InSTEDD Global Online Ambassadors are part of a communication program to grow and engage a community of innovation within the intersections of technology, health and humanitarian sectors. Through three month, part-time “tours of duty” with InSTEDD, the Ambassadors promote dialogue and knowledge sharing within international networks of the humanitarian community. The Global Ambassador program is supported by the iLab Southeast Asia and Skoll Global Threats Fund. The initial cohort of ambassadors focus on “Digital Disease Detection”, exploring design, development and deployment of new digital technologies for improved public health.
To learn more about the Global Ambassador Program visit: instedd.org/about-us/opportunities/
Fall 2015 InSTEDD Global Online Ambassadors
Wui Wui Yu, Malaysia
Wui Wui has more than a decade’s experience in the technology field, working on communication programs in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. She also led public relations campaigns in the Asia Pacific region at a software company, and was a communications consultant at a humanitarian organization. Her interests include how technology shapes communities and drives social innovation in developing countries, especially in opening new possibilities to address poverty. She was recently a Fellow at Kiva, a micro credit marketplace with a mission to alleviate poverty. Wui Wui studied systems design and international development at The London School of Economics, and was a recipient of the Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship. She had a bachelor’s degree in English Language Studies from the University of Science Malaysia. She is currently based in Kuala Lumpur and tweets from @wuiwuiyu.
Wui Wui will focus on engaging with the digital disease detection community on social media, including Twitter, Facebook and other platforms.
Rachael Blumenthal, United States of America
Rachael Blumenthal is an Account Specialist at a San Francisco Bay Area company called FiveStars, where she works with small business owners to develop customer retention and loyalty strategies. She previously spent several years at the United Nations International Labour Organization in Community Outreach and Development, where she transformed a community-based enterprise program model into an empowerment training tool for migrant women in Thailand. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.
Rachael will be conducting interviews and writing profiles on digital disease detectives from around the world, sharing their experiences and perspectives.
Dr. John B. Niwagaba, Uganda
Dr. John B. Niwagaba is a medical Doctor, a graduate of Bachelor of Medicine and bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from Makerere University, with 8 years clinical experience. He worked as the Africa Regional Manager for the International Diabetes Federation, coordinating more than 30 country associations in Sub Saharan Africa. He has published peer reviewed articles in renowned Journals like Diabetes Voice, and for the last 3 years has authored the question-answer column in The Observer called “Doctor Next Door” with more than 100 published articles mainly on Reproductive Health.
Dr. Niwagaba will be authoring a blog series “The Diary of a Ugandan Doctor: Tales of Digital Tech in African Healthcare”
