February 5, 2026
We are delighted to welcome Kristie Cole and Zoe Stathopoulos to the Spirit Health Foundation Board as we enter our next phase of growth.
Kristie is a senior executive, managing partner, and board advisor with more than 15 years of experience in non-profit leadership, large-scale fundraising, and international development and humanitarian response. She is a Managing Partner at Somerset Strategies, where she works with growth-stage organisations and missions that matter to strengthen leadership, strategy, and fundraising capacity. She also serves as Head of Growth and Strategic Risk at Resilience Investments, an asset manager focused on affordable housing and the risks emerging from changing weather patterns, insurance market disruption, and migration.
Previously, Kristie served as Vice President of Major Giving at UNICEF USA, leading high-performing teams and mobilising significant resources during global humanitarian crises. She has also held senior leadership roles in international affairs and higher education, including as Chief Development Officer for Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Zoe is a global health strategy and operations leader with more than 15 years of experience advancing health equity through systems-level initiatives and cross-sector partnerships. She currently holds dual leadership roles at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), serving as Director of Operations for the Global Health Program and as Special Advisor to the Vice Chancellor for Research & Creative Activities. Zoe began her career in strategic communications, supporting maternal, newborn, and child nutrition initiatives through behaviour-change campaigns, national-level policy advocacy, and global coalition-building with governments and multilateral organisations. Her work has included advancing maternity protection policies, promoting optimal nutrition practices, and contributing to the launch of the first human milk bank in Vietnam.
Together, Kristie’s and Zoe’s extensive U.S. and global expertise will be instrumental as we mobilise new partnerships and accelerate Spirit Health Foundation’s impact across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
Meet the Trustee: Kristie Cole
What inspired you to join the Board of Spirit Health Foundation?
I was drawn to Spirit Health Foundation because of its focus on practical, community-centered solutions and its deep respect for local leadership. I’ve seen first hand how often well-intentioned efforts fail when they are disconnected from the realities on the ground. Spirit Health’s model is different. It prioritizes trust, long-term partnerships, and delivery in places where systems are stretched thin.
I was also excited by the opportunity to contribute my experience in governance, strategy, and fundraising to help the organization scale responsibly, while simultaneously learning from fellow trustees with deeper health and programmatic expertise. At this stage of my career, I’m most motivated by helping strong missions grow in a way that preserves their integrity while expanding impact.
Why does improving health – particularly for women and children – in Sub-Saharan Africa matter to you personally?
The last five-to-six years of my professional life has been spent working in and around fragile and crisis-affected contexts, where women and children bear a disproportionate share of risk when systems break down. Whether driven by conflict, poverty, or changing weather patterns, these stresses almost always surface first and most acutely in health outcomes.
Improving health for women and children is not just a moral imperative; it is foundational to community stability, economic resilience, and long-term development. When women and children are healthier, entire societies are better positioned to withstand shocks and build durable futures. That connection between human wellbeing and systemic resilience is deeply personal to how I understand development work.
What excites you most about SHF’s mission, solution, and impact?
What excites me most about Spirit Health Foundation is its clarity of purpose and discipline around execution. SHF focuses on strengthening access to essential care in a way that is scalable, measurable, and grounded in local realities. It’s not about grand promises; it’s about consistent delivery and real outcomes.
I’m particularly energized by SHF’s emphasis on sustainability – building systems that continue to function long after any single intervention. That combination of humility, rigor, and ambition is rare, and it’s exactly what’s needed to drive meaningful impact in complex environments.
Meet the Trustee: Zoe Stathopoulos
What inspired you to join the Board of Spirit Health Foundation?
I was inspired to join the Board of Spirit Health Foundation because of my long-standing commitment to improving health equity and health outcomes, particularly in lower-resourced settings, and my belief in the power of early detection and screening to save lives. Throughout my career in global health, I’ve seen how stronger links between communities and healthcare providers can dramatically improve outcomes, particularly for women and children. Spirit Health Foundation’s focus on scalable, technology-enabled solutions that support community health workers and strengthen existing health systems directly aligns with how I believe lasting impact is achieved.
Why does improving health – particularly for women and children – in Sub-Saharan Africa matter to you personally?
My background in public health and global nutrition has shown me how closely the health of women and children is tied to long-term outcomes for families and communities. Improving access to quality care during pregnancy and early childhood, for example, has a powerful multiplier effect, shaping education, economic opportunity, and resilience across generations—particularly in settings where health systems are under-resourced. This work matters deeply to me not only as a global health professional, but as someone committed to equity and opportunity. Early detection, quality maternal and child care, and strong primary healthcare systems are foundational to breaking cycles of preventable mortality and lifelong disparities, and I remain motivated by both the impact these investments can have and the urgency of the unmet need that remains.
What excites you most about SHF’s mission, solution, and impact?
What excites me most about Spirit Health Foundation’s mission is the way it bridges innovation and sustainability to meet real clinical needs. The Foundation’s deployment of Clinitouch — a smart, interoperable platform that enables community health workers to screen, monitor, and connect mothers, newborns, and families with timely care — exemplifies how technology can strengthen existing health systems rather than create silos. The focus on expanding essential healthcare access through partnerships with Ministries of Health, NGOs, and local providers mirrors the kind of collaborative, outcome-oriented work that drives my passion for global health equity.
