JSI Welcomes Lia Tadesse Gebremedhin to its Board of Directors

JSI, a leading global nonprofit organization in public health, education, and socioeconomic opportunity, is pleased to announce the election of Lia Tadesse Gebremedhin to its board of directors. Dr. Gebremedhin is the executive director of the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program and a visiting faculty at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dr. Gebremedhin was Ethiopia’s minister of health from March 2020 to February 2024 and a state minister of health before that. As minister, she led Ethiopia’s response to COVID-19 and other emergencies, including conflict and drought. Dr. Gebremedhin approached the pandemic as an opportunity to build the health system’s resilience. She forged partnerships with diverse local, regional, and global health stakeholders to strengthen crucial health system pillars.

“I am honored to welcome Dr. Lia to the JSI family. As former minister of health and a renowned leader in our sector, she is uniquely positioned to influence JSI’s work. We look forward to benefiting from Dr. Lia’s deep expertise as a clinician and public health leader,” said Muka Chikuba-McLeod, president and CEO of JSI.

Before joining the Ministry of Health, Dr. Gebremedhin was program director at the University of Michigan’s Center for International Reproductive Health Training, where she partnered with institutions in Ethiopia and Rwanda to enhance reproductive health services and training. She previously served as project director of USAID’s Maternal and Child Survival Program at Jhpiego-Ethiopia and as CEO and vice provost of St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa, where she led hospital services and academic reforms.

Dr. Gebremedhin joins a board of distinguished global public health and education leaders. Board members are responsible for strategic oversight and provide innovative thought leadership to contribute to JSI’s mission.