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

Chris EliasChristopher J. Elias, MD, MPH
President and CEO

Dr. Elias is responsible for PATH’s strategy, programs, finances, and management. He represents PATH at domestic and international forums, both as a spokesperson for PATH and as an advocate for innovative responses to global health challenges.

Before joining PATH in 2000, Dr. Elias was a senior associate in the International Programs Division of the Population Council. For six years, he served as the country representative in Thailand, where he managed reproductive health programs throughout Southeast Asia.

He sits on the boards of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Ibis Reproductive Health, and the Washington Biomedical and Biotechnology Association, among others. He is also a member of the Policy Advisory Committee for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and the Advisory Committee for the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington. Dr. Elias was honored as the Schwab Foundation's Social Entrepreneur of the Year for the United States in 2005, and he remains an active member of the Schwab Foundation community.

Dr. Elias received his MD from Creighton University (1983), completed post-graduate training in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (1986), and received an MPH from the University of Washington (1990), where he was a fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program.

Scott Jackson, MBA, CFRE
Vice President, External Relations

Mr. Jackson is responsible for developing and strengthening relationships with partners and donors and maximizing the visibility of PATH’s work. He has more than 20 years of experience working internationally.

Before joining PATH in 2006, Mr. Jackson was senior vice president at World Vision US, where he was responsible for supporting external relations, key partnerships, community relations, and strategic initiatives for fundraising, programs, and constituency-building. He led as many as 200 employees and managed a fundraising portfolio of more than $60 million. He also oversaw the HIV/AIDS Advocacy and Fundraising “Hope Initiative” tour to 18 cities across the United States.

From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Jackson served as president and managing director of APCO Seattle, a worldwide public affairs and strategic communications consulting firm. In 1989, he founded TRADEC Trade and Development Consortium, one of the first marketing and communications firms in North America to specialize in international trade promotion, technology transfer, and market access. Mr. Jackson has managed a number of successful regional and national advocacy and fundraising campaigns.

Mr. Jackson is an active member of Rotary International and serves on several national boards, including that of Global Impact. He was a founding member of the management committee of the ONE Campaign to Make Poverty History.

Mr. Jackson received his MBA from the University of Edinburgh School of International Business, where he attended as a Rotary International Ambassador Scholar.

Jacqueline 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 Populations 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.

Harriet Stanley, PhD
Vice President, Field Programs

Dr. Stanley is the liaison between PATH headquarters and field offices. She oversees development of regional and country strategies as well as management of field offices.

Before joining PATH in 2002, Dr. Stanley worked for EngenderHealth. From 1996 to 2001, she served as country director of Nepal, senior advisor, and then senior director for the Asia region based in Bangkok. As senior director for EngenderHealth’s Asia Region, Dr. Stanley was responsible for senior management support of country programs in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Vietnam. As country director, she established a multisectoral reproductive health program in Nepal. In addition, Dr. Stanley introduced client-perspective initiatives and established the Management Support Program for partnering nongovernmental organizations.

Throughout her career, Dr. Stanley has been engaged in international technical assistance and human resources development—including training in cross-cultural communication skills, team building, management and assertiveness skills for women, and strategic planning.

She received her BA in communications from Simon Fraser University, Canada (1982), and her MA and PhD in social anthropology from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom (2002).

Eric 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.

 

Photo: Blaise Judja-Sato.