I like to find the inefficiencies in systems and think creatively to change them. I guess I'm impatient and think that by working outside of systems sometimes you can have more impact.
I feel a fondness and connection to virtually all of Asia! I was a baby in Thailand and I think I was imprinted with a deep love of all things Asian. I lived in Indonesia and in Hong Kong and I think that Bali is still the most ethereal place I can imagine.
I would like every little girl and little boy who is born to face a life free of violence and fear and poverty. And I would really, really like to shift the odds that a woman in a poor country will die while giving life.
I have worked on women's health and maternal health from many different angles. I worked in the Apppalachian region of the U.S. setting up an outreach program for teen mothers. I also worked for the Rockefeller Foundation's Health Equity Division co-editing a major volume on health inequalities. Other consulting jobs have included Columbia's Earth Institute, UNICEF, and the UN Millennium Project where I helped write the report on how to reach the UN Millenium Development goals for maternal and child health. I am now working on Maternova, a web-based innovation portal for maternal and neonatal health workers.
