The future, with all its benefits and detriments, is here. Now.

Christine Squires

Christine Squires leads a health-focused relief and development organization that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster. By supporting over 4,000 health centers worldwide with transformative health programs and donations of medicine and medical supplies, Americares improves the health of millions of people in need. Americares helps communities prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters; increase access to medicine and medical supplies; improve and expand clinical services; and prevent disease and promote good health. The world’s leading nonprofit provider of donated medicine and medical supplies, Americares delivers over$900 million in products annually to an average of 90 countries. Squires has oversight of all Americares operations worldwide, including more than 600 staff in nine countries: Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Liberia, Malawi, the Philippines, Tanzania and the United States. Squires has spent over 20 years championing humanitarian causes and has held numerous senior leadership roles within the nonprofit sector.

Prior to being named Americares President and CEO in 2020, she served as executive vice president and chief development officer responsible for critical organization-wide initiatives as well as all corporate, foundation and individual giving. In less than four years, Squires expanded fundraising efforts and doubled the organization’s annual operating budget to more than $60 million. Prior to joining Americares in 2016, Squires served as chief operating officer for Physicians for Human Rights, where she oversaw the organization’s global development and strategic planning efforts. Squires also headed up growth and fundraising for Human Rights Watch and spent 10 years at the United States Fund for UNICEF. She holds a bachelor’s in English from the University of Delaware and is a graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership’s Executive Development Program.

M. Rashad Massoud, MD, MPH, FACP

M. Rashad Massoud, MD, MPH, FACP, oversees the organization’s health programs for people affected by poverty or disaster, including its work with the uninsured in the United States, its Emergency Response team and its global distribution of more than $900 million in medicine and supplies to more than 90 countries annually. He also leads Americares global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the distribution of personal protective equipment, delivery of essential primary health care services, and training and mental health support for frontline health workers.

Dr. Massoud brings to Americares over 20 years of experience directing initiatives that have strengthened health systems in vulnerable communities around the world. Prior to joining Americares, Dr. Massoud served as chief medical and quality officer and senior vice president of the Quality and Performance Institute at University Research Co., where he led URC’s quality improvement efforts in over 40 countries. He also served as the director of the USAID Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems Project.

Prior to that, Dr. Massoud served as senior vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Mass., where he worked on innovation, transformation and large-scale programming. He also served as a medical officer with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and has consulted for and collaborated with KPMG, UNICEF, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and several other nonprofits.

A leader in the global health field, Dr. Massoud is the immediate past president and executive committee member of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Alumni Association and served as an advisory board member for the World Health Organization global report on quality and safety. He is also an inaugural member of the International Academy of Quality and Safety.

Dr. Massoud earned his medical degree from the First Moscow State Medical University in Moscow, Russia, and completed a master’s in public health from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Julie Varughese, MD

As chief medical officer and vice president of Americares technical unit, Dr. Julie Varughese is responsible for increasing access to quality medicine for low-income and uninsured patients worldwide. The leading global nonprofit provider of donated medicine and medical supplies, Americares distributes more than $900 million in medicine and supplies to an average of 90 countries each year.

Dr. Varughese shapes health programs to enhance patient care, provides medical oversight and reviews offers of donated products from over 200 pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, ensuring the contributed items are used safely and effectively by Americares health care partners around the globe. In her role as vice president of Americares technical unit, Dr. Varughese leads a team of experts who provide guidance in areas such as monitoring and evaluation, nutrition and medical outreach best practices. Since joining Americares in 2015, Dr. Varughese has traveled to Cambodia, El Salvador, Haiti, India and Tanzania to implement life-changing health programs and deliver quality medicine and medical supplies.

Previously, Dr. Varughese served as a clinical infectious disease attending at Norwalk Medical Group and Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut and worked in Norwalk Community Health Center’s HIV clinic. Dr. Varughese has participated in medical missions to India and South Africa, researched breastfeeding practices and infant health in Ecuador and worked in primary care and school-based health education in Guatemala. Board certified in infectious disease, internal medicine and pediatrics, Dr. Varughese earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., and a medical degree from Rush University in Chicago, Ill., where she completed her residency training. She also completed an infectious disease fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY.

Elana Lopez

Americares “Americares Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer Elana Lopez oversees global human resources for the health-focused relief and development organization. She is responsible for developing and implementing best in class human capital leadership as well as recruiting, training, development and performance management for all Americares employees worldwide. She is also tasked with cultivating a collaborative and inclusive global culture that reflects Americares values, attracts top talent and advances innovation. Lopez brings to Americares over a decade of experience in the social impact sector. Prior to joining Americares, Lopez served as the chief people officer at Change.org, the world’s largest platform for social change, where she led the organization’s human resources, DEI, recruiting and talent and people and culture teams.

Prior to Change.org, Lopez held several senior-level operations and human resources positions at the Avaaz Foundation, where she oversaw staff management and development, strengthened organizational culture, developed and executed leadership and development trainings and led recruitment efforts. A steadfast social justice advocate, Lopez’s experience also includes serving as the vice president of communications for Tzedek Chicago, a Jewish congregation rooted in justice and equity, and as a crisis counselor for victims of sexual and domestic violence at YWCA Chicago. Lopez earned a bachelor’s degree in comparative culture and media studies from the University
of Maryland, where she developed her own major focusing on the role of media in war and conflict. She holds a master’s degree in narrative theory and communication studies from the University of Chicago, where she also created her own course of study centering on how individuals use stories to traverse war, personal trauma and other difficult events.”

Kristin Stevens

Kristin Stevens oversees the strategic direction of Americares disaster preparedness programming in the U.S. and around the world. She is responsible for implementing programs that provide health centers with the tools to better prepare for future emergencies and continue to operate despite power outages, facility damage and other obstacles. She is also responsible for directing initiatives that strengthen health systems in vulnerable communities and save lives. Stevens, a certified emergency manager, brings to Americares more than a decade of experience in the health sector.

Prior to joining Americares, she served as principal and founder of Stevens Research & Consulting where she provided consulting services in emergency management, health security, disaster risk reduction and business continuity to a variety of health care, nonprofit and higher education organizations on both domestic and international projects. Stevens also served as a disaster risk reduction technical advisor for Americares in Nepal and worked as Director of Emergency Management for NYU Langone Medical Center where she oversaw the emergency management program for three hospitals and the NYU School of Medicine. A leader in the emergency response field, Stevens completed extensive training in incident management and business continuity. She is a frequent conference speaker and currently chairs the Association of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Professionals research committee. Stevens earned a Master of Science degree in threat and response management from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Colgate University.

Stephanie Kauffman

As deputy senior vice president of strategic partnerships, Stephanie Kauffman is responsible for scaling the growth of corporate, foundation, individual and public fundraising initiatives, as well as cultivating strategic partnerships for Americares. Kauffman also directs the health-focused relief and development organization’s partnerships growth strategy, new partnership models and broadens engagement with Americares corporate, foundation, public, pharmaceutical and health partners.

Prior to joining Americares in 2020, Kauffman served as the chief partnerships officer at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, where she led revenue growth and brand visibility through best-in-class partnerships, including the landmark Blizzard Entertainment x Overwatch “Pink Mercy” gaming alliance, which raised a record $12.7 million in two weeks from the global gaming community.

Prior to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Kauffman was a longtime marketing and brand partnerships executive at Universal Studios, a division of NBCUniversal. She held the role of senior vice president, global alliances for Universal’s worldwide film, home entertainment and theme parks business units. Under her leadership, Universal formed partnerships with global brands on blockbuster film and theme park integrations, sponsorships and marketing campaigns including the multi-year Fast & Furious film franchise partnership with Fiat Chrysler’s Dodge brand.

Kauffman earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Florida Southern College. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the International Women’s Media Foundation, which champions strengthening women’s roles and voice in global media.

Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams, renowned epidemiologist and dean of faculty at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, joined the Americares board in 2021.

Throughout her distinguished career, Williams has published more than 500 scientific articles and performed extensive research with a focus on reproductive, perinatal and pediatric health as well as molecular epidemiology. Prior to becoming dean of faculty in 2016, Williams served as professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and as program leader of the Population Health and Health Disparities Research Programs at Harvard’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Center.

Prior to Harvard, she spent 20 years at the University of Washington School of Public Health where she developed and led the Reproductive Pediatric and Perinatal Training Program and launched its Multidisciplinary International Research Training Program, which allows students to gain experience in global health and epidemiology in low-income countries. She also served as co-director of the Center for Perinatal Studies at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle from 2000 to 2011 and as an affiliate investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle from 1992 to 2010.

Williams has been lauded for her excellence in teaching and scientific research receiving numerous awards, including the White House Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring and the American Public Health Association’s Abraham Lilienfeld Awards for education and epidemiology. Most recently, she was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and recognized by PR Week as one of the Top 50 Health Influencers of 2020.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and genetics from Princeton University, a master’s degree in civil engineering from Tufts University and master’s and doctoral degrees in epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Philip Dahlin

Phil Dahlin is Global Director of Sustainability for Johnson & Johnson (J&J). Phil leads J&J’s environmental health strategy development and execution and develops partnerships that aim to improve environmental quality and human outcomes, in support of J&J’s broader mission of improving global health. Phil is also responsible for J&J’s company-wide approach to encourage the design and development of more sustainable products and solutions. Throughout his career at J&J, Phil has worked in the areas of environmental science, environmental policy, end-to-end sustainability strategy development, corporate goal development and reporting, and due diligence and risk management.

Phil joined Johnson & Johnson in 1999 and worked previously in the waste management sector, as well as serving an Environmental Science Officer in the US Army Civil Affairs Corps. Phil holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Syracuse University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of California – Berkeley.

Gabriela Salvador

Dr. Salvador, a physician, brings to Americares nearly 25 years of experience working in the public and private health sector including senior management positions within the global health and development field. She joined Americares in 2018 as director of Latin America and Caribbean programs, where she was responsible for designing, implementing and directing innovative health programs that increase access to medicine, medical supplies and health services for low-income populations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to joining Americares, Dr. Salvador served as the senior director of health at the Grameen Foundation, where she provided leadership in the design and implementation of a global health strategy to connect women in poverty to essential financial and health services, while building empowering ecosystems. Prior to that, she served as the senior director of microfinance and health protection at Freedom from Hunger, where she led the development, implementation and evaluation of the microfinance and health protection program strategy for the organization. Dr. Salvador also served as the chief health and human development officer for Pro Mujer, where she led the operation of 100 health clinics throughout five countries in Latin America. Prior to joining Pro Mujer, Dr. Salvador was in private and public practice as a pediatric ophthalmologist in Mexico and Argentina. Originally from Salta, Argentina, Dr. Salvador studied medicine at the National University of Córdoba and completed a surgical fellowship at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and the University of California, Irvine. She also earned a master’s degree in public health with a focus on health policy and management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Salvador currently serves on the Board of Advisors for Care 2 Communities (C2C) and Linked Foundation.