approximately $6 billion, PEPFAR is the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in history. Bill advocates for and raises awareness and visibility of S/GAC and PEPFAR within the Department. He creates partnerships and serves as a resource and point of contact for Department entities on S/GAC and PEPFAR and vice versa. From August 2018 to July 2020, Bill served as the Chair of PEPFAR’s West Africa Regional program.
Having joined S/GAC at its establishment in 2003, Bill is the longest serving member of the S/GAC staff. Until 2016, he served as S/GAC’s Executive Director, leading operational and administrative support for S/GAC, including human resources, facilities management, information technology, general services, and travel, within an annual budget of $17 million.
From 2002 to 2003, Bill served as a deputy director and senior regional advisor in the Department’s Office of International Health and Biodefense, working on public health issues, including HIV/AIDS and SARS, in Asia, the Pacific, and other regions.
In 2001-2002, Bill was the director of the Office of Country Reports and Asylum Affairs in the Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. He served as editor-in-chief of the Department’s 2001 and 2002 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the 2001 International Religious Freedom Report, and contributed to the Department’s first Trafficking in Persons Report. Bill also coordinated the Department’s review of approximately 125,000 annual applications for asylum in the United States and issued the Department’s advisory opinions to U.S. immigration judges adjudicating such claims.
From 1996 to 2001, Bill served as the special advisor for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Department’s Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Bureau. During 1996-1997, he also served as the special advisor for South Asian, Near Eastern and African Affairs in the same bureau. From 1990 to 1996, he served in the Department’s Office of Marine Conservation and was responsible for fisheries negotiations with Canada, Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as in the United Nations.
A career civil servant, Bill joined the Department in 1989, initially serving as a student intern in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs. Bill is the recipient of four Meritorious Honor Awards, four Superior Honor Awards, and was a nominee for the Department’s award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs. A Springfield, Missouri native, Bill is a 1989 graduate of Missouri State University.
Brendan T. Garvin
Director of Management and Budget
Brendan Garvin joined S/GAC in 2019 as the Director of Management and Budget. He also serves as Chair for the PEPFAR program in Ukraine.
Prior to joining S/GAC, Brendan worked in the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources (F), which is the State Department office responsible for the broader foreign assistance budget, including PEPFAR funds. Prior to F, he worked in the Bureau for Political Military Affairs on military assistance programs. He also has prior experience working in the Department of Defense on security cooperation programs. Brendan received a BA in Biology and Political Science from Rice University.
Ashneil Jain
Senior Advisor for Strategy & Innovation
Ashneil Jain joined S/GAC in 2022 as the Senior Advisor for Strategy and Innovation in the front office. In this role, he will be supporting the Ambassador-At-Large on strategy development and execution for PEPFAR and help to design and embed innovative policies and partnerships across the program.
Prior to joining S/GAC, Ashneil worked for McKinsey & Company as an Associate Partner in their Social Sector practice. There he served as a strategic advisor to development agencies, philanthropies, multilateral institutions, companies, and nonprofits across public health, poverty alleviation, and gender equality programs in low- and middle-income countries. Through his time at McKinsey, Ashneil helped to lead the firm’s work on global health with international donors, supporting the design of new programs and partnerships on infectious disease, maternal & child health, health systems strengthening, and global health security. Ashneil received a BA in Economics and Government from Dartmouth College.
Julia Martin
Senior Health Advisor & U.S. Representative to the Global Fund
Julia Martin is the Senior Health Advisor and U.S Representative to the Global Fund posted to Geneva, Switzerland. Julia represents S/GAC and HHS Office of Global Affairs in advancing the interests of the U.S. government in global health and HIV/AIDS within Geneva-based global health institutions. She works closely with multi-lateral global health partners on the effective use of public funds for HIV and forward-leaning strategies to improve health delivery systems and public health outcomes. She works collaboratively with leadership and staff in the Global Fund for HIV, TB and Malaria, UNAIDS, and WHO. Working as part of the U.S. Mission Geneva Health Team, she is part of and contributes to broader health agendas, including work on gender and sexual and reproductive health and rights. She is an active negotiator of health policy on the UNAIDS and Global Fund Boards and Committees and within the World Health Assembly forums. She holds multiple positions on multi-lateral boards and committees. As senior member of the PEPFAR team, Julia serves as a Chair, overseeing the strategic direction of two PEPFAR country programs, currently Cote d’Ivoire and Kenya.
Julia has been part of the PEPFAR team within S/GAC for over 10 years, previously holding positions of Deputy Coordinator for Program Quality and Chief Operating Officer responsible for budget, multilateral affairs, country program support, technical leadership and human resources.
Julia has over 25 years of professional experience in health, focusing on global public health and HIV/AIDS. She has held positions in the public and not-for-profit sectors and has worked closely with foundations, large private-sector corporations and pharma. She brings leadership in the areas of program and policy development across multiple populations and in many countries. Working in disease prevention and treatment, she has extensive experience in developing global and national HIV policies and designing healthcare delivery systems in mid-level and developing economies. She has sat on and chaired many committees and initiatives, and more recently, several within the multilateral sphere representing the USG interests and positions.
Mike Ruffner
Deputy U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator for Financial and Programmatic Sustainability
Michael Ruffner is the Deputy Coordinator for Financial and Programmatic Sustainability in the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (S/GAC) at U.S. Department of State. He is working to better integrate and improve the effectiveness of existing funding for HIV, while working with countries to improve their ability to operate and finance their HIV response independently. He is leading the new PEPFAR effort to engage partner country Finance Ministries in the fight against HIV and in the investment into resilient and financially secure health systems. He currently is S/GAC chair for the Kenya and Lesotho programs. In addition to his functional and programmatic responsibilities, Michael is the chair of the Board of Directors’ Audit and Finance Committee of the Global Fund for the Fight against AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Michael joined S/GAC on detail from the US Department of the Treasury in 2015. After returning to Treasury in October 2016, Michael joined S/GAC and the Department of State full-time. Immediately before his appointment to the PEPFAR program, he was the Director of Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance for ten years, where he led a team of over 200 advisors providing capacity building to Finance Ministries, Central Banks, Revenue authorities, and related entities. He also launched the Treasury technical assistance effort to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico during the 2016 bankruptcy and was involved in several special initiatives, including the Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative.
Michael has held positions at the OECD Paris, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, the U.S. Senate Budget Committee and was a Presidential Management Intern at the Office of Management and Budget. Michael, a native of Michigan, has an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and a graduate degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan.
Gelila Teshome
Executive Director in the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator
Gelila Teshome currently serves as the Executive Director in the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy (S/GAC) in the U.S. Department of State, overseeing operational and administrative support. In this role, Gelila leads key efforts to provide improved human resource organizational staffing to a multi-faceted staff of personnel, including Department of State Civil Servants, Foreign Service Officers, Interagency Detailed Personnel, and State Contract Personnel.
Gelila has more than 15 years of accomplished acquisition and assistance experience as well as project management and operations. Prior to the State Department, Gelila was Director of Operations at the National Security Council in the White House leading on major administrative lines of business, including human resources, performance management, budget/financials, procurement, training, and travel. Prior to the NSC, Gelila served as Senior Contracting/Agreement Officer and Acting Branch Chief of the Office of HIV/AIDS (key implementor of PEPFAR) in the Office of Acquisition and Assistance, Global Health at USAID.
Gelila began her public service career as a Contracting Officer with the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service. Prior to joining the federal government, Gelila was an international development professional for over five years at the World Bank Group with contributions to advance the Bank’s Development Marketplace initiative by leveraging public-private partnerships with civil society groups as well as other private sector organizations.
Gelila is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a BS in Accounting and Information Systems and a Masters Certificate in Government Contracting and Project Management from George Washington University. Gelila is married and the proud mother of three daughters.
Irum Zaidi
Deputy Coordinator of Program Results and Impact Monitoring for Epidemic Control
Irum serves as Deputy Coordinator for Program Results and Impact Monitoring for Epidemic Control (PRIME) at the U.S Department of State’s Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy (S/GAC), which leads and coordinates the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). She is an Epidemiologist by training and has been part of the S/GAC leadership team for over five years working on PEPFAR’s global HIV/AIDS efforts. She has devoted her career to the control of infectious diseases focusing on HIV/AIDS. At S/GAC, she has utilized her position to implement innovative infectious disease control strategies using granular data, establishing innovative health information systems and community engagement. She has led the global health data revolution and is recognized for her focus on epidemiologic impact and data use.
Working across more than sixty countries, Irum brings global insight into implementing public health policies at home and across Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia. She worked with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the H1N1 pandemic for disease control during the Hajj. In 2020, she served on the White House Coronavirus Task Force working across the USG agencies, state and local health departments and communities.
In 2015, Irum received the Meritorious Honor Award for creating a revolutionary approach to utilizing programmatic, financial, and epidemiologic data to help inform how and where PEPFAR should invest its annual $4B budget. As a part of an international team of experts and decision-makers, she is credited for re-designing the Country Operational Program and fostering a renewed interest in the full utilization of data to improve decision-making and to enhance program focus. She is passionate about the nexus where government, community and private sector intersect to achieve public health outcomes.
Before joining S/GAC, Irum worked at the CDC beginning in 1998 as an Epidemiologist in numerous capacities. She served as a Strategic Information Advisor for PEPFAR countries while working in the Division of Global HIV and TB. She also served as Team Lead for the Clinical Surveillance team bringing new surveillance technologies to global settings. Her experiences in domestic HIV policy, including several leadership roles across CDC’s domestic HIV surveillance programs, formed the basis for her unique approach to data utilization to create the greatest community impact. Irum was the recipient of numerous awards during her time with CDC.
Irum graduated from Emory University with a Master of Public Health degree in International Health and Epidemiology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.