The executive leadership team—our president and vice presidents—is responsible for PATH’s strategy, finances, and management—as well as for our overall success in achieving PATH’s mission.

Molly Joel CoyeMolly Joel Coye, MD, MPH
Interim President and CEO

Molly Joel Coye, MD, MPH, is interim president and CEO of PATH and chair of our board of directors. She is also chief innovation officer for the UCLA Health System at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she oversees initiatives that promote innovation across the UCLA Health System to improve health care locally, nationally, and globally. Dr. Coye’s career has spanned academia and the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining UCLA, she served as a senior advisor at the Public Health Institute in Oakland, California, where she advised domestic and international programs on innovation and technology. Prior to that, she was founder and CEO of the Health Technology Center (HealthTech), a nonprofit organization that became the premier forecasting institution for emerging technologies in health care. She also cofounded and was CEO of CalRHIO, California’s first statewide health information exchange organization. Dr. Coye has been the health commissioner in two states, an executive for a large medical group and a health software company, and a consultant with the World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, and other institutions in Latin America and Asia.

Dr. Coye currently serves on the boards of Aetna, Inc., one of the largest health insurers in the United States, and the American Telemedicine Association. She is a past board member of the American Hospital Association, the American Public Health Association, and The California Endowment, the largest health care philanthropy in the state.  Dr. Coye was elected to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine in 1994. She received her Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees from Johns Hopkins University and also has a Master of Arts degree in Chinese history from Stanford University.

Ayo AjayiAyo Ajayi, MD, MPH
Vice President, Field Programs

Dr. Ajayi leads strategy development and implementation for PATH country programs in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Before joining PATH in 2008, Dr. Ajayi worked for 16 years with the Population Council, serving as regional director for sub-Saharan Africa. Previously, he was Africa regional vice president for Pathfinder International, served as a government health officer in Nigeria, and taught at Boston University School of Public Health.

Dr. Ajayi has served on numerous occasions as technical advisor and program evaluator for the US Agency for International Development, the World Health Organization, and several other United Nations agencies and private foundations. He is a founding board member of the Burkitt’s Lymphoma Kenya Fund and serves on the boards of Ibis Reproductive Health and the Positive Action for Children Fund.

Dr. Ajayi earned his MD from the University of Ibadan Medical School in Nigeria. He received an MPH and a distinguished alumnus award from Boston University School of Public Health with a concentration in Health Systems; and he completed a postgraduate certificate program in Family Planning Impact Evaluation at the London University School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Jaqueline SherrisJacqueline Sherris, PhD
Vice President, Global Programs

Dr. Sherris oversees PATH’s global programs and facilitates articulation of program strategies, fosters program collaboration and synergy, models management and performance leadership, and ensures effective program planning, evaluation, and impact assessment across the organization.  Dr. Sherris also serves on PATH’s Executive Leadership Team and represents PATH domestically and internationally.  

Dr. Sherris has more than 20 years of experience in public health. From 2002 to 2007, she served as PATH’s program leader for the Reproductive Health Strategic Program,  through which she led and expanded PATH’s cervical cancer prevention work, including efforts to increase access to human papillomavirus vaccines in developing countries. Other areas of reproductive health work that grew under her leadership include contraceptive supply security, pharmacists and reproductive health, technologies and interventions for women dealing with the consequences of unprotected sex, and integration of family planning and HIV and AIDS services. Prior to taking on the reproductive health program leader responsibilities, she led various reproductive health projects and programs at PATH.

Before joining PATH in 1987, Dr. Sherris coordinated the University of Washington’s Academic Programs for Teachers and was a staff associate with the Population Information Program at The Johns Hopkins University, where she authored several issues of Population Reports.

A frequent author on international health, women’s health, and cervical cancer prevention in the developing world, she is an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health and Community Medicine and serves on the External Advisory Board of that school.

Dr. Sherris received her MS in biology and her PhD in science education from Purdue University.

Sarah TempleSarah Temple
Vice President, External Relations

Ms. Temple is responsible for increasing public recognition and engagement, building philanthropic support, and cultivating partnerships with individuals, institutions, and companies in support of PATH’s mission. She serves on PATH’s Executive Leadership Team and is the executive liaison to PATH’s Washington, DC, office.

Ms. Temple has more than 20 years of experience in communications, marketing, and brand development, with a focus on health care programs for women’s health, cardiovascular disease, and cancer prevention. Prior to joining PATH, she was senior vice president and chief, client affairs, for Ogilvy Washington’s Social Marketing Practice. At Ogilvy, she advised a range of nonprofit, corporate, and federal clients such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Key initiatives included leadership of the award-winning The Heart Truth® campaign, which introduced the red dress as the national symbol for women’s heart health; the launch of the Gender Equality Project; and corporate social responsibility strategy development.

Previously, Ms. Temple directed corporate partnerships for the anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength and served as senior counsel for health care clients at the Barr & Wilcox Group agency. She has taught public relations and corporate communications at Georgetown University’s school of continuing studies.

Eric WalkerEric Walker, MA
Vice President, Corporate Services

Mr. Walker is responsible for PATH’s finances and all of PATH’s other core administrative systems, including human resources, legal services, and information services. As a member of the senior management group, he also participates in policy and strategy decisions.

Mr. Walker has more than 25 years of experience in financial and administrative management, institutional capacity building, and systems development in international nonprofit organizations. He is a renowned expert in developing systems for managing contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements with the US Agency for International Development (USAID). In 1980, he cofounded the Association for Private Voluntary Organization Financial Managers and continues to lead training sessions around the world on USAID rules and regulations.

Mr. Walker earned his master’s degree from Georgetown University in 1978.

Photos: Molly Joel Coye, PATH; Jaqueline Sherris, PATH/Mike Wang; all others, PATH/Patrick McKern.