Global Leadership
Anne R. Hansen, MD, MPH
Founder [email protected] Dr. Anne Hansen is the Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Hansen has over 12 years of global health experience, including over 10 years in Rwanda. She helped Rwanda develop and implement their National Neonatal Protocols and published a second and third edition to accommodate the survival of smaller and sicker babies. She created and taught national trainings with RN and MD representation from every district hospital and is now working to put the entire course on a free web-based video platform called OPENPediatrics for use by healthcare providers around the globe. Dr. Hansen has partnered with LBNL to develop, refine and test the DreamWarmer since its inception. |
Ashok Gadgil, PhD
Lead Engineer & Board Member [email protected] Dr. Ashok Gadgil is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley and a Faculty Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), where he currently leads collaborative, multi-year, multi-institution research programs on building energy efficiency. Dr. Gadgil has substantial experience in technology invention and policy research, with a particular focus on resource-poor settings in developing countries. With several patents and inventions to his credit, he’s received multiple awards for his innovations including World Technology Network’s 2002 World Technology Award for Energy, his1998 inaugural into the permanent collection of the Medical History section of Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History for his invention, UV Waterworks, a solar-powered water disinfection device to aid citizens in developing countries to access clean drinking water. His invention provides more than 7 million people in 5 countries in Asia and Africa. Additional awards and honors include: Discover Magazine’s 1996 Discover Award for the Most Significant Environmental Invention; 1995 Popular Science Award, Best of What’s New (both for UV Waterworks). 1991 Pew Fellows Program in Conservation and the Environment; and the Tech Laureate Award. He serves on several international and national advisory committees, each focused on innovation and invention that surround energy efficiency, issues of development, and the environment. In recent years, Dr. Gadgil’s research has centered on ways to inexpensively remove arsenic from groundwater in India and Bangladesh, removing excess fluoride from groundwater, advanced methods for capacitive desalination and fuel-efficient stoves for Darfur. |
Samira Schmitz
Head of Operations [email protected] Samira Schmitz is an accomplished leader in global operations and business development with a track record of driving organizational alignment and optimization. Expert in strategizing, leading cross-functional teams, and enhancing strategy, processes, and effectiveness. Valued for exceptional business acumen, analytical skills, project management, change management, and innovative problem solving. |
Cassy Cox
Strategy Consultant [email protected] Cassy Cox is a cross-industry, mission-focused professional who joined GNS after being medically evacuated from Somalia to deliver her twins' in the US, at just 29 weeks. Cassy has over 16 years of experience in strategic program/project planning and execution, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and resource mobilization. She is a respected international team lead, comfortable working in highly complex and high-risk environments. Cassy harnesses her global expertise to synthesize complex technical information and inspire others, effectively deploying cutting-edge technology and innovations to tackle the world's most significant challenges. |