The Voices from the Field leadership seminar series at Harvard School of Public Health invites decision-makers to speak about their experience making policy decisions that affect global health. Highly interactive and candid, this series is produced in The Leadership Studio for a student audience. The high-definition webcast is posted for future viewing. Students will also learn from experienced leaders about decisions that were effective, decisions that failed, and which decisions, if any, could have been made differently.
Behind the Scenes with the Secretary of Health: Leading the State to Lead the Nation
JudyAnn Bigby, M.D., served as Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from January 2007 through January 2013, where she was responsible for implementing many of the aspects of the 2006 Massachusetts health care reform law. Her efforts have made Massachusetts one of the nation’s leading states in forging efforts to reform health care delivery systems to build a strong primary care foundation, integrate service delivery, and reform payment based on outcomes including for the most vulnerable populations with disabilities, chronic mental illness, and the frail elderly. In 2011 President Obama appointed her as one of the inaugural members of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health of the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council. Dr. Bigby holds a BA from Wellesley College and an MD from Harvard Medical School. In spring 2013 she is a Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Ashok Alexander on Leadership Lessons from the Field Less Traveled from March 28, 2013
Ashok Alexander led the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s India office from its inception in 2003 until 2012, where he created Avahan, the Foundation’s flagship India AIDS prevention program which became the largest private prevention program ever undertaken in HIV/AIDS. Over a decade, Ashok led the growth and expansion of the Gates Foundation’s first country office, with a grant portfolio of over $1 billion spanning health, sanitation and agriculture. For spring 2013 he is a Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. Currently, Ashok is engaged in beginning Antara, a non-profit dedicated to health delivery at scale. Ashok is a graduate of St. Stephens College in New Delhi, has a post-graduate degree from the Delhi School of Economics, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.
Harvey V. Fineberg, President of the Institute of Medicine
In this event, former Harvard Provost Harvey Fineberg explored the roles of the health professional in individual and social decision-making. Dr. Fineberg is President of the Institute of Medicine. He served as Harvard’s Provost from 1997 to 2001, following 13 years as Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health. He has devoted most of his academic career to the fields of health policy and medical decision making. His past research has focused on the process of policy development and implementation, assessment of medical technology, evaluation and use of vaccines, and dissemination of medical innovations.
ON-DEMAND VIDEO of talk with JudyAnn Bigby from April 18, 2013
ON-DEMAND VIDEO of Ashok Alexander’s talk 
ON-DEMAND VIDEO of Harvey Fineberg’s talk on March 12, 2013
