Secretariat
Dr Kesete Admasu served as Minister of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2016. Dr Kesete has dedicated his career to public service and scientific research focused on major public health problems in Ethiopia and has received numerous national and international awards.
A medical doctor by training with a Master’s degree in public health, Dr Kesete has served in a number of clinical and public health positions. He has worked as a public private partnership team leader, the CEO of a tertiary hospital and the Director General of health promotion and disease prevention before assuming his current position as CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria.
Olga Anghelici is the Assistant to the Country/Regional Support Partnership Committee Manager. Prior to this, she served as scientific communicator at the Environment Laboratories of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Monaco. Olga’s former employers also include the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Moldova.
Olga has extensive experience in communications and project management. She received a Master of Advanced International Studies degree from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (2011), and two Bachelor of Arts degrees in government & public administration (2008) and journalism and mass communication (2009). Olga speaks six languages.
Lilya Boaron is the Assistant to the CEO and Board Chair. With extensive experience in the office/event management and HR administration across transport, pharmaceutical and legal industries, Lilya has a proven record of supporting high-level figures in the management of leading international organisations.
From 2011-2017, Lilya served as Executive Assistant to the Secretary General (Cheffe de Cabinet) at the International Road Transport Union headquartered in Geneva, prior to which she was based in the United Kingdom. Lilya speaks English, French and Russian.
Clara Mathieu Gotch, a French national and US-trained lawyer, joins the RBM Partnership as the Chief Operating Officer. Previously with UNOPS, she was most recently the Programme Officer for the Trust Fund Manager of the Enhanced Integrated Framework, a partnership hosted by the World Trade Organization supporting least developed countries to participate in global trade.
She has 15 years of experience in programme management, particularly on fiduciary and governance matters, with a regional focus on Africa. Clara speaks French, English, Spanish and conversational Portuguese. Clara holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Brown University in Political Science, and Juris Doctor (JD) degree from George Washington University, and is admitted to practice law in New York state.
Leena Ghalib supports the RBM team as an Administrative Assistant. She holds a bacehlor's degree in Businees and Administration from the University of Geneva. Before joining RBM she worked for the Geneva Institute for Human Rights (GIHR) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). She speaks English, French, Arabic and Spanish.
Dr Joshua Levens serves as Manager for the Advocacy and Resource Mobilisation Partner Committee. With over 18 years of professional experience, from university lecturer to public health specialist, Joshua has worked in the technical areas of HIV, TB, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, diarrhea, respiratory infections, reproductive and child health, monitoring and evaluation, health financing and governance.
He managed Tanzania’s first large-scale pay-for-performance programme for health with the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. He also served as the United States Government Global Advisor in Tanzania and the Chair of the Oversight Committee for the Tanzania Country Coordinating Mechanism. Joshua holds a PhD in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology from the Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in History from the University of Central Florida.
Xenya Scanlon is the Strategic Communications Partner Committee Manager at the RBM Partnership. Xenya has worked for over 15 years in senior communications and advisory roles with major international organisations, including UN Environment, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and WWF, across three continents — in Africa, Australia and Europe. Immediately prior to joining the RBM Partnership, she was Director of Communications with the Right Livelihood Award, known as Sweden’s ‘alternative Nobel prize’.
She holds a Master’s degree in international relations from Moscow’s MGIMO University and a certificate of advanced studies from HEC-Paris, and is a Fellow of Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) Programme. Xenya speaks English, French, Russian, Croatian, and conversational Italian and Spanish.
Dr Daddi Jima Wayessa is a Country/Regional Support Partners Committee Manager at the RBM Partnership, bringing with him over 19 years of experience in public sector in Ethiopia. From 2009-2017, he was Deputy Director General of Ethiopian Public Health Institute leading the Center for Public Health Emergency Management.
He led and coordinated efforts to ensure that the country was prepared to respond to outbreaks of diseases including malaria, and held senior roles in the Ministry of Health’s national malaria programme for more than 10 years. He also chaired the board of an anti-mosquito chemical producing plant in Ethiopia. A medical doctor by training, Dr Wayessa earned his Master of Public Health degree from the National University of Ireland, and has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications.