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Chitkara Global Health Institute director awarded Harvard Lead fellowship
Dr Preethi John has been chosen for a year-long programme designed to advance the leadership skills of talented global health leaders from low and middle income countries, who are committed to the mentorship of future women leaders in medicine and public health.
Chitkara Global Health Institute director Dr Preethi John was awarded the Harvard Lead Fellowship for promoting women in global health on Wednesday.
In an effort to support the development of a diverse pool of women leaders in global health, the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI) and the women and health initiative (W&HI) within the global health and population department at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health offers the Harvard Lead Fellowship for promoting women in global health, a year-long programme designed to advance the leadership skills of talented global health leaders from low and middle income countries, who are committed to the mentorship of future women leaders in medicine and public health.
John has been chosen for the 2021 cohort of the Harvard Lead Fellowship for promoting women in global health. She is a health and development management professional with 25 years of experience in public and private sector organizations. Her expertise and experience have groomed her as a leader and institution builder.
Her career began at the Institute of Health Management Pachod, Pune, where she was able to contribute to the spectrum of rural and urban healthcare management and action research programmes. A long stint at Aravind Eye Care System (a WHO collaborating centre) enabled her to gain expertise in capacity building of healthcare human resources from developing countries across South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. At Chitkara University, Punjab, she got the opportunity to pilot a model for the development of allied health professionals and establish the Chitkara School of Health Sciences as its founder dean.
“It is a privilege and honour to be a Harvard Lead Fellow and I expect it will offer a life-changing transformative experience. I hope to utilise this period to expand my leadership skills to not only build sustainable institutes but also further enhance my capability in mentoring and capacity building. It would be my dream if this could inspire and motivate several others to join the women in global health movement and strengthen the resilience of the health system. The learning I will get from world class resources at Harvard will not only develop my calibre to be a better teacher, trainer, and researcher but also equip me to give back to my organisation, healthcare professionals, women, and to India” said Preethi.
She also serves as advisory board member to health and development NGOs and is the co-founder of the Indian chapter of the Women in Global Health. She holds a PhD from IIT Madras and a postgraduate degree from TISS, Mumbai, India.She said, “I am grateful to Chitkara University for the relentless support and the freedom to explore one’s potential, to Madhu Chitkara for being a great role model for all women and Ashok Chitkara for the vision he provides to improve higher education.”
