Experts from Facebook, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, and More Join IntraHealth International's SwitchPoint Council

IntraHealth International announces its inaugural SwitchPoint Advisory Board, bringing together leading experts from a mix of backgrounds and sectors to guide the flagship annual event of SwitchPoint-IntraHealth and the continuous collaboration platform. The members of the Board, listed below, serve for two-year terms and meet six times a year to advise on SwitchPoint issues and analyze partnership opportunities for social welfare.

IntraHealth, an active global health organization in 36 countries, launched SwitchPoint in 2012 to highlight and inspire multi-sectoral creativity, partnership and action across a broad range of health and social issues.

"SwitchPoint has become a movement in which organizations and individuals from all sectors come together in a continuous way to connect and create initiatives that drive significant progress for humanitarian innovation and global health", explains the principal advisor of strategic partnerships of IntraHealth Heather LaGarde. "In fact, one of the first collaborations planned at SwitchPoint and supported in part by PBS culminated in young Ethiopians learning to mix rhythms and write their own songs while advocating for better reproductive health care."

"We are seeing a growing number of creative partnerships and collaborative work in our field," says Pape Gaye, president and CEO of IntraHealth. "Our SwitchPoint board members will help us optimize opportunities and build a community committed to solving some of the most complex challenges in the world."

The 12 members of the SwitchPoint Advisory Board are:

• Paurvi Bhatt, senior director of global access at Medtronic Philanthropy
• Phaedra Boinodiris, design strategist at Blockchain, IBM
• Michael Bzdak, executive director, community global impact team, Johnson & Johnson
• Jessica Colaço, TED Fellow and co-founder of Brave Venture Labs
• Tim Gabel, executive vice president of social, statistical and environmental sciences, RTI International
• Rebecca Kohler, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Development, IntraHealth International
• Marissa Leffler, innovation team leader, Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact, United States Agency for International Development
• Roya Mahboob, President and CEO, Digital Citizen Fund
• Doug McLean, vice president of associations, DAI
• Eric Porterfield, consumer communications manager for social good, Facebook
• Karim Sy, founder and principal catalyst of Jokkolabs of Senegal
• Asha Varghese, director of global health, GE Foundation

Board members will bring SwitchPoint to the latest trends in technology and health and global development; advise on how to meet the needs of the growing SwitchPoint community; strengthen the network of individuals of the SwitchPoint community in diverse disciplines and cultures; and look for alliances and funds that translate ideas into action.

"The unique talents of our SwitchPoint Advisory Board members represent the future of the successful global health and development efforts and the spirit of SwitchPoint," says Rebecca Kohler, Senior Vice President, IntraHealth International. "How can we best unite the ideas and inspiration of technologists, social entrepreneurs, donors, development professionals and many more in a way that promotes the progress of health and development worldwide? find out. "

IntraHealth believes that everyone everywhere should have the medical care they need to thrive. Its mission is to improve the performance of health workers and strengthen the systems in which they work.