Who We Are

Rich Bryson

CEO

Prior to becoming Spirit Health Foundation’s co-founder and CEO, he was part of the leadership team at social enterprise reach52 expanding access to healthcare in rural communities across low- and middle-income countries, and before that, Executive Director and Health Lead at global management consultancy Brand Learning (part of Accenture from 2017). His extensive experience also includes social businesses in mental health and diabetes.

Onica Makwakwa

Trustee

Onica has 25 years of professional experience in the non-profit sector where she has served in numerous high level positions with national and international organisations including, Head of Africa at the Alliance for Affordable Internet, an initiative hosted at the World Wide Web Foundation; Head of Office for Africa for Consumers International and currently Executive Director for the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership.

Dr Emmanuel Agogo

Trustee

Emmanuel has an extensive background in healthcare, leadership, primary care and global health. As well as an experienced NHS Doctor, his roles include Nigeria Country Director at Resolve to Save Lives, Deputy Director for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and currently Director Pandemic Threats at FIND.

Philippe Jacon

Trustee

Philippe has had an extensive career working in diagnostics in senior leadership roles in companies such as Cepheid, FIND and EDMA. He has worked with global health organisations such as the World Health Organisation and the Global Fund. Until December 2021 Philippe sat on the board for MedTech Europe.

Dr Neha Tanna

Trustee

Neha is a fully licensed physician trained at Imperial College, London. Neha transitioned into the Life Sciences industry, where she held various roles in global pharmaceutical companies. Currently Neha is a venture partner at Equation Capital, a data driven investment firm working across Health, Climate, Deeptech and Enterprise Technology as well as a member of the Health Investor Exchange forum (UNAIDS).

Priscilla Banda

Executive - Senior Leadership for non profit

Backed by 30 years career experience, Ms Priscilla Banda is a seasoned leader in global health development with an inspirational leadership style that has exceeded expectations, minimized risks, and maximized growth. She remains a visionary leader, strategic thinker and providing mentorship to future leaders. Bringing a proven track record in strategic leadership, partnership development and program growth. She continues to leverage her many years of working experience in the non-profit sector supporting GRZ in various USAID & CDC/PEPFAR funded projects and also 10 years of which were supporting various Global Fund related voluntary roles to acquire funding requests to fight pandemics; HIV/Malaria/TB including COVID 19. She has served with International NGOs such as Elizabeth HOPE Worldwide, Glazer Pediatric Aids Foundation, NASTAD, mothers2mothers etc., to achieve quality outcomes but includes realizing benefits of strategic importance to the nation. Serving as a Country Director five times prior and a USAID approved key personnel is testament to her credibility. She is a Ford Foundation Fellow with Yale University and University of Columbia and actively participates as a University of Liverpool alumni.

Kristie Cole

Trustee

Kristie Cole 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 has led and advised organizations operating across education, humanitarian response, global affairs, and complex international contexts, with a particular focus on building durable institutions and mobilizing capital at moments of systemic stress.

She is a Managing Partner at Somerset Strategies, where she works with growth-stage organizations 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 mobilizing 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.

Kristie brings a pragmatic, globally informed perspective to governance, resilience, and institutional growth.

Zoe Stathopoulos

Trustee

Zoe Stathopoulos is a global health strategy and operations leader with more than 15 years of experience advancing health equity through systems-level initiatives, cross-sector partnerships, and high-performing teams. She holds dual leadership roles at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as Director of Operations for the Global Health Program and as Special Advisor to the Vice Chancellor for Research & Creative Activities. In these roles, she provides executive advising and leads program operations, financial oversight, partnership development, risk management, and team leadership across a complex portfolio spanning public health and clinical academic medicine.

Zoe began her career in strategic communications, including at FHI 360, supporting maternal, newborn, and child nutrition initiatives through behavior change campaigns, national-level policy advocacy, and global coalition-building with governments and multilateral organizations. 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.