Sandra Remancus has more than 20 years of experience related to maternal and child health and nutrition; food security; HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support; and reproductive health. Sandra previously worked in West Africa with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration and USAID’s Family Health and AIDS Project. She also worked as a Food Program Specialist with the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. She has a master’s degree from the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She speaks French.

Milanga has several years of professional experience in domestic and international settings. Milanga started her career at ICF International, an environmental consulting firm in Washington, DC. After spending 8 years at ICF supporting the US EPA’s Energy Star programs, she returned to school and obtained an MA in international development from the Heller School for Social Policy at Brandeis University. She has since conducted research in land and agriculture policy and urban poverty. She has also consulted for the World Bank, and recently worked for the global government affairs unit at Abbott. Milanga is a Sri Lankan native and is fluent in Sinhala.

Catherine Adu-Asare works with the Community Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition (CMAM)-FANTA Project in Ghana.  She previously served as an Operational and Technical Support staffer for the National Vitamin A Supplementation and Nutrition Rehabilitation Programs conducted by Ghana Health Service.  She earned a BSc in nutrition and food science at the University of Ghana.  She is fluent in English and two Ghanaian languages (Ga and Akan).

Fred Alumasa provides technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Social Services to initiate and implement a Food by Prescription program for people living with HIV. Fred has more than 8 years of experience in nutrition and HIV programming. He has had a wide range of roles with nutrition and HIV-related projects in Kenya, including research and analysis, field coordination, counseling, marketing, and production of nutrition-related materials. Fred is in line to defend his qualifying thesis for a Master of Science in Public Health degree at the Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases in Kenya. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in environmental health from Kenya’s Moi University. Fred is fluent in Kiswahili.

Dr. Anderson is a senior international public health and nutrition expert and program manager with 38 years of experience, more than 20 of them overseas. She is a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer who directed USAID health, population, and nutrition programs in Guatemala, Honduras, and India, as well as Global Health programs from Washington, DC. She has designed, managed, and evaluated numerous health, nutrition, and food security strategies and programs for USAID at the global and country levels, including Title II programs. She has a PhD in nutrition from Tufts University and has published three books and numerous journal articles on nutrition in developing countries. Dr. Anderson is responsible for reviewing the health, nutrition, and HIV components of Title II programs as part of FAFSA-2. She is fluent in Spanish.

Deborah Ash brings a wealth of experience in quality improvement, nutrition research, social marketing of nutrition products, and program management. Before joining FHI 360, Deborah worked for University Research Corporation as the Deputy Chief of Party for the USAID Health Care Improvement Project in Tanzania, where she developed a national initiative for quality improvement of HIV care, treatment, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV services. Prior to that, she worked for Harvard University on a number of cutting-edge research projects focused on micronutrient supplementation, home fortification, anemia prevention, and HIV. She has partnered with private sector companies in Tanzania to support social marketing of innovative nutrition products. Deborah has a PhD in nutrition from Cornell University. She is fluent in French and Kiswahili.

Ferdousi Begum, based in Bangladesh, has more than 15 years of program management, monitoring and evaluation and quality assurance experience with maternal, child and newborn health programs in Bangladesh.  She has extensive experience providing technical assistance to USAID/Bangladesh and its partners to maintain national-level coordination mechanisms and ensure that policies are in place for maternal and child health and nutrition.  She held senior posts with Save the Children and Pathfinder International in Bangladesh.  She earned a Master of Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the Sir Shalimullah Medical College, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.  She is a native Bangla speaker, is fluent in English and has a fair knowledge of Hindi. 

Dr. Bergeron has extensive international experience, having provided long-term FANTA assistance for more than 10 years in such locations as Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Haiti. Before joining FANTA, Gilles spent 6 years with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), first as a Food Security Fellow stationed at the Institute of Nutrition for Central America and Panama (INCAP) in Guatemala, then as a Research Fellow at IFPRI’s headquarters in Washington, DC. He has conducted research and published on issues related to natural resources and sustainable agriculture and on assessment methodologies for the design and targeting of food security interventions. Gilles has a PhD from Cornell University in development sociology and a strong background in both quantitative and qualitative research methods. He is a native French speaker and is fluent in Spanish.

Biplab has many years of experience of working in the development field and corporate sectors. Before joining FHI 360, he worked as an Assistant Director - Central Finance & Micro Finance Program at Resource Integration Centre, a national nongovernmental organization in Bangladesh. Biplab completed his MPhil and his MCom in management, both from the University of Dhaka.  

Ashley provides program management assistance to FANTA’s nutrition and HIV cluster activities. She is currently supporting tuberculosis and nutrition activities, as well as development of the Global Fund toolkit and training package. Before joining FHI 360, she served in the Peace Corps as an HIV/AIDS technical advisor to a small Togolese nongovernmental organization. During this period, she also assisted the Togolese Ministry of Health with design and implementation of various infectious disease programs and three national vaccination campaigns. Immediately following her Peace Corps service, she was accepted into the Global Health Fellows Internship program at USAID, where she provided technical support to senior advisors in HIV, nutrition, and food security. She received her master’s degree in international health and development from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 2009. Ashley speaks French.

Emily provides operations assistance for FANTA’s nutrition and HIV cluster activities. She holds a master’s in international development from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. As part of her graduate studies, Emily gained field experience in Ghana, training staff on and implementing a monitoring and evaluation system for a land surveying company. Previously, she supported antitrust matters at the U.S. Department of Justice. Emily speaks Spanish.

Kristen provides and manages MCHN and food security technical assistance to host country governments, USAID Missions, and USAID implementing partners for USAID-funded activities focused on maternal, adolescent, and child health and nutrition, food security, community-based programming, and monitoring and evaluation. During the FANTA and FANTA projects, Kristen co-developed an anemia prevention program for adolescent girls in East and Southern Africa; drafted Technical Reference Materials on Nutrition and the Preventing Malnutrition in Children under 2 Approach; collaboratively developed the Nutrition Program Design Assistant; developed food security country frameworks for Title II programs; and provided training and technical support on M&E. Kristen holds an MS degree in food policy and applied nutrition from Tufts University. She speaks Spanish.

Zakaria Chowdhury completed a diploma in IT, a bachelor of business administration, and recently completed his MBA in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Dulce Marina Adolfo Come has an extensive background in managing office maintenance and reception activities. Before joining FANTA, Dulce worked with United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. She is currently studying accounting at the Escola Técnica da União Geral das Cooperativas.

Hedwig has 20 years of experience in emergency health and nutrition with the International Committee of the Red Cross, as an academic researcher at CRED School of Public Health Louvain, as a WHO staff member, and as a program manager with Save the Children. She came to FANTA from Save the Children, where she served as Senior Emergency Nutrition Advisor. She holds an MA in social and cultural anthropology, an MSc in epidemiology and biostatistics, and an MPH in developing countries. Her mother tongue is Dutch; she is fluent in French.

Dr. Diene has more than 30 years of experience working in public health nutrition, including 13 years with FHI 360. Before joining FANTA, Dr. Diene worked for 8 years for the USAID-funded BASICS I and II projects as West and Central Africa Regional Nutrition Advisor based in Dakar and Nutrition Team Leader based in Arlington. He was seconded to Helen Keller International in 2005 and 2007 to provide technical support to the MOST project and USAID/OFDA in the areas of micronutrients, nutrition and HIV, food security, and emergency programs for West Africa. His technical expertise includes program planning and evaluation in public health and nutrition, food security, and community development. Dr. Diene holds a PhD in nutrition from Cornell University and an MPH in nutritional epidemiology from Tulane University, as well as a Diploma of Specialized Studies (DESS) in public health and nutrition from the University of Paris 1 Sorbonne. He speaks French and Wolof.

Megan has more than 10 years of experience in the areas of infant and young child feeding, micronutrients, food security, survey design and sampling methods (including Lot Quality Assurance Sampling), and program monitoring and evaluation for nutrition and food security programs. Megan has an MPH degree from Tulane University, with a specialization in the field of international nutrition. She speaks French.

Rachel came to FANTA with communications experience in migration and refugee issues with the International Catholic Migration Commission in Geneva. Rachel has a BA in international relations and Muslim studies from Michigan State University’s James Madison College of Public Affairs. She is a native Hebrew speaker.

Bio coming soon.

Jeff has more than 30 years of publications and communications experience, mostly with U.S. federal government contractors. Prior to joining FHI 360, Jeff spent 14 years at AECOM/PADCO, a USAID contractor, managing the Administration, Communications, Document Production, Human Resources, and Information Technology Departments. Jeff has a BA in music from Oberlin College.

Heather specializes in print and web development for project communications and emphasizes design for the global audience. Heather’s previous work includes managing websites for USAID’s Office of Women in Development. Heather has an MSc in information systems from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Magdalena comes to FANTA with 29 years of experience in designing and implementing national and sub-regional programs related to food and nutrition security in Central America. At the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), she played key roles in supporting countries to implement evidence-based public health and public nutrition programs and in integrating sound technical analyses into policies, programs, and plans. In the Pan American Health Organization Guatemala Representative Office, she supported efforts to promote food and nutrition security, prevent and control chronic diseases and tobacco abuse, and place special emphasis on the design and implementation of policies and legislation that take into consideration strategic partnerships. Magdalena has a master’s degree from the UCLA School of Public Health and speaks fluent Spanish.

Laura is a food security and livelihoods professional with 8 years of experience designing, managing, evaluating, and providing technical assistance and decision support for humanitarian, transitional, and development programs in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, including more than 3 years directly applying and adapting these skills for USAID’s food security-focused emergency and development programs in the Office of Food for Peace. Prior to joining FHI 360, Laura consulted for FANTA, the Swedish International Development Agency, FEG Consulting, Fintrac, CHF, and IRG, among others. Laura’s field experience includes work in Burma, Ethiopia, Haiti, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Laura has a BA in international studies and socio-cultural anthropology from Macalester College. She is fluent in French.

Wendy has more than 20 years of experience in program assessment, design, and management related to maternal and child health and nutrition, HIV prevention, education, and child development. Before joining FANTA, she worked with infant and young child feeding and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Jordan under the LINKAGES Project. Previously, she worked for 13 years with Norwegian Save the Children in Southeast and South Asia, consulted for international and nongovernmental organizations in Asia and Africa, and served as a Peace Corps nutrition volunteer in Colombia. Her experience includes development of guidelines and training materials, teaching, and training. Wendy has a master’s degree in education from Reed College. She speaks French, Spanish, Norwegian, and Thai.

Mai has 11 years of experience in program management, monitoring and evaluation, strategic communications, research, and institution building. Her work in Vietnam has included positions as Project Director for the JHU Tobacco Control Program, CIDA Regional M&E Specialist and Nutrition Field Director, Country Director for HealthBridge (formerly PATH Canada), and director of national food fortification and behavior change programs in partnership with national government institutions. Mai was recently a Senior Writer at Management Sciences for Health, leading proposal development for business and resource development. She has a master’s in public health from Emory University and is completing a master’s in journalism from Harvard University.

Tara has more than 13 years of experience in developing and implementing health communication programs, with an emphasis on child health and nutrition, maternal/reproductive health, and infectious disease prevention and control, including work on HIV/AIDS and malaria. Tara has a master’s of public health from Johns Hopkins University, with a dual focus on maternal/child health and health communication. Her expertise includes strengthening government coordination of country health initiatives, developing advocacy and media campaigns, conducting formative research and assessments, conducting training and capacity building activities, developing consensus-based national strategies and frameworks, and operationalizing them with partners at regional and district levels. Prior to joining FHI 360, she worked in the Social Marketing Division of Hill & Knowlton Public Relations.

Rabi has more than 11 years of experience in financial management and accounting with United Nations agencies and nongovernmental organizations. Before joining FANTA, he worked as Administration and Finance Officer with the United Nations Development Programme in Nepal, where he oversaw the financial management of a complex multi-donor project. Rabi has an accounting MBA from Maharishi University of Management in Iowa and master’s degrees in business administration and sociology from the Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu. He is a native Nepali speaker and is fluent in Hindi.

Bio coming soon.

Before joining FANTA, Dorothy interned with FHI 360’s Pre-STEP (Pre-Service Teacher Education Project). She previously worked with the AMIDEAST Fulbright Foreign Student Program. Dorothy earned a BS in secondary English education from Indiana University, Bloomington’s School of Education. She is conversant is Spanish.

Phil has more than 15 years of experience in maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, food security, and behavior change communication. Phil worked for 6 years in rural Nicaragua conducting a community-based primary health care project and has provided technical support to private voluntary organizations conducting maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, and food security programs in East Africa, Latin America, and Haiti for 7 years. He has a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill School of Public Health in health behavior and health education. He speaks Spanish and French.

Elizabeth Mugala DaCosta has 8 years of experience in public health. She started her career at Planmatics, Inc. which specialized in software development for the health care industry and various U.S. government agencies. Elizabeth also served as a Program Associate and Office Manager for the National Network for Runaway and Homeless Youth. She assisted with technical updates to the Street Smarts training curriculum as it related to HIV prevention and managed the organization’s day-to-day operations. Prior to joining FANTA at FHI 360, Elizabeth backstopped two orphans and vulnerable children projects in Kenya and two projects in Zambia. Ms. Mugala DaCosta holds a BS in health studies from Michigan State University and is currently pursuing a master of business administration from the University of Maryland University College. She has also taken master’s of public health courses at George Washington University.

Ali has more than 20 years of experience working on nutrition and public health issues. He has held various health and nutrition positions in Sudan, with the Ministry of Health, several nongovernmental organizations, and UNICEF. He previously worked as nutrition officer for UNICEF, health and nutrition program officer for Save the Children United States, country health advisor for Plan International, primary health care project manager for Fellowship for African Relief, government counterpart for a UNICEF water and sanitation project, and Save the Children Child Survival Project Expanded Program of Immunization officer. He earned his BSc and master’s degrees in public health from the University of Khartoum, Faculty of Public Health, in Sudan. Ali has participated in many national and international conferences on health and nutrition. Ali speaks Arabic.

Alice has more than 6 years of experience in designing, implementing, managing, and providing technical support to nutrition programs. Prior to joining FHI 360, Alice worked for Concern Worldwide as a nutrition manager and advisor in Eritrea, South Sudan, Malawi, and Timor Leste. Alice has extensive experience in supporting ministries of health in various countries to integrate Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition. Alice holds a master’s degree in medical science human nutrition from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Alice is fluent in Swahili.

Alain has more than 17 years of experience working on domestic and international development projects on public health, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, and education. He has extensive experience working with international development organizations, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, the United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, private voluntary organizations, and universities. He is extremely knowledgeable about all areas of project management, including contracts and procurement management, financial and budget administration, office operations, coordination and logistics of field activities, and operations. He has worked for more than 13 years as a translator and editor/proofreader of technical publications in most areas of international development. Mr. Otárola attended the Universidad Austral de Chile, majoring in tourism.

Dr. Abdulaziz Ali Oumer is FANTA's Senior Nutrition and HIV Program Officer in Ethiopia. He assists the Ethiopia Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and Health Promotion and Disease Prevention General Directorate (HPDPGD) integrate food and nutrition into HIV services and help program implementing partners develop strategic and operational capacity in nutrition and HIV. Dr. Oumer is a Pediatrician and Nutritionist with an MD from Jimma University, a Specialty Certificate in Pediatrics and Child Health from Addis Ababa University, and an MSc in Nutrition and Rural Development from Gent University in Belgium. During his residency he was Chief Resident of Pediatrics and Child Health and has served as Medical Vice-Director and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health at Jimma University. Dr. Oumer is dedicated to contributing to Ethiopia’s nation’s development efforts through working on child health care provision and combating nutritional problems.

Chrystal works with FANTA’s Operations Team to support technical staff with all procurement activities. Chrystal began her career at FHI 360 on the Ford Foundation-funded New Voices National Fellowship Program, a 2-year leadership development program for new and emerging leaders in the nonprofit sector. In her 4-year tenure with New Voices, Chrystal oversaw the program’s financial aid programs, planned biannual conferences and trainings, and conducted day-to-day program management activities. A graduate of Florida International University, Chrystal completed her bachelor’s degree in sociology/anthropology and women’s studies. She earned her master’s degree at George Washington University in women’s studies, with a focus on international development.

Elissa has more than 15 years of experience in project support, general administrative support, database maintenance, event logistics management, budget management, and report development. She previously was a Program Assistant at FHI 360 for the Global Health Population and Nutrition’s C-Change Program. She earned an AA in psychology from Mira Costa College in California.

Simon is a nutritionist who specializes in nutrition and dietetics, international health development, adult learning and education, and research (clinical, social, and operational). Prior to coming to FHI 360, he worked in several capacities with Albion Street Centre, an Australian nongovernmental organization, including Senior Technical Advisor in Nutrition, Nutrition Manager, and Acting Unit Head of the Nutrition Department. He has also worked with other international organizations, including the World Food Programme and Family Health International, providing technical support in integrating nutrition components into HIV and tuberculosis care in a number of Asian and African countries. He is a PhD candidate and holds a master’s in public health and a bachelor’s of health science (nutrition and dietetics).

Dr. Sethuraman has more than 15 years of experience working on maternal and child health and nutrition in community-based nutrition programs, policy-level analysis, program design and management, technical assistance, and capacity building in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, and the South Pacific. Before joining FHI 360, Kavita spent 6 years working at an international nongovernmental organization, undertaking research on the linkages between nutrition and gender in South Asia and West Africa. She conducted primary research in South India, looking at the association between women’s empowerment and child growth. Her technical expertise includes qualitative and quantitative mixed method research, gender analysis, and capacity building. She has a PhD in nutrition from the Centre for International Health and Development, Institute of Child Health, University College London, UK, and a master’s in nutrition from the School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. She is fluent in French.

Elisabeth Sommerfelt, a pediatrician and public health expert with more than 25 years of international experience, works with evidence-based advocacy for policy change—for at-scale implementation of effective interventions—using quantitative computer-aided models to support advocacy and build capacity. These models (e.g., PROFILES) demonstrate benefits (e.g., lives saved and economic productivity gains) from improved nutrition and health. Earlier, she worked for 10 years with the DHS Program. She analyzes large survey data sets and has written papers and reports on maternal/newborn/child health and nutrition, feeding, domestic violence, care-seeking for childhood illness, and malaria. She has worked in more than 15 African countries, Bangladesh, India (where she lived and worked for 5 years), and Viet Nam. She has worked in primary care pediatrics domestically. Her MD is from the University of Chicago and MS in public health from the University of Rochester.

Dr. Telahun comes to FANTA with more than 25 years of child health and nutrition experience in clinical practice, research, and training. Prior to joining FANTA, he served as Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health, Medical Director, and Head of Department at Addis Ababa University; Pediatric HIV Care and PMTCT Advisor at IntraHealth; and consultant for WHO. Dr. Telahun is a pediatrician with a Doctorate in Medicine from Addis Ababa University and a Master in Public Health from University Libre Bruxelles. Dr. Telahun speaks Amharic, English, and French.

Bobbie is an economist with more than 30 years of experience working on development problems for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and USAID. She has worked extensively in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Major areas of experience include food and agricultural policy; food aid; food security and poverty analyses; market sector and market potential studies; trade analyses; project design and management; strategic planning; and performance measurement, monitoring, and evaluation. Bobbie has a master’s degree in political science and public administration from Arizona State University and all but a dissertation for her PhD from the University of Maryland. She speaks Spanish.

Prior to joining FHI 360, Jill was with JPRA Architects, where she worked on graphic design presentations, environmental graphics, and signage. Jill started at FHI 360 in the Social Change Design group, where she was a Senior Production Designer. Jill now works on production and design projects, including guides, newsletters, publication covers, illustrations, and fact sheets. Jill also does web design and editing, HTML emails, and 508-compliant documents. Jill holds a BFA with a graphic design discipline from Eastern Michigan University. 

Monica is a public health nutritionist with 16 years of experience designing, managing, and evaluating international maternal and child health, nutrition, HIV, and food security programs. In her work on the FANTA project, she supports nutrition and HIV activities in Mozambique, conducts nutrition assessments, develops nutrition and food security strategies and frameworks, provides training in M&E, and leads activities to develop tools to improve infant and young child feeding and apply quality improvement systems to nutrition programs. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, worked for 4 years as a nutrition and health technical advisor with World Vision in Mozambique, and provided technical assistance in emergency relief to World Vision in Ethiopia. Monica has an MSc in nutrition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MPH in international health and humanitarian assistance from the Johns Hopkins University. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

Prior to joining FANTA, Amanda studied global development at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, where she earned master’s degrees in public administration and international relations. As part of her graduate studies, Amanda gained hands-on experience providing support to international programs and projects as an intern at the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Amanda speaks French. 

Karina earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminal justice from the University of Delaware. Prior to moving to the United States at age 14, Karina lived in Romania, Indonesia, and Iran. She’s fluent in Indonesian and German.