Our Team

Cooordinator

Katie Husselby

Katie joined Action for Global Health as Coordinator in April 2019. She is responsible for engaging with UK government and global health stakeholders, implementing AfGH's advocacy strategy, coordinating member activities, fundraising and guiding the strategic direction of the organisation. Katie also represents Action for Global Health through her seat on the Advisory Group for the UHC2030 Civil Society Engagement Mechanism.

Previously, Katie was the Events and Advocacy Officer at the Coalition for Global Prosperity, where she focused on sustaining parliamentary support for DFID's work and international development more broadly. She has also worked with a number of grassroots organisations in Uganda, including the Uganda Landmine Survivors Association and M-LISADA Kampala.

Katie studied English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford.

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Communications and Campaigns Officer

Ceri Jones

Ceri is coordinating and guiding Action for Global Health's communications and campaign activities to support the network's efforts to advocate for continued UK leadership on global health.

Prior to this, Ceri worked as a Senior Campaigns Strategist at the creative agency Shape History, where she consulted on purpose driven campaigns for clients including NGOs, academic institutes and philanthropic foundations. She has experience working across social, mobilising influencers, film/video and digital production. Ceri has also worked for Accenture on corporate social responsibility media campaigns.

She has an MA in Poverty and Development from the University of Sussex.

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Advocacy Officer

Melanie Scagliarini

Melanie coordinates the COVID-19 Working Group at Action for Global Health and is responsible for developing the group’s advocacy, working with global stakeholders and engaging with UK government.

Previously, Melanie has managed campaigns for Amnesty International, ActionAid UK and International Planned Parenthood (IPPF), where she led a global SRHR advocacy project to build momentum for the right to abortion.

Melanie has facilitated a range of grassroots organising projects, and is an advocate for mental health – speaking at a range of events and hosting a series of wellness and mental health workshops for those living with mental health conditions.

She is completing a Masters in Gender, Sexuality and Society.

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Coordinator - Students for Global Health

Tafadzwa Kadye

Tafadzwa has recently joined as the coordinator for Students for Global Health. As coordinator Tafadzwa works alongside the national committee, supporting the implementation the organisational strategy focussing on areas such as membership engagement, policy and campaigns and mobilising influence.

Before joining as coordinator Tafadzwa worked in a local authority assisting tin research projects to support the development of the council. Tafadzwa has also worked with small grassroots organisations including a project based in Mbare (Zimbabwe) and the Global Health Café.

Tafadzwa has a MSc in Global Health and Development from UCL.

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Our Steering Committee

Mike Podmore, STOPAIDS

As director of the network's hosting organisation, Mike has a permanent seat on the Steering Committee.

Mike joined STOPAIDS as Director in July 2015. He partners with STOPAIDS Trustees in the delivery of their strategic plan. He represents STOPAIDS externally in the UK and internationally.

He is Board Member for the Developed Country NGO Delegation on the board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; a steering committee member of Global Fund Advocates Network, Civil Society Sustainability Network; and Stamp Out Poverty.

Lenio Capsaskis, Save the Children UK

Lenio works as a health advocacy adviser at Save the Children UK. In this role she leads on the team’s global work on Primary Health Care for Universal Health Coverage and works with several SCUK supported country offices on their health advocacy planning and implementation.

Previously, Lenio worked as a Global Policy Adviser at the Wellcome Trust and completed a fellowship at the Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House (2017) on access to health care for refugees and migrants in Greece. She has also worked as the health programmes manager for a large Greek NGO (PRAKSIS) on the provision and improvement of health services for populations excluded from the formal health sector. Lenio has experience of working in sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on child health, particularly, immunisation in Sierra Leone (J-PAL) and advocating for increased support for innovative community based interventions to reduce childhood mortality with the Malaria Consortium in Mozambique and Uganda.

Lenio has an MSc in Public Health in Developing Countries from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a BSc in Psychology from UCL.

Tom Guha, RESULTS UK

Tom Guha is our Parliamentary Advocacy Officer for Education and Nutrition and coordinator of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education. Tom is a passionate believer in the power of politics to address global inequalities.

Before joining RESULTS, Tom worked for an MP in Parliament and led infrastructure campaigns for Cycling UK. Outside of work, Tom chairs the UK Chagos Support Association - an advocacy organisation that works with the Chagos Islanders. In his spare time, Tom can be found climbing, playing ping pong and being pestered by his dog.

Rob Dawson, Meningitis Research Foundation

Rob joined in 2016 after seeing the great work the charity does to help people affected by meningitis and septicaemia.

He is a strategic communications director with a experience in health and science across industry, public sector and not-for-profits. While working for government, he was highlighted for excellence in strategy, team motivation and evaluation in an independent review of communications capability by the UK Government’s Cabinet Office.

Chair of the STEM PR Association, Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) member, Communiqué Award judge and has guest lectured at Cambridge and Kent Universities.

Awards include: Third Sector Awards 2018, Communications Campaign of the Year for Meningitis Research Foundation’s adolescent vaccine campaign; Communiqué Awards 2007, Best Use of a Survey for GlaxoSmithKline’s HIV portfolio; Communiqué Awards 2005, Best Patient Campaign for a social marketing campaign for Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare Trust.

He was editor of the NAM and aidsmap HIV Treatment Training Manual and creates content as a freelancer for a range of health platforms. His other passions are plants, theatre and flying trapeze.

Chaitra Dinesh, Students for Global Health

Chaitra is the National Director of Students for Global Health (SfGH), and represents the student voice of the network to external organisations. She oversees the internal work of the SfGH national committee which aims to create a world in which equity in health is a reality for all.

The network uses university students to educate, advocate and act on global health inequalities, keeping in mind that Global Health is a local issue. Her particular interests are in intercultural learning, Universal health coverage, health systems strengthening, infectious disease control and global health education. She has been a part of SfGH national committee for the last two years as a National Exchange Officer, Global Health Lead in the Students for Kids International Projects (S.K.I.P) national committee and has worked as an International Assistant in the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations.

She is a final year medical student at Hull York Medical School and has a MSc in Control of Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.