Seattle, WA and Washington, D.C. – Malaria No More today announced new strategic hires to help fulfill its mission to end malaria. Susan Byrnes and Richard Wardell have joined the organization as Managing Directors to lead MNM’s communications and finance & operations functions, respectively. Heidi Ross and Anjali Kaur are joining to help MNM expand its policy and advocacy work in the United States and Asia.
“Over the past 10 years, we’ve made historic progress in the fight against malaria,” said Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More. “The skills and experience of our new team members will equip Malaria No More to tackle the next phase of the malaria fight, as we work to put the world on the path to ending this disease once and for all.”
Susan Byrnes joins as Managing Director, Strategic Communications. In this position, she will lead MNM’s efforts to position malaria on the global agenda; engage our partners in media, the private sector and government; and support resource mobilization efforts in the U.S. and around the world. Byrnes has spent her professional career in communications and journalism, with a focus on social impact. Prior to joining Malaria No More, she served as Chief Communications Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, overseeing all of the foundation’s communications and brand functions. In all, she spent seven years in communications leadership roles at the foundation across all of its domestic and international programs. Byrnes’ early career was in journalism, including working as a staff writer and editorial writer for The Seattle Times and a general assignment reporter for The Los Angeles Times.
Richard Wardell joins as Managing Director, Finance & Operations. He will oversee the operational activities of the organization, including finance, performance management and reporting, human resources, legal, and general administrative functions. Wardell has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, holding multiple senior roles in retail and commercial banking at Lloyds Bank and Washington Mutual, and strategy consulting, with the Boston Consulting Group. More recently, Wardell served as Chief Operating Officer at Landesa, a global non-profit focused on rural land rights, and as Vice President, Global Programs at Unitus, focused on accelerating the growth and effectiveness of microfinance as a tool for poverty alleviation.
Heidi Ross joins as Director, Policy & Advocacy in MNM’s Washington, D.C. office where she will work to elevate malaria among policy makers in the U.S. and abroad. Ross comes to MNM with nearly eight years of experience on Capitol Hill in both the House and the Senate. Most recently, she served as a Professional Staff Member for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs where she was the lead House Democratic staff negotiator for the PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act of 2013, and maintained relationships with key officials from USAID, HHS, CDC, and the Office of U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.
Anjali Kaur joins as Director of Asia. She will lead MNM’s expanding body of work throughout Asia, working closely with the Strategic Communications and Policy and Advocacy teams to engage with the government, private sector, civil society and media. Kaur has 15 years of development experience working at the field, country, and global levels in Asia, Africa and Latin America with a focus on evidence-based, integrated global health programs. Kaur comes to MNM from UNICEF’s Polio Programme, a key implementing partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, one of the largest evidence-based global health initiatives ever undertaken. She has worked on polio at the country and HQ levels for the past six and half years, most recently as the Advocacy and Resource Mobilization Specialist, leading on donor engagement for UNICEF. Prior to UNICEF, Kaur held roles with the World Bank, UNFPA, and the Earth Institute, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Brazil.
