Program Office

The Health Campaign Effectiveness Coalition’s program office is located at The Task Force for Global Health. The team guides the Coalition towards its strategic objectives by supporting management, coordination and communication, and facilitates implementation research and knowledge management collaboration with Coalition members.

Kristin Saarlas Director

Kristin Saarlas, ScD, MPH

Director

Kristin Saarlas serves as the Director where she provides strategic oversight and technical direction to the Coalition. Kris returned to The Task Force in December 2019 after 9 years with USAID working as a Sr. Evaluation Advisor based in Jerusalem, Washington D.C. and Ethiopia and as the East Africa Regional Advisor for the U.S. Peace Corps, also based in Ethiopia. From 1994-2007, Kris worked at The Task Force as the Deputy Director of the All Kids Count Program and Public Health Informatics Institute.  Previously, she was at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention working on the Combating Childhood Communicable Diseases Program and began her public health career working on Guinea Worm eradication as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin. Kris holds a ScD in health systems management and MPH in international health from Tulane University and a BA in international relations from Michigan State University.

Eva Bazant

Eva Bazant, DrPH, MPH

Sr. Associate Director, Implementation Research

Eva Bazant works with the Coalition to develop and implement a learning and research agenda on campaign effectiveness and integration. Eva is an applied program evaluator and mixed-methods researcher with 20+ years of global health experience. Previously, at Jhpiego, she served as Research Team Lead and Sr. Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Advisor, collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams working in maternal and newborn health, reproductive health/family planning, HIV and cervical cancer prevention, care and service demand, gender and disability services, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa. While at the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region, Eva advised programs in sexual and reproductive health and rights in Latin America and the Caribbean. She holds doctoral and masters of public health degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University, is fluent in French and Spanish, and has co-authored 40+ peer-reviewed articles and reports for international development agencies and sponsors.

Leah Wyatt

Leah Denise Wyatt, MSc

Sr. Associate Coalition Director

Leah Denise Wyatt plans, facilitates, and leads strategic development for the Coalition, serving as a liaison to Coalition members and partners. Leah has over 18 years of experience in strategic learning and communication. Her work has focused on knowledge network design, collaboration, communication, and facilitating evidence-based dialogue and action planning. She comes to The Task Force after spending over five years with USAID serving as a Learning Advisor in Washington, DC and Kampala, Uganda. Previously, Leah led knowledge management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in service to a USAID-funded cooperative agreement. Leah holds a Master of Science degree in Information and Knowledge Strategy from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon.

Allison Snyder

Allison Snyder, MPH

Project Manager

Allison Snyder is the project manager for the Health Campaign Effectiveness program. In this role she provides support, management, and strategic planning and guidance for the program and the coalition. She joined the Coalition in 2020, after 4 years serving in a management and support role within The Task Force’s Neglected Tropical Diseases Support Center, the secretariat for the Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (COR-NTD). Allison has broad domestic and global health and development experience, including 3 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Rwanda, leading health education initiatives, providing program design and implementation support and leading project and portfolio management. Allison holds a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs from Florida State University and a Master of Public Health from Emory University. 

Patricia Richmond, MPH

Project Support Specialist

Patricia Richmond returned to Task Force for Global Health in March 2021, having previously worked with the All Kids Count program and the Public Health Informatics Institute. From 1997 – 2004, Patricia worked with partners at state and local health departments across the United States, helping to develop quantitative indicators for evaluating immunization registries, and managing All Kids Count Connections, one of the first communities of practice around integration of child health information systems. Following several years of parenting, volunteering, and working in public schools, Patricia now supports the Health Campaign Effectiveness and the Focus Area on Compassion and Ethics (FACE) programs of the Task Force. She studied studied maternal and child health in Madurai, India as a participant in the South India Term Abroad (SITA) Program, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from William Smith College, and a Master of Public Health in Global Health from Emory University.

Aimee Rivera, MPH

Program Assistant

Aimee Rivera is the Program Assistant for the Health Campaign Effectiveness program. She joined the Task Force in 2022 and provides support to project coordination and office logistics. She has worked in the Human Engagement and Learning Platform as a Public Health Associate in developing a better understanding of vaccine hesitation across the nation. She has also worked in the field gathering information on the COVID-19 pandemic and also gathering information about possible hesitation in vaccine inoculation. She has worked as a Graduate Administrative Assistant in the Latinx Student Services and Outreach office during her graduate career, providing support to the Latinx community at Georgia State University by completing and succeeding in higher education. Aimee completed her Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology and a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry at Georgia State University.

Patrick O’Carroll, MD, MPH

Head, Health Systems Strengthening Sector

Patrick O’Carroll, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACMI, is Head of The Task Force’s Health Systems Strengthening sector. In this role, Dr. O’Carroll provides overall strategic and operational direction to the sector that currently consists of the Public Health Informatics Institute, Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network, African Health Workforce Project, MedSurplus Alliance and Health Campaign Effectiveness programs.​ Prior to joining The Task Force, Dr. O’Carroll served as the Regional Health Administrator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Region X serving Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. He was also HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (science and medicine) and Senior Advisor to the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health. In this role, Dr. O’Carroll helped conceptualize and develop “Public Health 3.0,” an effort to systematize an enhanced level of public health practice currently being pioneered in several communities across the United States. Dr. O’Carroll joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1985 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, and spent 18 years with CDC as an epidemiologist, informatician, and program director. A fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics, Dr. O’Carroll developed the nation’s first training course and textbook on the discipline of public health informatics. He has extensive experience working across most every public health domain including public health systems development, global health and disease surveillance, immunization, bioterrorism, and infectious disease epidemic control. Dr. O’Carroll holds a medical degree and a master’s in public health from The Johns Hopkins University.

Alan Hinman, MD, MPH

Consultant

Dr. Hinman received his B.A. from Cornell University, M.D. from Western Reserve University, and M.P.H. from Harvard University. Since 1965 he has been involved in public health programs at the state, national, and international levels, primarily working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  At CDC he served as Director of the Immunization Division (1977-1988) and the National Center for Prevention Services (1988-1995). In addition, he has worked for the State Health Departments of New York and Tennessee. Dr. Hinman retired from the U.S. Public Health Service in July 1996, having attained the rank of Assistant Surgeon General, and joined the staff of The Task Force for Global Health.  He has authored or co-authored more than 400 publications.  He has served on the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as well as Chairing a WHO Advisory Committee. He is an Adjunct Professor of Global Health and Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University.

Carol McPhillips-Tangum, MPH

Consultant

Carol McPhillips-Tangum, MPH is a Technical Advisor and Consultant for Health Campaign Effectiveness at The Task Force for Global Health in Georgia, United States. Carol has more than 20 years of experience in research and evaluation.  She has led teams of health educators, health service researchers, and data analysts in the design, implementation and evaluation of health improvement and disease management programs for diverse populations. Ms. McPhilipps-Tangum received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, San Diego and a Master of Public Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health. She is a member of the American Evaluation Association and the Public Health Leadership Society.

David Gittelman, MPH

Consultant

David Gittelman, MPH is a technical advisor both to the Health Campaign Effectiveness Coalition at the Task Force for Global Health in Atlanta, Georgia and to the Alliance for Malaria Prevention partnership hosted by the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies in Geneva. He also serves as adjunct faculty with the University at Albany, New York’s School of Public Health and advisor to its Center for Global Health.  Previously, Mr. Gittelman was a public health advisor with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 32 years, and a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has worked extensively with immunization campaigns for polio and measles immunization in Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe, and mass distribution of insecticide-treated nets in Africa. Mr. Gittelman received his Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and Bachelors in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Ahmed Haji-Said, MBBS, MPH candidate

Intern, Community Manager

Ahmed Haji Said is the community manager for the Coalition. In this role, he manages the Coalition Workspace, contributes to the research and learning agenda, and provides support in program monitoring and organizational learning. Prior to joining the Task Force for Global Health, he began his global public health career with Adam Smith International in an effort to strengthen Somalia’s health systems from a short-term humanitarian approach to a sustainable evidence-based approach that prioritizes quantity and quality. Most recently, he was a practicing medical officer with the Federal Ministry of Health Sudan. Ahmed received his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Elrazi University, Sudan. Currently, he is a Master of Public Health candidate and pursuing a certificate in complex humanitarian emergencies at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. 

Sade Olaoye, BSHP/MPH student

Intern, Communications

Sade Olaoye is a dual-degree student at the University of Georgia pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion with a minor in Global Health and her Master in Public Health with a Health Promotion & Behavior concentration. Considering her background as a student, Sade’s coursework and community involvement has generated over three years of experience in health communications with a core focus on evidence-based research practices. She has created various program materials ranging from technical manuals to program plans. Sade is currently a Public Service & Outreach Scholar serving at the UGA Archway Partnership where she collaborates with community members and stakeholders to implement group initiatives that better the health and wellness of communities across Georgia. Sade hopes to provide health education materials to local and global communities to resolve the food security and hunger crisis.