The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program (read more) enhances leadership among international professionals who collaborate to address local and global challenges and foster change for our collective good. Each year, a number of the Humphrey Fellows connected to the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University begin their year in Atlanta at Villa International. This year, five have stayed with us since August, and most are spending a portion of their time engaged in Covid and Covid-related challenges that affect their specific areas of study. Here’s a glimpse of the talented and devoted people who are our guests.
Dr. Elisaveta Petrova- Geretto is passionate about her job as assistant professor at the Faculty of Public Health in Sofia. This position harmoniously combines her professional and personal aspirations for a fairer and more just society. Teaching is her small contribution to making the world a better place as she believes education is the single most powerful tool in bringing change. She researches medical ethics, patients’ safety, management and communications. Elisaveta has worked on projects in quality and patients’ safety, health literacy, and occupational health. She is also part-time expert at the Bulgarian Medical Association.
As a Hubert Humphrey Fellow, Elisaveta has three main priorities: to research more about communication as a key element of ethical public health and quality of healthcare; to enhance her skills as a teacher and motivator; and lastly to study approaches for prevention of burnout and improving well-being in healthcare establishments.
Dr. Nida Ali most recently worked with the World Health Organization's Polio Eradication Program. She has been in the field for five years at various administrative levels and travelled extensively in her home country of Pakistan. Nida has been heading the Islamabad Division for technical support on Polio Eradication. With a team of four doctors and twenty-five field assistants, she is striving hard every day to close the gaps in health systems that slow down the pace for interruption of virus transmission.
As a Hubert Humphrey Fellow, Nida strives to learn more about global health, disease surveillance, epidemiology, and control and elimination of infections. She sees herself promoting equity in healthcare in terms of larger investments and policies and bringing healthcare to every human’s doorstep.
Hanh Bui Thi Minh is a laboratory quality manager at National Standard Laboratory at Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam. Since 2015, she has worked in the public health field to determine the relationship between human health and the environment with the ambition of protecting the environment along with developing community healthcare. In the context of Covid–19, she and her lab team were charged with testing virus SARS CoV2, assisting CDCs at the provincial level with technique or setting up new laboratories to early detect the virus. They significantly contributed to Vietnam’s government in controlling the pandemic.
During her Hubert Humphrey Fellowship year, she intends to further her knowledge in laboratory management systems, strengthen her experiences in environmental health study, and broaden her networking for international collaboration in community healthcare.
Pavle Zelic holds a Master of Science in Pharmacy. He serves Serbia as a public health official, a certified diplomat, and an international expert and lecturer. He found his purpose in the position of manager for International Cooperation, European Integrations and Public Relations at the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency of Serbia which he has held for thirteen years.
He initiated, negotiated, and put into practice many agreements with national regulatory authorities worldwide: EU (Italy, France), Russian Federation, Canada and all Balkan countries. He is Serbia’s representative, but also an expert and elected official in WHO, many EU bodies, and the Council of Europe. Pavle is also an accomplished writer/scriptwriter. He has authored three fiction books, two graphic novels, and several movie scripts.
Pavle believes the Humphrey Fellowship will help enable him to become an even better communicator and project manager, whilst learning about new sciences like environmental health, and open a world of opportunities for personal and institutional ties with U.S. counterparts.
