Global Leadership
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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. |
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Cassy Cox
Executive Director [email protected] Cassy is a mission-driven, cross-industry leader with over 16 years of experience in strategic program design, delivery, and resource mobilization. Her global expertise—shaped by years of leadership in complex, high-risk, and low-resource environments—enables her to synthesize technical information, inspire teams, and drive meaningful change through cutting-edge innovation. In 2018, Cassy was medically evacuated from Somalia to deliver her twins in the U.S. at just 29 weeks—an experience that profoundly deepened her commitment to neonatal health. She believes every woman and family should have access to quality medical care and the opportunity to see their children grow and thrive. As GNS advances its mission to prevent neonatal hypothermia through the scaling of the groundbreaking Dream Warmer™ innovation, Cassy’s vision and leadership will be instrumental in shaping the organization’s next chapter. |
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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. |
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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. |
