2021 Lead Fellows

Bridget Msolomba Malewezi

MD, MPH

“As a leader of various local women’s organizations, I believe the skills and knowledge I will gain from participation in the fellowship will elevate the quality and standard of work that I [engage in] individually as well as the organizations I work with produce. The executive leadership training and courses will help me build cohesive and collaborative teams as I intend to share what I learn with my fellow women and leaders and generate thriving and active women-led organizations that will contribute as entities to the women’s health agenda in Malawi and globally.”

– Bridget Msolomba Malewezi

Bridget Msolomba Malewezi is a medical doctor, public health practitioner, motivational speaker, activist & health columnist. She is a graduate of the University of Malawi College of Medicine & Emory University where she completed her MPH with a focus on Global Health. She is currently the Vice President of the Malawi Chapter of Women in Global Health (WGH) and a member of the WGH Chapter Steering Committee representing the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Additionally she is the Acting Chair of the task force for the establishment of the Women Doctors Association of Malawi (WDAM). She is one of the founding members, a former executive member and former chairperson of Public Relations and COVID Public Awareness for the Society of Medical Doctors Malawi (SMD). She has worked in various capacities including Country Director for Seed Global Health Malawi focusing on health systems strengthening and human resources for health (HRH). Prior to that, she served in various roles including Program Manager at Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). In this role she provided technical assistance to several government departments on the introduction of new vaccines for childhood illnesses as well as reproductive health. Her health column in the national newspaper is now in its 12th year and she has broadened this into social media pages on Facebook & Instagram – ‘DrBonHealth’ – sharing information on health and most recently on COVID-19. Dr. Malewezi is the recipient of the inaugural 2022 “Woman of Substance” award for Medicine from Plan International Malawi and Pan African Learning and Growth Network. In November 2020, she was awarded a Doctor of Excellence award by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Malawi (CPSM) in recognition of her dedication, leadership, and years of service to the medical fraternity.

Mareli Claassens

MBChB, PhD

“The Harvard LEAD fellowship will hone my expertise in organizational leadership for a founding presidency of WoNam, in networking with organizations with similar aims and objectives, and in preparation for a leadership position in Global Health.”

– Mareli Claassens

Mareli Claassens is a medical doctor and infectious diseases epidemiologist with a passion for Africa and its many peoples. Her work addresses the interesting challenges of finding drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) cases, mapping the transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, investigating pharmacogenomics and pharmacokinetics of DR-TB treatment in African populations, and the interface between COVID-19, TB, and HIV. Currently, she is an Associate Research Professor at the University of Namibia (UNAM). She is funded as an African Research Leader by the UK Medical Research Council and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and as a Senior Fellow by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership. She is a Research Associate at the South African Centre for Modeling and Epidemiological Analysis, a member of the Global Burden of Disease Collaborator network, and a member of the Global Young Academy. She is collaborating with colleagues from Stellenbosch University, Imperial College London, Research Center Borstel, University of Bern, Emory University, National Taiwan University and others, with the aim of building research capacity by involving local students who will have the opportunity to participate in study activities at UNAM and the collaborating centers. During the LEAD fellowship, she completed a graduate certificate in social justice at Harvard Extension School and an executive education certificate in public leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. She is working with her Harvard mentors on a roadmap for the elimination of TB in Namibia and with her fellow Namibian LEAD fellow, Julieta Kavetuna, on establishing an academy for marginalized girls and young adolescents.

Preethi John

PhD

“It is a privilege and honour to be a Harvard LEAD Fellow and I expect it will offer a life-changing transformative experience. I hope to utilise this period to expand my leadership skills to not only build sustainable institutes but also further enhance my capability in mentoring and capacity building. It would be my dream if this could inspire and motivate several others to join the women in global health movement and strengthen the resilience of the health system. The learning I will get from world class resources at Harvard will not only develop my calibre to be a better teacher, trainer, and researcher but also equip me to give back to my organisation, healthcare professionals, women, and to India.”

– Preethi John

Preethi John is a health and development management professional with 25 years of experience in public and private sector organizations. Her expertise and experience have groomed her as a leader and institution builder. Her career track began at the Institute of Health Management Pachod, Pune, India where she was able to contribute to the spectrum of rural and urban healthcare management and action research programs. A long stint at Aravind Eye Care System (A WHO Collaborating Centre) enabled her to gain expertise in capacity building of healthcare human resources from developing countries across South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. At Chitkara University, Punjab, India she got the opportunity to pilot a model for the development of allied health professionals and establish the Chitkara School of Health Sciences as its Founder Dean. She is currently Deputy Director MBA Health at Global Business School for Health, University College London. In 2022 she was competitively selected as a Global Health Mentor GHMe in the Women Mentoring Women programme. She had mentees from Uganda, Greece and India. She is also currently serving as a Commissioner for Human Resources for Health in the Lancet Citizens Commission Reimagining India’s Healthcare System. She also serves as Advisory Board Member to Health and Development NGOs, and is the Co-Founder and current Chair of the Women in Global Health India Chapter. She holds a PhD from IIT Madras and a postgraduate degree from TISS, Mumbai, India. She is a LEAD Fellow, cohort 2021 and a visiting scientist to Harvard School of Public Health.

Julieta Kavetuna

M.Phil

Julieta Kavetuna’s activism is centered on the promotion of gender equity and the provision of quality health care for all, especially in the area of mental health. She has spent more than 13 years as a parliamentarian, beginning with her political assignment for 5-year terms as Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of Health and Social Services. During her tenure in the Ministry of Youth, she launched the campaign “Operation Hope”, which successfully inspired hundreds of unemployed young people to take charge of their education or employment paths. While with the Ministry of Health she became a Mental Health champion. She has also served as Secretary General of the National Youth Council, where she established the Credit for Youth in Business Scheme and improved the Young Women Leadership structures. Julieta is a Registered Nurse and holds a string of post-graduate qualifications including: a diploma in gender and development, an Honors Public Management and Policy Planning certificate, and a Master of Philosophy in Public Mental Health from the University of Cape Town. She is currently running a clinic specialized in mental wellness of health workers and maternal mental health. With the guidance of her Mentor Professor Shekhar Sexana and her extensive acquired network, she is working to establish a Public Health Foundation of Namibia. Julieta is also collaborating with co-fellow Dr. Mareli Claassens to develop social infrastructure in Namibia that aims to empower marginalized girls, both educationally and socially.

Alice Kayongo

MPH

“This LEAD Fellowship comes at the perfect time when I am taking on a new senior leadership role at WACI Health, an organisation deeply committed to improving health policy and outcomes in Africa. I strongly believe in the under-utilized potential for women in Africa to lead and inspire future generations and the LEAD fellowship simply has all the ingredients I believe are critical to this aspiration. I am therefore deeply honoured and privileged to be part of the next cohort and will take this once-in-a lifetime opportunity to make a difference in my country, continent and globally.”

– Alice Kayongo

Alice Kayongo is a public health practitioner and human rights advocate with 17 years’ development experience, having held several positions with civil society. She is currently a Senior Associate with the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Throughout her career, Alice has lead efforts to amplify the voice of underrepresented communities in decision-making processes that affect their health and lives. Her work triggers ownership and increases communities’ meaningful participation in the health and development sector. Alice is an active researcher within the women’s and children’s health and rights sector in Uganda, Africa and internationally. Her research interests for the health development sector are in community mobilization and engagement in monitoring and evaluation of health service delivery at the community level, as well as in healthcare financing and health rights. Alice holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology as well as a Master of Public Health. She is a 2021 Harvard LEAD Fellow and volunteers on several boards including the Health GAP board, among others.