Winter Okoth is the founder at Pamoja Kenya Mentorship Alliance and a devoted malaria champion for Nothing But Nets, a United Nations Foundation malaria advocacy campaign. Winter earned her double-major bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Thomas More University and a Master of Science degree in molecular microbiology and immunology from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Wiweka Kaszubska is the executive vice president, head of product development at Medicines for Malaria Venture. She is responsible for the late-stage development portfolio of anti-malarial drugs. Prior to joining MMV in 2012 and pursuing her interest in global health, she spent over 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry working across all phases of drug development. She obtained a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois, and a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Chicago.

This opinion piece is co-authored by leading members of the team at Women in Global Health: Roopa Dhatt, executive director; Áine Markham, director of the Gender Transformative Leadership Program; Samiratou Ouedraogo, Francophone West Africa co-founder; Dr Magda Robalo, global managing director.

Woochong Um is the new chief executive officer of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, or GEAPP. Following a distinguished career at the Asian Development Bank, Woochong brings a wealth of experience and expertise in sustainable development, climate financing, and strategic development to GEAPP.

Xanthe Scharff is a writer, nonprofit leader, and newsroom founder. She is MD for external affairs and editor at large at The Freedom Fund, and she launched two global nonprofits: The Fuller Project and Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa. Her writing is featured widely, including in The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Devex, and beyond.

Ximena Paola Vásquez Ojeda is CovidSurg hospital lead at Cayetano Heredia University.

Yacine Djibo is the founder and executive director of Speak Up Africa, a nonprofit based in Dakar, Senegal, working to accelerate public health and sustainable development in Africa for people across the continent to engage their policymakers, business leaders and communities in collaborating for tangible health and sanitation solutions.

Yael Velleman is senior policy analyst for health and sanitation at WaterAid. She is in charge of planning and leadership of the organization's global policy and advocacy on the role of water, sanitation and hygiene in human health and development.

Yael Velleman is the director of policy and communication at the SCI Foundation and has worked with the organization since 2018. She is passionate about making the world a cleaner and healthier place for all, with a particular interest in the links between WASH and public health and has worked extensively on strategic planning and policy engagement on WASH and neglected tropical diseases. She has worked in the U.K., Uganda, and Nicaragua, and has supported work in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

Yamide Dagnet is director for climate justice at Open Society Foundations.