Georgetown University’s Global Health Governance as Public Service (GHGAPS) program aims to train undergraduate students on global health and diplomacy. In summer 2023, the inaugural GHGAPS cohort shared their joint policy report, entitled “Reactive to Preventative: Operationalizing the Precautionary Principle for Governance Structures,” with global health leaders in Washington, DC, and offered a critical youth perspective on issues facing humanity today. Shortly thereafter, they traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to represent the university at the World Health Assembly. Youth engagement with global health diplomacy infrastructure through programs like GHGAPS has the capacity to realign health inequities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this symposium, a high-level panel of public servants in the health governance field shared personal experiences from throughout their careers, and the inaugural GHGAPS cohort shared a presentation about their experiences in Geneva. Gaudenz Silberschmidt, director for health and multilateral partnerships at the World Health Organization, and Tressa Rae Finerty, a senior official at the U.S. Department of State and senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, provided opening remarks. Undergraduate students interested in joining the 2024 GHGAPS cohort were able to learn more about the application process during the symposium.
This event was co-sponsored by the Global Health Governance as Public Service program, the Office of the Provost, the Global Health Institute, and the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University.
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Zayan Baig (H’25) is a junior in Georgetown University’s School of Health majoring in global health on the pre-med track. He is a member of the Georgetown University Global Health Governance as Public Service (GHGAPS) program's inaugural student cohort. He is interested in urbanization in developing countries, neglected tropical diseases, and HIV and AIDS. He volunteers with One Tent Health to assist with HIV screening. Outside of global health, Zayan is a vice-captain for GU Jawani, serves as a chair for the North American Invitational Model United Nations conference, and tutors in math and science.
Matthew Carvalho (H’23) (welcome remarks) is the co-founder of Georgetown University’s Global Health Governance as Public Service (GHGAPS) program. Matthew is currently pursuing a joint B.S./MSc in global health at Georgetown University’s School of Health and will be joining Georgetown University Law Center in fall of 2024. He is a student researcher at Georgetown University and the first official youth delegate of the United States to the World Health Assembly. Specializing in planetary health law and diplomacy, Matthew has worked multiple jobs in the global health governance fields, including work for the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Capitol Hill, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He currently serves as a research assistant for the O’Neill Institute, as well as the inaugural policy fellow for the Planetary Health Alliance, based at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.
Abigail Corrao (H’24) (panel moderator) is the co-founder of Georgetown University’s Global Health Governance as Public Service (GHGAPS) program. She is currently pursuing a bachelor of science in human science with a minor in public health at Georgetown University’s School of Health. As a student researcher, she has explored a vested interest in the intersection between nutrition and mental health, with a focus on the Mediterranean diet. She is in the process of drafting a manual on global health diplomacy with scholars from the University of Oxford, and heading a new research project on the gut-brain axis and its long-term effects on well-being. Upon graduating in May 2024, she plans to use her strong research background and knowledge to move forward the most crucial areas for development in nutrition practice and literacy in academic and multilateral settings worldwide.
Tressa Rae Finerty (opening remarks) is a senior official at the U.S. Department of State and a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. A specialist in multilateral diplomatic engagement, Finerty led teams at the U.S. Missions to the United Nations in New York and Geneva. An expert in humanitarian and refugee policy, she had strategic oversight of U.S. funding to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), among others, and taught courses on international refugee practices at New York University. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, she was a business strategy and change management consultant. Finerty holds a B.A. and an MBA from George Washington University and is a member of the board of directors of Up With People, an international youth leadership organization.
Iman Ibrahim (H’24) is a senior in Georgetown University’s School of Health studying global health and minoring in Arabic and disability studies on the pre-law track. She is a member of the Georgetown University Global Health Governance as Public Service (GHGAPS) program's inaugural student cohort. For the past year, she has been working closely with the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing as an intern focusing primarily on financing philanthropic projects and donor research. In the future, Iman hopes to pursue a career within the realm of global health law and policy reforms with a concentration in disability health equity.
Oliver Johnson (closing remarks) is managing director for the Global Health Institute at Georgetown University. In 2023, he completed his Ph.D. at King’s College London in the United Kingdom, with a focus on strengthening leadership by health professionals in sub-Saharan Africa. He is also a visiting lecturer in global health at King’s College London and an honorary researcher at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. From 2013 to 2015, he was based in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, as the founding director of the King’s College London Sierra Leone partnership, a health systems strengthening program embedded in the country’s main teaching hospital and medical school. From 2015 to 2022, he was based in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he worked with Africa Health Placements, a South African non-profit that focused on the recruitment and retention of health workers in rural government hospitals.
Sarah Pino (H’24) is a senior in Georgetown University's School of Health majoring in global health and minoring in Japanese. She is a member of the Georgetown University’Global Health Governance as Public Service (GHGAPS) program's inaugural student cohort. Sarah has interests in exploring global health law and security, advancing health equity amongst Balkan countries, and conducting pointed research on comparative country healthcare systems. She currently works as a research assistant for Health Education Services (HES), where she works closely with staff to conduct qualitative data analysis on HES’ campus-wide well-being project. She also is a member of Students Advancing Food Equity (SAFE), a campus group dedicated to ensuring equitable food access to the entire Georgetown community.
Max Ransibrahmanakul (H’24) is a senior in Georgetown University’s School of Health majoring in human science on the pre-med track, and minoring in computer science and chemistry. He is a member of the Georgetown University Global Health Governance as Public Service (GHGAPS) program's inaugural student cohort. Max has been engaged in cancer research using zebrafish models at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center for the past year. Coming from a STEM-oriented background, diving into the policy aspect of health marks a new phase in Max's exploration of medicine.
Gaudenz Silberschmidt (recorded opening remarks) is the director for health and multilateral partnerships at the World Health Organization (WHO), where he is also responsible for private sector, civil society, multilateral, and parliamentary engagement. He was responsible for the creation of a WHO Foundation, the Solidarity Response Fund, and the Global Youth Mobilization. He received his medical degree from the University of Zurich; holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of St. Gallen; and a degree in tropical medicine and public health from the Swiss Tropical Institute in Basel.
Nicole Vernot-Jonas (H’24) is a senior in Georgetown University’s School of Health majoring in global health and minoring in French. She is a member of the Georgetown University Global Health Governance as Public Service (GHGAPS) program's inaugural student cohort. She is passionate about expanding access to healthcare through equitable policy, and has specific interests in maternal and child health. Nicole currently serves on the board of Georgetown Project RISHI, a student-led team that researches and implements sustainable solutions to improve the health of women in rural Rajasthan, India. She is also part of Community HealthEd, a nonprofit organization that aims to dismantle barriers to health by expanding access to reliable medical information.
Schedule
5:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Welcome & Opening Remarks
5:20 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. | Panel Discussion
6:25 p.m. - 6:40 p.m. | Break
6:45 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. | Presentation by the Inaugural GHGAPS Cohort
7:05 p.m. - 7:20 p.m. | Information on Application Process for 2024 GHGAPS Cohort
7:25 p.m. - 7:40 p.m. | Closing Remarks
7:45 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. | Refreshments