Melanie Drace
Ms Drace has been managing large women’s health research programmes in sub-Saharan African for almost 14 years. She provides financial oversight of projects, develops budgets, reviews contracts and ensures compliant expenditure for projects funded by donors such as NIH, USAID, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition, she oversees all operational aspects of project implementation including staff recruitment and hiring, IT support, facility and asset management ensuring standard operating procedures are in place and implemented. She acts as the pivotal support and liaison between project and operational/financial teams. Ms Drace has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a Masters’ Degree in Public Health from Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.