Reflection and Vision for the Future
Dear GHC Community,
As I come to the end of my first two weeks as President and CEO of Global Health Council, I wanted to send a brief note of introduction and, more importantly, thanks. I would be remiss if I didn’t start this note with a warm and big thank you to the entire GHC Community for the warm welcome and support as I get up to embark upon this important new role. And extra thanks to the GHC staff and Board of Directors, particularly John Ariale who served admirably as the Interim CEO during the search process, for all of your insights and guidance which have helped make this a smooth transition.
You may have seen in our recent email blast on my reflections following President Biden’s COVID Summit, these two weeks have been an exciting and busy time, both internally at GHC and externally as world leaders and stakeholders grapple with big policy and funding issues at UNGA, the COVID Summit and on Capitol Hill. It has been gratifying to see Global Health Council’s existing platform and stature that allows us to meaningfully engage in these moments and work alongside you, our members, to improve global health systems, security, equity, and access. There are more crucial moments and convenings to come in the next few months, and I am excited by the opportunities these present for GHC.
Fortunately, amidst all these external events, I have gotten the chance to meet some of you. I’ve been able to join a few roundtables, a new member orientation, and have a few one-on-one conversations. I look forward to making more connections with members and roundtables in the coming weeks and deepening my knowledge of how we work together now and how we can expand our partnerships in the future. One of the things I have heard from many of you already, is a desire to see a more diverse, global membership that represents not only the voices of donor countries, but also those in low and middle income countries. I agree, and one of the things I was most enthused about in accepting this position is the ability to grow that component of GHC. We have already begun to explore this and if you haven’t already, I encourage you to check out some of the work we have been doing with marginalized communities abroad.
In the coming months, I look forward to sharing more about this direction for GHC along with other thoughts about opportunities for growth, expansion and strengthening the already very strong foundation of this organization. Since joining, I am impressed every day by the passion, commitment and impact of the GHC team and community. One of the best places to see that on display is at our annual Global Health Landscape Symposium, for which we are in full swing planning mode. This year’s virtual meeting on December 9-10, with a theme on global health security, which could not be more relevant as the world grapples with COVID19, questions around vaccine access and equity, and how we best prepare for the next pandemic. You will be hearing more details from us about the symposium in the coming weeks. If you haven’t already, you can let us know you are coming here. I’m sure it will be a thoughtful and inspiring two days and I hope to see you all there!
All the best,
Elisha Dunn-Georgiou