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2nd Annual Alumni Day: Health Care and Employment During a Recession
Health Care in the United States: Healing a Broken System
LAWRENCE BROWN
Moderator
Professor of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Lawrence D. Brown is a Professor of Health Policy and Management in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. A political scientist, he got a Ph.D. in government at Harvard University in 1973. After positions at Harvard, the Brookings Institution, and the University of Michigan, in 1988 he came to Columbia, where he chaired the Department of Health Policy and Management for ten years and the University’s Public Policy Consortium for three years. He is the author of Politics and Health Care Organizations: HMOs as Federal Policy (Brookings Institution, 1983) and of articles on the political dimensions of community cost containment, expansion of coverage for the uninsured, national health reform, the role of analysis in the formation of health policy, and cross-national health policy. Dr. Brown edited the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law for five years, has served on several national advisory committees for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has an RWJ Investigators in Health Policy award, and is a member of the Institute of Medicine.
MARY CATLIN, MIA ’94
Panelist
Economist, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Mary Catlin is an economist in the Parts C & D Actuarial Group of the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). She focuses on provider financial analysis and health care out-of-pocket expense research.
Ms. Catlin earned a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and an MBA in finance from George Washington University. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in public policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Before coming to CMS, she spent seven years working as an economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis (U.S. Department of Commerce), as part of the group that produces the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and personal income estimates.
KIMBERLY S. GEORGE, MIA ’06
Panelist
Executive Director, Greater Brooklyn Health Coalition
Kimberly S. George is the Executive Director of the Greater Brooklyn Health Coalition (GBHC), a not-for-profit that provides grassroots community organizing to meet the challenges faced by Brooklyn’s public health system. Ms. George serves on various health-related task forces and community advisory boards and has developed numerous forums and programs on emerging public health trends. She was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Public Health Association of New York City. She has also been published in the Journal of Community Health, is a certified Master Trainer for Stanford University’s Diabetes Self-Management Program, and is currently advising four community-based participatory research projects in Brooklyn. In addition, Ms. George completed a nine-month Leadership Caucus for Executive Directors by Community Resource Exchange.
Ms. George joined GBHC after receiving a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Her graduate studies focused on human rights, encompassing cross-cutting categories of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights. She has expertise in conflict resolution, strategic conflict assessment, gender issues, and field research and data analysis. Ms. George received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester, where she majored in religion.
PAUL GOEBEL, EMPA ’04
Panelist
Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers and Executive Director, Uniformed Services Family Health Plan
Paul Goebel is a Senior Vice President and the Chief Administrative Officer of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers of New York. In this position, he reports to the Chief Executive Officer. He leads the development of the enterprise’s performance management program, manages the development of and advises on enterprise strategy, and facilitates alignment of the two to ensure that St. Vincent’s is a strategy focused organization. He also provides leadership to teams and/or initiatives to drive enterprise performance, and is responsible for the enterprise’s human resources, corporate compliance, and internal audit functions. He is also President of U.S. Family Health Plan, where he has full profit and loss accountability.
Mr. Goebel is a member and Treasurer of the U.S. Family Health Plan Alliance Board of Directors and represents the health plan’s interests with federal government stakeholders. Mr. Goebel joined St. Vincent’s Hospital – Manhattan in 1998 and has served in roles of increasing responsibility since then. Before joining the hospital, he was employed by leading health plans such as Prudential Healthcare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Ohio.
Mr. Goebel has a BS from New York University and an Executive MPA from SIPA. He is a Diplomat of the American College of Healthcare Executives, an Associate Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, and a former President of the New York Society for Health Planning.
Mr. Goebel was born and raised in Rocky River, Ohio, and is married with one son; he and his family live in Westchester County, New York.
Global Health Care: Emerging Trends and Priorities
MARNI SOMMER
Moderator
Director of SMS Global Health Track, Sociomedical Sciences, Executive Editor Global Public Health, and Assistant Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Marni Sommer, DrPH, MSN, RN, has been working in global health and development on issues ranging from improving access to essential medicines to humanitarian relief in conflict settings. Dr. Sommer’s particular areas of expertise include conducting participatory research with adolescents, understanding and promoting healthy transitions to adulthood, the intersection of public health and education, gender and sexual health, and the implementation and evaluation of multi-level interventions. Her doctoral research explored girls’ experiences of menstruation, puberty, and schooling in Tanzania, and the ways in which the onset of puberty might be disrupting girls’ academic performance and healthy transition to adulthood. Dr. Sommer’s current research focuses on the intersections of gender, health, and education for girls transitioning to adulthood in sub-Saharan Africa.
She received her DrPH from Columbia University in 2008, an MSN/MPH from Johns Hopkins University, School of Nursing and School of Public Health in 2001, a BSN from Johns Hopkins University, School of Nursing in 1999, and her BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994.
KATIE GRAVES-ABE, BA ’02, MIA ’03
Panelist
Director of Operations, Global Medic Force
Katie Graves-Abe is the Director of Operations for Global Medic Force, an international nonprofit organization that uses a medical mentoring model to give local health workers in developing countries the necessary skills to treat their own people from within their own resources. She initially became involved with Global Medic Force while pursuing her Master of International Affairs degree at SIPA in 2003. After graduating, she joined the organization as a Program Manager in charge of volunteer recruitment and eventually became Director of Operations in charge of all of Global Medic Force’s programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Ms. Graves-Abe has lived in Africa, Europe, and North America and has travelled extensively to manage field programs.
Prior to joining Global Medic Force, Ms. Graves-Abe worked as a Policy Analyst at The Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities and as the Program Coordinator for the America Reads After-School Literacy Program. Since going on maternity leave in 2008, she has returned to Global Medic Force as an operational volunteer to implement HIV/AIDS mentoring programs in Africa and Asia.
SUSAN PURDIN, RN, MPH
Panelist
Deputy Director, Health Unit, International Rescue Committee
Susan Purdin is Deputy Health Director of the International Rescue Committee. She is part of a team overseeing projects addressing the health needs of persons affected by armed conflict in 25 countries around the world. In addition to her work with the IRC, she holds an adjunct faculty position in Columbia University’s Forced Migration and Health Program, teaching classes on program planning, reproductive health, and HIV in situations of forced migration.
Her career has focused on public health in the international arena since 1986. She is recognized as an expert in the provision of humanitarian assistance in general and in reproductive health in particular. She also has wide experience in the development of technical and managerial capacity of program staff.
Ms. Purdin led the development of phase one of the Sphere Project, which fostered consensus among international NGOs on minimum standards for humanitarian assistance. In 1999, she received the Global Health Council award for “Best Practice in the Field of Global Health” for her work providing field-based, on-site, technical assistance to reproductive health projects in conflict settings. Ms. Purdin has worked in: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Malawi, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uganda, and Zambia.
She is a member of the American Public Health Association, the Global Health Council, the Reproductive Health Response in Crisis Consortium, the Interagency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Taskforce on Gender in Humanitarian Assistance and technical advisory groups on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and maternal and neonatal health.
LAKSHMI SUNDARAM, MIA ’03, MPH ’03
Panelist
Advocacy Officer, The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics
Lakshmi Sundaram joined FIND (the Foundation for Innovative New
Diagnostics) in February 2010 to manage and expand advocacy activities. Ms. Sundaram was most recently the Associate Director of the World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative (GHI), where she ran the global health portfolio, with a particular focus on global health partnerships. In particular, she was responsible for coordinating the Forum's involvement in the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, the Roll Back Malaria and the Stop TB Global Partnerships, and was also looking more broadly at how the private sector can engage effectively in global health.
Prior to this role, Ms. Sundaram was an advisor on issues of public-private partnership and innovation in health at the Global Forum for Health Research. Her past experience has included setting up and running a telecommunications project to support the management of HIV/AIDS in Rwanda with the help of mobile phones. She has worked on the formulation and evaluation of international health policies and strategies, focusing on, among other things, disease surveillance, sexual and reproductive health, and the information needs of international public health programs.
Ms. Sundaram holds a BA in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, as well as a Master of Public Health and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University. She is a Global Leadership Fellow of the World Economic Forum.
Workshops I and II: Where the Jobs Are: Boosting Your Career in a Recovering Economy
MEG HEENEHAN
Moderator
Executive Director, Office of Career Services,
Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
Meg Heenehan has been the Director of the Office of Career Services at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) since 1998. In that capacity, she assists 1,200 students and 16,000 alumni with all aspects of their career development and markets SIPA’s masters’ degrees to employers in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.Ms. Heenehan has also held positions as adjunct faculty member at New York University, teaching classes on graduate school admissions, careers in the public sector, and the international and public affairs job search. From 1990-1997, she worked in the Office of Career Development at Barnard College as a career counselor and internship coordinator. Ms. Heenehan has authored Networking Job Notes (1997, Random House/Princeton Review) and co-authored Job Smart (1997, Random House/The Princeton Review). She also maintains a private practice as career counselor and job coach.
Ms. Heenehan received a Master of Counselor Education from Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Criminal Justice from the University of Delaware.
INGRID R. AMAYA, EMPA ’04
Panelist
Human Resources Officer & Focal Point for Women,
Field Personnel Division, United Nations
Ingrid R. Amaya currently works as a Human Resources Officer and Focal Point for Women in the Guidance and Organizational Design Section of the Field Personnel Division at the United Nations.
Since September 2005, Ms. Amaya worked as an Administrative Officer at United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW), where she managed the Institute's work plan and budget, as well as its human resources.
Before arriving at UN-INSTRAW, Ms. Amaya worked with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) at United Nations Headquarters in New York City and served in the UN Logistics Base in Brindisi, Italy, as well as various peacekeeping operations in the Balkan region.
She received her Bachelor of Arts from New York University focusing in Organizational Behavior and Communication and her Executive MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, concentrating in Advanced Management and Finance. She is fluent in Spanish and English, conversant in Italian, and speaks basic French.
CYNTHIA HULL, MIA ’06
Panelist
Senior Trader Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Cynthia (Cindy) Hull is a Senior Trader Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. She works in the Markets Group, which is responsible for implementing monetary policy on behalf of the Federal Reserve System. She works in the Foreign Exchange and Investments Staff, where she has spent most of her time since joining FRBNY in 2006. Ms. Hull’s responsibilities include managing the foreign reserves portfolio of the U.S., as well as providing market intelligence and analysis on euro area market developments to policy makers at the Federal Reserve.
Prior to joining the Federal Reserve, Ms. Hull received a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 2006, with a concentration in International Economic Policy. While at Columbia, she was the teaching assistant for the MIA program’s fall microeconomics course, and a program assistant for the spring macroeconomics course.
Prior to attending SIPA, Ms. Hull worked as an investment associate for three years at Putnam Investments, a mutual fund investment company located in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
ALEXANDRA MERLE-HUET, MIA ’04
Panelist, Workshop 1
Special Investments Management Group, Federal Reserve Bank of
New York
Alexandra (Alex) Merle-Huet works in the Special Investments Management Group, which is responsible for overseeing certain portfolios in the Bank’s financial stability efforts. She works in the Investment Support Office (ISO), the area that manages the assets in the Maiden Lane LLC, Maiden Lane II LLC, and Maiden Lane III entities. Ms. Merle-Huet’s main responsibility includes overseeing a portfolio of residential whole loans in the Maiden Lane LLC. Prior to working in the ISO, Ms. Merle-Huet was Assistant Chief of Staff in the Chief of Staff’s Office. She has also spent over three years in the Bank Supervision Group.
Prior to joining the Federal Reserve in 2004, Ms. Merle-Huet received a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, with a concentration in International Finance and Business. While at Columbia, she was a teaching assistant for the MIA program’s financial accounting course.
Before attending SIPA, Ms. Merle-Huet worked as an Associate in the Council on Foreign Relation’s Corporate Program. Prior to joining the Council on Foreign Relations, she worked in business development in the technology sector. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.
STEVE PEREZ, MIA ’07
Panelist
Senior Consultant, Booz Allen Hamilton
Steve Perez is a Senior Consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., a 22,000-employee global strategy and technology consulting firm based in McLean, VA. Mr. Perez is part of the Global Security Team at Booz Allen, which works with federal entities in the national security, defense, and homeland security fields across the United States.
Mr. Perez joined Booz Allen after receiving an MIA with a concentration in International Security Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 2007. While at Columbia, Mr. Perez was the program assistant at the Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies, served as co-editor of the Journal of International Affairs, and wrote a monthly column for Communiqué. His graduate studies focused on U.S. foreign policy, and he has expertise in strategic intelligence, defense planning, and political and economic analysis in Latin America. He has worked and lived in Colombia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.
Prior to his studies at Columbia University, Mr. Perez worked for the Economic and Social Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy to the United Nations, where he helped coordinate U.S. policy on macroeconomic and development issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Hunter College, and lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, a Columbia University alumna.
CIHAN SULTANOGLU, MIA ’81
Panelist
Director of the Office of Human Resources, Bureau of Management, UNDP
Cihan Sultanoglu was appointed as Director, Office of Human Resources, Bureau of Management by the Administrator of UNDP in January 2010.
She began her career with UNDP in 1981 as an Administrative Trainee in New York and Thailand and then as an Administrative Officer in Malawi in 1982. She worked in the Division of Personnel (now the Office of Human Resources) from 1986 to 1993, first as a Recruitment Officer and later as a Staffing Specialist. She served in the Office of the Administrator as Deputy to the Director from 1993 to1995. At the end of 1995, Ms. Sultanoglu returned to the field in the Morocco Country Office as Deputy Resident Representative including a period as Resident Representative. In 2000, Ms. Sultanoglu moved to Lithuania, where she served as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative. While continuing to be responsible for Lithuania, in 2004, Ms. Sultanoglu moved to Belarus where she became UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative. She returned to Headquarters in 2007 to become Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Regional Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS (RBEC).
Ms. Sultanoglu holds a BA in Economics from Barnard College of Columbia University and a Master of International Affairs (MIA) with a concentration in International Economics and Economic and Political Development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
She was awarded the Order of the Commander of the Cross for Merits to Lithuania by the President of Lithuania in 2005.
ANMOL VANAMLI, MIA ’07
Panelist
International Policy Analyst, Center for Clean Air Policy
Anmol Vanamli currently works at the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) in Washington, D.C. and has the dual responsibility as CCAP’s Manager of Finance & Administration and International Policy Analyst. As an International Policy Analyst, Mr. Vanamli works in the Developing Country Program, applying his knowledge of business, energy policy, and international affairs to guide developing countries towards market-based solutions to address climate change.
Prior to joining CCAP, Mr. Vanamali spent more than four years in project finance and private equity investments in infrastructure, renewable energy and electricity markets in both developed and developing countries, including India and the United States.
Mr. Vanamali holds a BSc in Computer Technology from PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore, India, an MBA from Sydenham Institute of Management in Mumbai, India and a Master of International Affairs degree with dual concentrations in Finance and Energy Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.