In The News

Accordia Expands Board and International Council

May 13, 2009: At the April 2009 Board of Directors meeting in Kampala, Uganda, Dr. Julie Gerberding and Hiromitsu Ogawa were elected to the Accordia Global Health Foundation Board. At the same meeting, Gary Bridge, Robert Norton, and Steven Phillips were ratified as new members of Accordia’s International Council. These new members will bring great expertise and leadership to Accordia as it moves forward in its mission to fight infectious diseases in Africa.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, former Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is an accomplished public health scientist, innovator, and communicator and a long-time expert in infectious disease research and care. During her tenure at the CDC, Gerberding also served as Director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion and the Acting Deputy Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, and led extensive disease prevention efforts, while guiding the organization through an era of rapid growth, globalization, and innovative transformation. Gerberding is currently an Clinical Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) at Emory University and an Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Accordia also welcomes Hiromitsu “Hiro” Ogawa to the Board of Directors. Ogawa is a Managing Partner and founder of Quest Venture Partners, where he evaluates investment opportunities and uses his specialized skills in financial leasing, shipping, fundraising, and entrepreneurial management. Previously, Ogawa spent over thirty years in the container leasing industry, nineteen of which were with CAI International Inc., which he helped to found; he continues to preside as the company’s Executive Chairman of the Board.

Gary Bridge, Robert Norton, and Steven Phillips are all newly elected members of Accordia’s International Council, marking a large expansion of the group, which was established toward the end of 2008. Gary Bridge is currently serving as Managing Director for Horsley Bridge Partners (HBP), a private equity investment manager with which he has worked for almost twenty-five years. Before joining HBP, Bridge was a partner with Cowen & Company in Boston, where he was a nationally recognized security analyst for more than ten years, and served as Vice President of G. S. Grumman & Associates, an investment research firm.

Retired Senior Vice President for Corporate Human Resources for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Group, Robert Norton is a committed member of the global health community. During his almost forty year tenure with Pfizer, Norton held several domestic and international human resources positions, including serving as Pfizer’s Senior International Human Resources Executive. Since his retirement in 2004, Norton has continued to share his knowledge by working with organizations like Fisk University and now Accordia Global Health Foundation.

Dr. Steven Phillips, the Medical Director of Global Issues and Projects for ExxonMobil Corporation, is a long-time advocate of infectious disease treatment and prevention. In his current capacity, Phillips helps foster public-private relationships to address global health needs. Prior to joining ExxonMobil, Dr. Phillips served in the U.S. Public Health Service and was assigned to the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. He has shown continued commitment to philanthropic causes and global health issues through involvement with programs like Roll Back Malaria Partnership, Malaria NO MORE, Net Impact, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Health Initiative.
 

Accordia looks forward to working with each of these individuals, all of whom will make major contributions to Accordia as the organization continues its work to overcome the burden of infectious diseases by building healthcare capacity and strengthening academic medical institutions in Africa.

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Accordia Global Health Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) global health organization building Africa’s capacity to fight infectious disease through training, research, care and prevention. Accordia works in partnership with individuals, corporations, foundations, NGOs, and governments from Africa, Europe, and North America to achieve our vision of a healthier Africa. For more information please visit www.accordiafoundation.org.