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< Back Foreign Aid Workers Call on Triangle Officials to Condemn USAID Funding Freeze Lena Geller Mar 7, 2025 The Triangle is one of the largest recipients of federal foreign aid money in the nation. With that funding jeopardized, hundreds of local workers have lost their jobs. Indy Week's Lena Geller reports on the Durham City Council meeting and impact felt by North Carolina residents as a result of USAID's shuttering. Please follow the below link to read more: https://indyweek.com/news/durham/amid-mass-layoffs-triangle-foreign-aid-workers-call-on-triangle-officials-to-condemn-usaid-funding-freeze/ Previous Next

Staff & Board of Directors Staff Brianna Clarke-Schwelm, MPH Executive Director Brianna Clarke-Schwelm is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Global Health Alliance, where she leads efforts to strengthen and connect the state’s vibrant global health ecosystem. In this role, she champions the next generation of global health leaders, fosters cross-sector collaboration, and advocates for North Carolina’s leadership in global health innovation. Brianna brings a deep commitment to community-led development and health equity, shaped by her early work in rural health clinics in Kenya, Honduras, and Panama, and her later roles at The Hunger Project, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Rural Health, and InterAct, a domestic and sexual violence service organization in Raleigh, NC. Brianna holds a Master of Public Health in Global Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies from Bucknell University. She has made North Carolina her home for nearly a decade and is proudly raising three North Carolinian kiddos alongside her husband, who is an incredibly talented luthier. Board of Directors 2026 Board Chair Announcement Gerald Bloomfield, MD, MPH Associate Director for Research, Duke Global Health Institute Chair, Board of Directors Katie Bowler Young, MFA Senior Director of University Collaborations, RTI International Emily Evens, PhD, MPH Senior Director of Applied Research, FHI 360 Secretary, Board of Directors Christopher LeGrand, MS CEO, BroadReach Treasurer, Board of Directors Diane Lynn Enterprise Assistant VP of Global Health Services, Advocate Health Tracey du Laney, PhD Vice President, Science and Technology Development, North Carolina Biotechnology Center Tim Mastro, MD, DTM&H Principal, Mastro Global LLC Executive Committee Sid Thakur, BVSc, MVSc, PhD Professor and Executive Director, Global One Health Academy, NC State University Heather Vahdat, MPH Executive Director, Male Contraceptive Initiative

< Back North Carolina News CBS17 Coverage of NCGHA Statements Keaton Eberly, CBS17 Feb 4, 2025 Brianna Clarke-Schwelm, Executive Director of the NCGHA, was featured on CBS17 highlighting the impacts of executive orders on North Carolina industry and employment as a result of USAID turmoil USAID turmoil: NC Global Health Alliance urge state lawmakers to save foreign aid programs https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/nc-health-leaders-stress-immediate-action-as-trump-administration-aims-to-shut-down-u-s-aid-agency/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=socialflow Previous Next

< Back INDY: A Year After Federal Job Cuts, Workers in the Triangle Are Still Picking Up the Pieces Abraham Kenmore May 19, 2026 Hundreds of federal workers in the Triangle lost jobs in the Trump administration’s early cuts. A year later, the future still seems uncertain. NCGHA Executive Director, Brianna Clarke-Schwelm, spoke with freelance reporter, Abe Kenmore, for an INDY article showcasing the realities that North Carolina workers face a year after losing their jobs due to cuts to USAID and other federal agencies. Read the full article here. Previous Next

Our Mission & Vision The North Carolina Global Health Alliance (NCGHA) is dedicated to advancing North Carolina as a center of global health. We work to foster collaboration and innovation in our state and region by acting as a connector and advocate on behalf of our global health community. Our Vision The North Carolina Global Health Alliance envisions a world in which collaboration and innovation lead to healthier communities. Our Mission The North Carolina Global Health Alliance works to advance North Carolina as an international center for research, training, education, program implementation, advocacy, and business dedicated to improving the health of the world's communities. We engage academic, governmental, non-profit, and for-profit organizations in this collaborative effort. Our Objectives Connect Inform Prepare Advocate

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2023 North Carolina Global Health Conference! On November 1, 2023, the North Carolina Global Health Alliance hosted the 10th Annual North Carolina Global Health Conference in Raleigh, NC. More than 200 friends and colleagues came together in-person to reflect on what it means to have resilience in our global health ecosystem and how each of us have built resilience into our own work. Over the course of the day, countless connections were made, best practices and learnings were shared, and not for the first time, we saw just how strong and innovative the North Carolina global health community is. We started the day with traditional Senegalese music from the fantastic Diali Cissokho and Will Ridenour, and then North Carolina’s Congresswoman Deborah Ross set the stage with an inspirational reminder of just how important our global health industry is for both our state and for our country. Later in the day, our keynote speaker, Dr. Angeli Achrekar , the Deputy Executive Director for the Programme Branch at UNAIDS, shared reflections on the impact of PEPFAR and rallied us to continue our collective fight to contain HIV/AIDS around the world. Breakout sessions throughout the day gave participants the opportunity to engage with topics ranging from climate and its impact on global health, to technology’s role in our industry, to the manufacturing of products in new markets. We explored how to better gather and use data to improve health, we learned about equity-centered community engagement, and we looked at the evolving future of global health. Throughout the day, the Exhibit Hall provided an exciting space for organizations and researchers to showcase their work and engage with passionate global health students and professionals. We would like to thank our sponsors, our exhibitors, our planning committee, our vendors, including NC State and the McKimmon Center, and our brilliant speakers for giving so much of your time, talent, and resources to help make the 2023 NC Global Health Conference memorable and meaningful. And finally, to all our attendees, thank you for showing up with energy, curiosity, and openness. As the North Carolina Global Health Alliance moves forward, we hope you will stay engaged with our work and continue to bring your generosity of spirit and incredible visions for a healthier world to our future events and opportunities. Click to View the 2023 Conference Agenda! Keynote Speakers Angeli Achrekar, PhD, MPH Deputy Executive Director for the Programme Branch, UNAIDS Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Congresswoman Deborah Ross United States Representative for North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District Plenary Panel: What it Means to Have Resilience in the Global Health Ecosystem Gwen W. Collman, PhD Director, Office of Scientific Coordination, Planning and Evaluation (SCOPE), NIEHS Gavin Yamey, MD, MPH, MA Associate Director for Policy, Duke Global Health Institute Director, Center for Policy Impact in Global Health Sid Thakur, BVSc, MVSc, PhD Executive Director of Global One Health Academy Professor of Molecular Epidemiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine at NC State Click to View Our Full Speaker Lineup! Thank You to Our 2023 Conference Sponsors! Gold Level Sponsors Silver Level Sponsors Bronze Level Sponsors Sustaining Sponsors

2022 NC Global Health Annual Conference Registration Thursday, October 6, 2022 McKimmon Center, NC State Ticket Descriptions: Student - Member Students who attend one of our member universities (UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, NC State, App State). Student - Non-Member Students who do NOT attend one of our member universities. Professional - Member Professionals who are employed by one of our member organizations . Professional - Non-Member Professionals who are NOT employed by one of our member organizations . Low/Middle Income Country (Virtual Only) Virtual attendees who are from a country that is classified as low- or middle-income. Will have access to at least two break out sessions that will be broadcast live during both the morning and afternoon breakout blocks, in addition to the content posted on our conference app (stories and posters) . Virtual Only Virtual attendees will have access to at least two breakout sessions that will be broadcast live during both the morning and afternoon breakout blocks, in addition to the content posted on our conference app (stories and posters). Government Agency Discount Attendees who are employed by a government agency. Click here to register on the conference web app.

North Carolina Global Health Alliance Career Center Click below to find job opportunities from our member organizations! Want to highlight a job in our newsletter or social media? Send it to executivedirector@ncglobalhealth.org to be featured. Not a member of the NCGHA? Email us to find out how you can get your jobs featured. Event Sponsor Mission: To make North Carolina the healthiest state in the nation. Mission: FHI 360 advances equity, health and well-being through data-driven, locally led solutions – so that humanity thrives. Mission: To improve public health and economic prosperity in informal settlements by partnering with communities to strengthen systems, reduce inequalities, and improve access to quality health care, education, and economic opportunities. Mission: To improve the performance of health workers and strengthen the systems in which they work. Mission: To promote mutual understanding between the people of North Carolina’s Triangle region and the international community through education, cultural exchange, arts, and the celebration of achievements. Mission: To achieve health equity for vulnerable groups and individuals around the world through research, education and partnership. Mission: To harness health technology and innovation that empowers human action. Mission: To serve as a center for research, scholarship, and creativity and to teach a diverse community of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to become the next generation of leaders. Mission: As a research-extensive land-grant university, North Carolina State University is dedicated to excellent teaching, the creation and application of knowledge, and engagement with public and private partners. Mission: To end health inequities through transformative excellence in education, clinical practice, and nursing science. Mission: To advance global health equity by promoting and facilitating collaboration to drive impactful innovation. Mission: To partner with underserved communities to make measurable and sustainable improvements in their health and wellbeing. Mission: To build resilient abortion and contraceptive ecosystems using a comprehensive approach across sectors, institutions, and communities. Mission: To build human capacity and technical capability for creating better access to medicine in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mission: Increases access to proper treatment for children born with clubfoot in low- and middle-income countries through partnerships with local healthcare providers. Mission: To discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives. Mission: To provide long-term economic and societal benefits to NC by supporting biotechnology research, business, education, and strategic policy statewide. Mission: To design technologies that amplify youth power, agency, and opportunity. Thank you to our sponsor.

Membership Our members are committed to exploring innovative collaborations for the benefit of our world's health. We help organizations and individuals discover and create the connections they would have otherwise not established. The NCGHA is the catalyst for: Convening diverse institutions, disciplines, sectors, and priorities toward a common interest in global health. We create interactions, professional exchange, and new partnerships that would have otherwise not occurred. Convergence of many vertical stakeholders and resources to address the increasingly interconnected areas of global health. This convergence identifies unmet needs, creates synergy, and further engages new combinations of stakeholders to address these needs. Collaboration among individuals and diverse groups, working together to create increased understanding, enhanced approaches, unique ideas, and new opportunities. Member Opportunities Build Community and Facilitate Partnerships Networking & strategic partnership opportunities facilitated through NCGHA introductions Participation in topical round-table discussions with other industry leaders Invitation to national Global Health Networks Participatory events (e.g. member meeting, networking) Share Best Practices Annual Conference in the Fall Virtual opportunities to learn from experts Bi-weekly newsletter Member spotlights on NCGHA social media Opportunity to elevate events, research, and news to thousands of NCGHA newsletter recipients Prepare the Next Generation of Global Health Leaders Connection and access to qualified job-seekers In-person career fair Student field trips to local global health organizations Online Career center to post and view global health jobs NCGHA leadership visits to member universities Advocate For & Elevate the North Carolina Global Health Community Annual Award Ceremony In-person and virtual advocacy events Access to NCGHA’s neutral voice and resources Collaborative advocacy opportunities with other NCGHA member organizations Testimonials Leah M. Devlin, DDS, MPH Foundation Board Chair Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "The networking with like-minded professionals from globally focused businesses, nonprofits, and academic organizations provides enormous potential for innovative health investments and strategies that can change North Carolina and the world!" Anonymous Member of the Alliance & Annual Conference Attendee "The Alliance provides a crucial forum for local partners to connect -- as well as those from other locales. It's nice to take advantage of resources in the Research Triangle. You are doing incredible work, are an invaluable asset." Timothy Mastro Chief Science Officer FHI 360 "I love being a member of the Alliance because it serves as a connector of people and organizations in North Carolina dedicated to global health. The Triangle is a much richer place because of NCGHA." Member Perks Growth Career Center Event Discounts Community New Business & Partnerships Credibility Best Practices Advocacy Visibility Membership Dues The NCGHA is an institutional membership organization committed to making our membership as accessible as possible. Annual membership dues are based on the annual gross revenue of an organization or the number of students at a university. Students and professionals who are affiliated with one of our member organizations are considered to be members. University Membership Less than 1,000 students: $1,000 1,000 - 4,999 students: $3,000 5,000 - 9,999: $6,000 10,000+ students: $12,000 Nonprofit Membership For-profit Membership Less than $1 million: $350 $1-10 million: $1,250 $10-100 million: $2,500 $100-$500 million: $6,000 $500-$999 million: $12,000 $1B+: $20,000 Less than $1 million: $700 $1-10 million: $2,500 $10-100 million: $6,000 $100-$500 million: $12,000 $500-$999 million : $20,000 $1B+: $25,000 Ready to join us? Email us at members@ncglobalhealth.org to get started. Stay in the loop. The best way to stay connected is to subscribe to our newsletter* & follow us on LinkedIn. JOIN US *Be sure to check your spam after signing up for our newsletter & confirm your subscription.

< Back NCGHA and Member Representatives Speak at Durham City Council Meeting Mar 6, 2025 City of Durham, NC Announces Joint Resolution Calling for the Immediate Lifting of the Stop Work Order on Foreign Assistance Programs and the Re-opening of the United States Agency for International Development Video will start at introduction of Joint Resolution to Durham City Council Links to the Motion and Joint Resolution: Motion to Adopt Joint Resolution Joint Resolution Previous Next

< Back Press Release: NCGHA Sounds Alarm on USAID Shutdown, Impacting Jobs and Economy Feb 3, 2025 North Carolina Global Health Alliance Sounds Alarm on USAID Shutdown, Impacting Jobs and Economy FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 4, 2025 North Carolina Global Health Alliance Condemns Dismantling of USAID, Citing Severe Economic and Security Impacts for North Carolina Raleigh, NC – The North Carolina Global Health Alliance (NCGHA) expresses profound concern over the recent actions leading to the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Following an initial Stop Work Order that paused all funding and caused immediate furloughs and disruptions, the subsequent shutdown of USAID operations has exacerbated the crisis, threatening thousands of jobs in North Carolina and posing significant risks to both the state's economy and global stability. North Carolina stands as the fourth-largest recipient of USAID funding in the nation, supporting a robust global health sector that contributes $31.9 billion annually to the state's economy. The initial funding freeze led to immediate furloughs and disrupted long-standing international partnerships. The complete dismantling of USAID now jeopardizes the future of numerous organizations and the livelihoods of countless professionals dedicated to global health and development. "The dismantling of USAID is a direct assault on North Carolina's economic vitality and our leadership in global health," said Brianna Clarke-Schwelm, Executive Director of the NCGHA. "The initial funding freeze was devastating, but the complete shutdown threatens to decimate an industry that not only provides thousands of jobs but also plays a crucial role in addressing global challenges." Beyond the immediate economic repercussions, the closure of USAID undermines U.S. national security interests. USAID's programs are instrumental in countering global instability, mitigating the influence of adversaries, and preventing the spread of infectious diseases. The absence of these programs cedes strategic ground to competitors and diminishes the United States' ability to respond to international crises. The NCGHA urgently calls upon North Carolina's congressional delegation, including Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, to take immediate action to address this crisis. The organization also encourages concerned citizens to contact their representatives to advocate for the restoration of USAID's critical functions. "We cannot afford to remain passive as an essential agency is dismantled, jeopardizing both our state's economy and our national security," Clarke-Schwelm added. "It is imperative that we act swiftly to restore USAID's operations and protect the interests of North Carolina and the nation." For media inquiries, please contact: Brianna Clarke-Schwelm Executive Director, North Carolina Global Health Alliance Email: Brianna@ncglobalhealth.org Website: www.ncglobalhealth.org Previous Next

2022 Economic Impact Report The Global Health Sector's Contributions to North Carolina's Economy In 2021, the North Carolina Global Health Alliance partnered with RTI International to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the economic contributions of North Carolina's global health sector. The report examines the sector's impact on employment, economic activity, innovation, and global health outcomes, highlighting the significant role that North Carolina organizations play in improving health around the world while strengthening the state's economy. The report remains a valuable resource for organizations, researchers, policymakers, and advocates seeking to better understand the scale and impact of North Carolina's global health community. NCGHA members may request access to the report by contacting members@ncglobalhealth.org . Non-members may purchase access to the report for $1,000. To inquire about obtaining a copy, please contact members@ncglobalhealth.org . Thank you to our sponsors who helped make this report possible!