Board Chair Announcement
A New Chapter for the
North Carolina Global
Health Alliance
Leadership transitions are moments to reflect on where we've been, recognize those who helped us get here, and look ahead to what's next. We are excited to do all three as we celebrate the extraordinary service of our outgoing Board Chair, Dr. Tim Mastro, and welcome our new Board Chair, Dr. Jerry Bloomfield.
July 1, 2026
Thank You, Dr. Tim Mastro
For the past four years, Dr. Tim Mastro has provided steady, thoughtful leadership during one of the most transformative periods in the Alliance's history.
Tim stepped into the role of Board Chair in 2022 after serving on the Board since 2015. He assumed leadership during a pivotal moment for the organization. We had just undergone a name change and rebrand, were emerging from the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and were navigating an executive director transition. Tim successfully led the search for a new Executive Director, hiring Brianna Clarke-Schwelm in early 2023, and helped guide the organization into its next phase.
As Board Chair, Tim was an invaluable partner during Brianna’s transition into the Executive Director role. His wise counsel and unwavering support helped the Alliance successfully return to hosting our first in-person conference since before the pandemic while continuing to strengthen the Alliance's programs and community.
His leadership proved especially critical during the unprecedented challenges faced by the global health sector in 2025. As the closure of USAID sent shockwaves through North Carolina's global health community, Tim remained a steadfast advocate for our members and a trusted advisor as the Alliance responded rapidly to changing circumstances and strengthened our advocacy efforts on behalf of the sector.
Throughout it all, Tim never wavered in his commitment to the Alliance or to the thousands of professionals across North Carolina dedicated to improving health around the world. His strategic leadership, generosity with his time and expertise, and deep belief in the importance of global health have helped position our organization for a stronger future.
On behalf of the Alliance, our Board of Directors, our members, and the broader global health community, thank you, Tim. We are deeply grateful for your service and are delighted that you will continue serving on our Board as we enter this next chapter.
Welcome, Dr. Jerry Bloomfield
The Board is equally excited to welcome Dr. Jerry Bloomfield as the new Chair of the North Carolina Global Health Alliance Board of Directors.
A member of the Alliance's Board since 2022, Jerry was unanimously elected Board Chair by the Board of Directors at its February 2026 quarterly meeting.
Jerry brings decades of leadership and experience in global health, academia, medicine, and research. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Global Health at Duke University and serves as the Associate Director for Research at the Duke Global Health Institute. He leads a longstanding research and capacity building program on cardiovascular global health, which includes work in under-resourced communities in the US and a number of low- and middle-income country settings, including Kenya, where much of his work takes place. His collaborative approach makes him exceptionally well positioned to help lead the Alliance as we continue supporting North Carolina's global health community during a period of both challenge and opportunity.
As we look ahead, we are excited to work alongside Jerry to build on the Alliance's momentum, strengthen our community, advocate for North Carolina's global health sector, and continue preparing the next generation of global health leaders.
To learn more about Jerry's vision for the Alliance, what excites him most about this moment, and his priorities as Board Chair, read our conversation with him below.
Please join us in thanking Dr. Tim Mastro for his remarkable leadership and welcoming Dr. Jerry Bloomfield as the North Carolina Global Health Alliance's new Board Chair.
An interview with Dr. Jerry Bloomfield
As you begin your term as Board Chair, what inspired you to take on this leadership role, and what does the North Carolina Global Health Alliance mean to you personally?
I was inspired to take on this leadership role because of the crucial role the Alliance has played in North Carolina’s global health landscape over the last several years. I have been involved with the Alliance for about three years, beginning as a board member and as the representative for the Duke Global Health Institute. Before that, I interacted with the Alliance through its annual conferences, which gave me an early appreciation for its ability to bring people together across institutions and sectors.
What has stood out to me is that the Alliance is a venue for sharing challenges, lessons learned, and best practices among stakeholders engaged in global health. I have also seen how the changing global health landscape is affecting students and emerging professionals, especially as the employment landscape has narrowed. I am particularly excited to be involved with the Alliance at a time when it can help students see a path forward and connect them to opportunities in the field.
The global health landscape is changing rapidly. Why do you believe organizations like the North Carolina Global Health Alliance are especially important right now?
Organizations like the Alliance are especially relevant right now because they can do the research, advocacy, and cross-linking that individual institutions are not always positioned to do on their own. The Alliance can look across academia, industry, health systems, nonprofits, and the public sector to identify shared challenges and opportunities, and then advocate for global health support with a more informed understanding of the broader landscape.
The Alliance can also help speak to the general North Carolina population about why global health matters here at home. Global health is connected to our state’s economy, workforce, research enterprise, health systems, and communities. The Alliance can translate global health engagement into practical examples of how this work affects the broader public.
What is your vision for the Alliance over the next few years, and what opportunities do you see for strengthening North Carolina’s role in global health?
My vision for the Alliance over the next few years is to engage more deeply with members across the state and broaden the range of institutions and sectors involved in this work. There are many players in the global health landscape that we have not yet engaged as deeply as we could, particularly in the private sector.
There are also universities and health systems across North Carolina that are active in global health but may not yet be as connected to the Alliance as they could be. In that sense, I would like to see the “NC” in the North Carolina Global Health Alliance become bigger over the next few years. By expanding engagement across the state, we can strengthen North Carolina’s role as a leader in global health.
North Carolina is home to a remarkable global health community spanning academia, nonprofits, industry, healthcare, and government. How can the Alliance help bring these sectors together to create greater impact?
The Alliance will be most successful at bringing different sectors together if we are able to clearly articulate the value of the Alliance to each of those sectors. We have done some of this work in the past, but there is still an opportunity to sharpen how we communicate that value to academia, industry, health systems, nonprofits, government, students, and emerging professionals.
Once that value is clearer, it becomes a natural extension to leverage what the Alliance already does well: convening people and cross-fertilizing conversations. Our annual meetings and other regular engagements can create spaces where different sectors understand one another’s priorities, identify shared goals, and work collaboratively toward greater impact.
What are you most excited about as you begin your tenure as Board Chair, and what upcoming opportunities or initiatives are you particularly looking forward to?
I am most excited about engaging more deeply with our member institutions and their board representatives. The Alliance is strongest when its members are active and learning from one another.
Our annual conference is always a rewarding opportunity to engage with partners across the state whose work I might otherwise read about in a journal article, hear about through colleagues, or see in the news. It is a real gift to interact with those professionals in person at our meetings. This past year, we were excited to welcome Advocate Health as the Alliance’s latest member, and I look forward to learning from their perspective and engaging with similar organizations across North Carolina.
For students, emerging professionals, and long-time global health leaders across the state, what message would you like to share about how they can engage with and support the Alliance's mission?
My message is simple: reach out and connect. The Alliance has multiple convening opportunities over the course of the year, and we would like to expand and broaden participation in those spaces. We want more students, emerging professionals, established leaders, and institutions to see the Alliance as a venue for connection and shared learning.
That engagement can happen in person through our meetings and events, but it can also happen through our online platforms and communications. I would like the Alliance to be a place where people can learn about opportunities, share job postings, ask questions, make connections, and find resources within the broader North Carolina global health community.