Global Health on the Front Lines

Hosted by our very own Global Health University team, Global Health on the Front Lines was an educational event featuring a panel of diverse speakers. This panel included Anil Parajuli, Revi Sterling, and Penny Bennett. The group also included college students who studied information at the meetings to then write essays for the student newspaper and recruit volunteers. They are also writing an interview paper after talking with the founders of the project.

Revi Sterling is the founder and director of the first Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICTD) professional master’s program in the United States, a program that places equal emphasis on technology, methodology, and development studies. Sterling also consults extensively for the United Nations, development agencies and high technology companies interested in utilizing technology for societal benefit. She has served on the leading gender and technology boards and testified before the U.S. Congress about the need for more women in the technical workforce. She moved into the field of ICTD to research the impact of technology on women’s empowerment in underdeveloped communities and specializes in creating custom hardware and software solutions for marginalized populations, especially in health, education, and gender equity efforts. Her current research explores the potential of ICT to establish and sustain mental health interventions in remote communities with a history of trauma and isolation. Dr. Sterling has active field projects in Africa, India, and South America, as well as underserved communities in the United States.

Anil Parajuli is the co-founder, vice president, and coordinator of Himalayan Healthcare (HHC), a nonprofit established to create sustainable development programs in the remote areas of Nepal that has improved the quality of life for its people. He has over twenty years of experience working in villages on projects in health care, community education, and income generation. In accordance with the goals of HHC, Mr. Parajuli was instrumental in establishing the Dr. Megh Bahadur Parajuli Community Hospital in eastern Nepal, a hospital that continues to serve several hundred thousand people on an ongoing basis. He also organized and led countless medical and dental treks through the mountainous regions of Nepal. In 2001, Mr. Parajuli was named an Ashoka Fellow in recognition for his work with HHC. Mr. Parajuli was also named Social Entrepreneur of the Year for 2003-2004 at the Boss Business Excellence Awards and one of the Top 50 Personalities in Nepal from 2004-2007.

Penny Bennett considers herself to be primarily a teacher even while caring for patients every day. Originally from Texas, she and her spouse were “academic nomads”, living in a variety of university settings before their arrival in Colorado 14 years ago. Penny practiced and taught women’s health care for 26 years as a Certified Nurse-Midwife before shifting her focus to public health. She attended Rice University (BA), the University of Washington (BSN, MPH), Baylor College of Medicine (CNM, MSN) and in 2022 , completed a PhD at CU Denver on how women make healthcare decisions. In addition to advising pre-health students, she teachers the course Perspectives in Health & Medicine, which provide an overview of medical practice beyond the basic sciences.

Meet our moderator: Gay Lynn Olsen!

Gay Lynn Olsen is passionate about global health equity and is excited to serve as a Community Advisory Board member with GlobeMed. She is regularly awed by the GlobeMed members’ organizational skills, commitment to justice, as well as their ability to fit maximum laughter into any social gathering. She teaches Global Health Issues in the Health Professions RAP and is a Registered Nurse. She holds a Nursing Doctorate, a Master of Arts in Teaching, and a Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs. In her spare time, she prefers to be found in her garden or on a hiking trail.

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