Management Sciences for Health Welcomes New Board Directors Dr. Leslye Obiora and Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate

Arlington, VA—January 19, 2022—Management Sciences for Health (MSH) is pleased to welcome two new members to its Board of Directors: Dr. Leslye Obiora and Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate.

Dr. Leslye Obiora holds a bachelor of laws degree from the University of Nigeria, a master of laws from Yale University, and a doctor of the science of law from Stanford University. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she has served as the Minister of Mines and Steel Development for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. She was the Coca Cola World Fund Visiting Faculty at Yale University and the recipient of prestigious fellowships from the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Study Center, and Djerassi Resident Artists Program. She has also been the Genest Global Faculty Visitor at York University in Toronto; the Visiting Gladstein Human Rights Professor at the University of Connecticut; and a manager of the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law Program.

A veteran of nonprofit board management, Dr. Obiora is on the Board of Directors for UniversalGiving, an organization that raises money for international charities and matches volunteers with global opportunities. She has been a trustee of the Association of Members of the Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world’s leading centers for curiosity-driven basic research, and a two-time member of the Law & Society Association Board. Dr. Obiora has also served on the boards of the YWCA of Southern Arizona, Tucson Art Museum, and Casa de los Niños, among others. 

Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate is currently the Julio Frenk Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. He is a former Minister of State for Health of Nigeria and former Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank Group and Director of its Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents. Dr. Pate was the pioneer Chief Executive Officer of Big Win Philanthropy, a foundation that partners with national leaders to improve the lives of young people and drive long-term economic growth.

Dr. Pate is a medical doctor trained in both internal medicine and infectious diseases, with an MBA from Duke University and a masters in health system management from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK.

“We are thrilled to welcome these committed global leaders to the MSH board and look forward to their insights and on-the-ground experience to sharpen our approaches to addressing some of the world’s most pressing public health challenges,” said MSH President and CEO Marian W. Wentworth. “We also owe an immense debt of gratitude to outgoing board directors Dr. Barbara Bierer, Larry Fish, and Dan Pellegrom for their years of dedication and counsel to help MSH deliver its essential mission of improving health worldwide.”