Sara Vernam

About Sara Vernam

Global health and development professional with 14 years of experience in grant making and management, strategy development, leadership engagement, and partner relationship management. In my ~9 years of experience at the Gates Foundation, I\'ve managed a $400M grant portfolio, led cross-functional working groups to support a more integrated HPV strategy, and have worked for our CEO to streamline advocacy and communication at the co-chair level, including staffing Bill Gates on international trips. I currently function as a Chief of Staff to the Deputy Director of the Vaccine Development team to support clinical vaccine development strategies and initiatives.

Experience

1. Senior Officer, Strategy, Planning & Management

   Gates Foundation

   Oct 2021 — Present

   My role involves managing and driving key projects on strategy, operations, communications, and leadership engagement related to our HPV and Clinical Vaccine Development Portfolios. I manage interdependencies across initiatives, tracking progress, making decisions, identifying and mitigating risks and resolving conflicts and issues. Working with both upstream colleagues on Vaccine Development and downstream colleagues on our delivery team, as well as our grantees and partners, I helped achieve a policy recommendation from WHO SAGE in April 2022 that stated that one dose of HPV vaccine (rather than two) is acceptable for females and males aged 9-20. With this one dose recommendation, 50 countries have switched to one dose or adopted one dose HPV vaccination, which will result in more girls being vaccinated against HPV and protected against cervical cancer. I am currently focused on uptake of the one dose recommendation; expanding HPV vaccination beyond the current target population; working with Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers to develop new, higher valency, low-cost HPV vaccines; and the development of combination vaccines and changes to the infant immunization schedule across Gavi countries.

Education

• Boston University - Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies (Pardee School)

  Bachelor of Arts

• Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington

  Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Skills

• Spss
• Training
• Microsoft Office
• Public Speaking
• Research
• Editing
• Fundraising
• Event Planning
• Public Policy
• Leadership
• Grant Writing
• International Relations
• Blogging
• Higher Education
• Student Affairs
• Non-Profits
• Community Outreach
• Social Media
• International Development
• Grants
• Program Evaluation
• Policy Analysis
• Nonprofits
• Program Development