US

Lauren Crigler, B.A., Senior QI Advisor for Health Workforce Development

Lauren Crigler is the Senior QI Advisor for Health Workforce Development under the Health Care Improvement project (HCI). In this role, she works with HCI staff globally to assess the health workforce and expand the evidence base for the application of Quality Improvement to HR workforce issues in areas such as training, supervision systems, interpersonal relations and workforce efficiency.

Ms. Crigler has 12 years of human performance improvement experience, and is especially skilled in competency and leadership development and supervision in primary healthcare programs of reproductive health/family planning, maternal and child health, nutrition, HIV, and malaria. She is skilled in adapting private-sector experience and methods for public-sector field use and conducting operations research and evaluation, and has worked in the US, Africa, the Middle East, Armenia, Asia and the Latin America/Carribean region. Ms. Crigler is a certified Systems Analysis and Performance Improvement specialist and has designed, conducted and published a peer-reviewed study on what factors affect human performance in the workplace. She is fluent in English and Spanish and has a working knowledge of French.

Nicole Dupré, M.A., Director of Finance and Administration

As Initiatives' Director of Finance and Administration, Nicole Dupré has managed the business operations of the Boston office and provided targeted project management support in the areas of finance and administration since 2004. Her specific responsibilities include proposal and budget preparation, corporate financial systems, personnel administration, and contract management. Ms. Dupré has also served as Task Order Manager for three of Initiatives’ six TASC2 Task Orders.

Ms. Dupré's skills range from financial management to technical writing to systems administration. Before she joined Initiatives, Ms. Dupré worked as a professional engineer, including several years as firm partner, providing general company management and oversight. She also has varied experience in non-profit management, including a year in Rome, Italy, where she was the administrator for an American non-profit arts organization.

Anya Guyer, M.Sc., Technical Advisor

Anya Guyer is a Technical Advisor for several projects; her main role is technical point person for the SHARe II project in Zambia supporting the national response to HIV/AIDS. In particular she focuses on enhancing the capacity of civil society to contribute to sustainable strategies for HIV prevention and mitigation. Other projects Ms. Guyer is working on are SUSTAIN in Uganda and a global study on productivity of community health workers.

Ms. Guyer received a master’s degree in global health and population at Harvard School of Public Health and a bachelor‘s degree in medical anthropology at Amherst College. Her background is in public health, community development, grant-making and policy analysis, with a regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Before joining Initiatives, Ms. Guyer consulted on projects related to creating access to health commodities and technologies (medicines, contraceptives and diagnostics) in developing countries. She also spent seven years as a program officer at a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing development assistance and humanitarian relief. Ms. Guyer has traveled and worked extensively in Africa as well as in Bangladesh, Jordan and Guatemala. She speaks French and has a working knowledge of Spanish and two Bantu languages.

Jackie McConlogue, B.A., Project Assistant

As a Project Assistant with Initiatives, Jackie McConlogue supports the administrative and financial components of several projects. She also provides office management support at Initiatives' headquarters in Boston. Prior to joining the team at Initiatives, Ms. McConlogue served as a Spanish teacher with IES Language Institute and as an office manager for a Denver-based nonprofit public access television station and media education organization.

Lorraine Soisson, Ph.D., Senior Technical Advisor for MVDP

Lorraine Soisson is the Senior Technical Advisor under the Malaria Vaccine Development Program (MVDP). In this role, she works closely with the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Office of Health, Infectious Diseases, and Nutrition of the USAID Bureau for Global Health. Dr. Soisson advises on the application of biotechnology to parasitic vaccine development, develops regulatory affairs plans and documents, and coordinates program activities with MVDP partners.

Dr. Soisson earned her PhD in Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology. After completing her PhD work in parasite vaccinology, she accepted an American Academy for the Advancement of Science Science and Diplomacy Fellowship in USAID's Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination. Dr. Soisson later worked on the development of USAID's Schistosomiasis Vaccine Development Program (SVDP) with USAID, the Egyptian Ministry of Health, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and has become expert in coordinating science and health issues with international organizations.

Dana Weber, M.P.H., Project Associate

In her role as Project Associate for Initiatives, Dana Weber provides technical assistance for the New Partners’ Initiative and the Healthcare Improvement Project, and administrative and financial support for selected projects.

Ms. Weber has 15 years of experience working in non-profit healthcare, education, and training. She has worked with organizational capacity development and human resource management and has experience with administrative, financial and compliance issues. She has previously provided program management and budget oversight for USAID-funded projects. Ms. Weber has international health promotion and HIV/AIDS experience and is skilled in grant development and resource mobilization. Ms. Weber also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Burkina Faso and has proficient knowledge of French.