Andrea (Andy) Voytko was working in hospital administration in New England when a trusted advisor (let's call him Yoda) encouraged her to move west in 1986, predicting that Seattle would become a global health hub. Take Andy's advice: Listen to your mentors.
Andy went on to work in the hub of the hub of global health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Her first trip to Africa was with Bill Gates Sr. to see the malaria and TB work in Zambia—Andy hasn't been the same since. She now leads the Gates Foundation's worldwide alumni network and is a Yoda herself to countless global health influencers. When she's not playing on the global stage, Andy can be spotted in Seattle's nursing homes with her golden retriever and therapy dog, Tulio.
OK, maybe not 500 miles, but would you walk 365 miles for a cancer survivor? That's the kind of trek that many cancer survivors in Africa take to get the support and treatment they need.
Thanks to The Max Foundation, you can step into their shoes and walk, run, or cycle 365 miles wherever you are and then join the team in Uganda this summer for a culmination trip. Will you go the distance?
Adam Taylor, founding executive director of Global to Local, is going global after eight years of incredible leadership, vision, and service at G2L. Adam took G2L from a seedling idea to a thriving reality that's helped thousands of people locally, using what he's learned from working around the world. After his last day at the office in June, he's taking his family on a year-long trip so his children can meet the people and experience the places that led him to his work at G2L.
As a founding partner, WGHA is all in on G2L's mission. Watch for the job posting for a new G2L leader soon. Cue up your LinkedIn networks!
Whether you're a fan of Apple, Amazon, or Google, we hope by now you've added Dessa to your playlist. Don't miss your chance to meet her in person at WGHA's first spring social, ADJUevent, on April 26. Grab your tickets today!
For more music inspiration, check out this epic playlist scientifically proven to inspire. And make sure you're typing to productive tunes.
How many people die from heart disease or live with diabetes in [insert country of interest]? Just 25 years ago we didn't have great answers to these questions. But thanks to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's Dr. Christopher Murray and Dr. Alan Lopez of the University of Melbourne in Australia, we do.
The Global Burden of Disease study, started as their two-person effort, is now a worldwide study. Drs. Murray and Lopez were honored with the John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award, one of the world's most esteemed prizes for health, for changing the way we understand, measure, and fund health globally.
An alligator in a vest? An investigator!
The Center for Infectious Disease Research is calling all teens who want to add lab coats to their summer wardrobe. Washington juniors interested in infectious diseases can apply to CIDR's nationally known BioQuest Academy, where students spend two weeks learning from global infectious disease experts and getting hands-on lab experience. Interested student? Apply here by April 25.
For one Ugandan teenager, an innocent swim in Lake Victoria turned near deadly thanks to snails. The swim led to schistosomiasis, which infects more than 200 million people every year. Thankfully, RTI International is working to prevent this neglected tropical disease and others through the USAID-funded program ENVISION.
And, in case you needed a reminder, don't eat slugs. Not even for a triple dog dare.
HHS invites you to take your AMR (antimicrobial resistance) expertise to the other Washington with its call for nominations to the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. Submit your application by April 30.