Bridging Law, Business, and Global Health
By Hailey Emerson (H’25)
On April 1, 2025, Susan C. Kim, J.D., MPH, MBA, a leader in the global health field with vast experience across business, policy, and law, spoke to our Conversations in Health: Global to Local class.
In law school, Kim was inspired by her younger brother to work at the intersection of public health and law. After completing her J.D. and MPH, Kim began working at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University as a law fellow.
At O’Neill, she focused on projects related to sustainability, including rolling out medications and enhancing supply chains. This experience sparked her interest in the business and operational side of global health.
Kim went on to pursue an MBA at Georgetown University, where she enhanced her management skills. Throughout her career, Kim’s academic degrees provided her with unique skills. The ability to speak with different stakeholders, for example, was important when interacting with funders and private sector organizations who wanted to know about the projects beyond just public health data.
After her MBA, Kim helped launch the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact (CGHPI) at the Georgetown University Medical Center. At CGHPI, she spearheaded a $25M Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant project in Cameroon. While implementing this project, Kim recognized the need for a fundamental business understanding to work on financial systems, standard operating procedures, and infrastructure.
During COVID-19, Kim worked with health ministers around the world to address queries and identify needs. She worked on the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access initiative, a project focused on the equitable distribution of vaccines to countries around the world, and the pandemic fund, a funding mechanism for international pandemic preparedness.
In Kim’s most recent role, she served as the principal deputy assistant secretary at the Office of Global Affairs (OGA) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). At OGA, she coordinated HHS’s international relations, working with multilateral organizations, including the World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, African Union, G20, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
At OGA, Kim was also involved in the negotiations for the amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR). A main function of the IHR is to design a coordinating financial mechanism with the goal of creating more sustainable financing in global health. While the mechanism will hopefully aid in future funding gaps, Kim believes it to be important for countries to make their own domestic investments into preparedness. She is a firm believer that global health law has no teeth if it is not implemented domestically.
Kim is a firm believer that global health law has no teeth if it is not implemented domestically. This most recent role at OGA has been her most rewarding to date. She feels that nothing can quite impact health, safety, and well-being like the government.
Hailey Emerson (H’25) is an undergraduate student at Georgetown University majoring in healthcare management and policy. She is a student in the Conversations in Health: Global to Local class.