With a record number of Institute programs running in 2018, we've got a lot of On-the-Ground Coordinators to introduce! As we mentioned last week, OTGCs are crucial to the day-to-day running of each program, working to ensure that participants learn everything they can in the classroom, adjust well to their homestays and hospital placements, and accomplish their mission of repairing medical equipment and improving the care their hospitals are able to offer.

Please welcome the many and wonderful OTGCs for the 2018 Summer Institutes:

Brittany Allen – from Virginia, USA; working for Jhpiego

Where are you working with EWH in 2018? SI Guatemala

Past Programs: SI 2014 Nicaragua

What are your academic or professional interests or achievements?

I'm currently developing an app to help technicians repair broken medical equipment in developing countries (TechConnect). I'm a recent Graduate of CBID master's program at Johns Hopkins.

Why do you want to work with EWH?

I love being at the intersection of engineering and global health!

What are you looking forward to most as an OTGC next summer?

Getting to explore a new country.

Betsy Asma – from Wisconsin, USA; working for Rice University

Where are you working with EWH in 2018? SI Dominican Republic

Past Programs: Participant in SI 2014 Nicaragua, OTGC in SI 2015 Nicaragua & SI 2016 Tanzania

What are your academic or professional interests or achievements?

My background is in biomedical engineering, and I received my master's degree in global health on the development & evaluation of a low-cost device for the screening of cervical cancer in low-resource settings. I currently work for Rice360 Institute for Global Health on the design, development & implementation of appropriate technologies for neonatal & maternal health in low-resource settings.

Why do you want to work with EWH?

EWH programs provide a great introduction for students on the impact engineers can have within a global world. I love working with motivated & diverse teams to brainstorm, troubleshoot and build creative solutions to improve local healthcare.

What are you looking forward to most as an OTGC next summer?

Meeting another amazing group of students who share a similar enthusiasm for engineering with global impact!

Taylor Boles – from Texas, USA; attending Texas A&M University

Where are you working with EWH in 2018? SI Rwanda

Past Programs: Participant in SI 2017 Rwanda

What are your academic or professional interests or achievements?

My greatest academic interests are in electronics and their use in biomedical equipment. Since my participation in the Summer Institute, I have had an interest in the use of biomedical equipment in the developing world and how the needs for technology are different in the developing world than in the US.

Why do you want to work with EWH?

What are you looking forward to most as an OTGC next summer?

I am looking forward to continuing to assist in the development of the healthcare infrastructure in Rwanda. I made great connections with the people in Rwanda and am excited to keep working with them. I am also looking forward to helping the participants in the 2018 Summer Institute to have the same great experience that I had in the program.

Peter Dobbs – from Wisconsin, USA; attending Marquette University

Where are you working with EWH in 2018? SI Uganda

Past Programs: Participant in SI 2016 Rwanda, OTGC in SI 2017 Rwanda

What are your academic or professional interests or achievements?

I am interested in clinical informatics and will likely be attending graduate school in Fall 2018.

Why do you want to work with EWH?

I love the work and the mission. I love the memories I have of my work during the past two summers and I want to continue to share this wonderful experience with more participants.

What are you looking forward to most as an OTGC next summer?

I am really excited about getting to see the healthcare system in Uganda and how it compares to my experience in Rwanda.

Luis Eduardo Portillo Esquivel – from Mexico; working for EcoMed

Where are you working with EWH in 2018? SI Nicaragua

What are your academic or professional interests or achievements?

I'm a highly motivated Biomedical Engineer looking to transcend health research areas and develop of new technologies for the improvement of people's quality of life.

Why do you want to work with EWH?

I believe it is very noble work. People of developing countries are in desperate need of someone that could help them solve their healthcare problems. Many times medical technology and equipment is a limitation for correct healthcare, not because they don't have the equipment but because it is out of use due to lack of maintenance or minor repairs.

What are you looking forward to most as an OTGC next summer?

To teach and instruct the students on how to approach the people, the hospitals, and give them support on technical repairs. Also, for me it is always a good experience to explore a new country.

Paul Kline – from Kansas, USA; attending the University of Kansas

Where are you working with EWH in 2018? SI Nicaragua

Past Programs: Participant in SI 2016 Nicaragua, OTGC in SI 2017 Tanzania

What are your academic or professional interests or achievements?

I have done research in formal verification. I am interested in how computer science (software) can be used to solve problems traditionally solved by hardware. I am also interested in teaching and am currently an instructor at KU.

Why do you want to work with EWH?

I like helping people, which is why I like teaching. EWH presents a chance to learn culturally and technically as well as putting skills to good use. I just think the whole program is really cool.

What are you looking forward to most as an OTGC next summer?

Meeting and teaching the students!

Morten Lindhardt Madsen – from Denmark; working for PlatoScience, a small Danish Startup

Where are you working with EWH in 2018? SI Nepal

Past Programs: Participant in SI 2015 Tanzania

What are your academic or professional interests or achievements?

I'm interested in how humans interact with technology.

Why do you want to work with EWH?

I find the problems occurring when sending advanced western technology to developing countries really interesting.

What are you looking forward to most as an OTGC next summer?

Cultural problem solving.

Catherine Namayega – from Kampala, Uganda; attending Makerere University College of Health Sciences

Where are you working with EWH in 2018? SI Tanzania

Past Programs: Participant in SI 2017 Uganda

What are your academic or professional interests or achievements?

I am a Biomedical Engineer, interested in Bioinstrumentation, Health technology innovation, transfer and management. Currently working as a research fellow and teaching assistant at Makerere University, College of Health Sciences for the Biomedical Engineering program.

Why do you want to work with EWH?

EWH is a platform that will nurture and build my engineering career in Medical equipment technology management while giving back to the community. Working with EWH will allow me share my experience of working on medical equipment and also learn from other people from all over the world.

What are you looking forward to most as an OTGC next summer?

Working together with new people from different geographical areas with a common goal of improving health care service delivery through improvement of medical equipment status.

Sarah Patterson – from Wyoming, USA; attending Arizona State University

Where are you working with EWH in 2018? SI Tanzania

Past Programs: OTGC in SI 2017 Tanzania

What are your academic or professional interests or achievements?

I'm interested in designing and implementing technologies that help to close the healthcare gap in underserved communities.

Why do you want to work with EWH?

In researching my professional interests, I quickly landed on the Engineering World Health website. As I clicked around, I got more and more excited. What EWH is doing is exactly what I want to dedicate my life and work to.

What are you looking forward to most as an OTGC next summer?

Meeting the new students, and that great feeling you get when you fix (or help someone) fix something!

William Reid - from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; attending Rochester Institute of Technology

Where are you working with EWH in 2018? SI Dominican Republic

Past Programs: JI 2017 Guatemala

What are your academic or professional interests or achievements?

I want to make medicine better, especially in underprivileged communities like my home country Dominican Republic. After finishing my Bachelor's of Science in Biomedical Engineering, I will be going to medical school. Upon completion of medical school, I will return to Dominican Republic to practice medicine and help improve our healthcare system.

Why do you want to work with EWH?

Spending the first 18 years of my life in the Dominican Republic showed me that the real satisfaction in service comes from helping people who might never have the chance to help you back. My EWH experience in Guatemala reassured me of that, and made me realize, on a deeper level, how provisional and provincial are the things we consider to be universal. Thanks to Engineering World Health, I have become a better human being.

What are you looking forward to most as an OTGC next summer?

It’s time to give back, to aid others in their opportunities to make a positive difference in resource-poor communities. It’s now time to help my own country and continue to expand EWH’s extraordinary legacy. What I'm looking forward to most next summer is helping out hospitals and their communities in Dominican Republic.

In addition to these 10 Coordinators, Seth Thompson will be an OTGC in Rwanda this summer, and Maddy Bishop-Van Horn will be an OTGC in our new program in Mongolia. They're both coordinators in our January programs as well, so you can find their introductions here.

Thank you so much to our Summer OTGCs for introducing themselves!