Meet Our Candidates

Ermel Johnson 
Public Health Physician

Email: [email protected]

Country: Benin

Bio: Dr Ermel Johnson is the Research Capacity building Manager at EVIHDAF. He is a dedicated and experienced public health physician with expertise in Health Policy & Systems Research. With a strong background in health policy and system analysis, implementation research, and knowledge translation, he has made significant contributions to the field of public health in West Africa. He possesses extensive experience in strategic document development, costing of health interventions, and engaging various stakeholders to meet their needs and interests. Hehas successfully navigated political sensitivity and uncertainty, demonstrating strong leadership skills and the ability to create consensus on common goals. Throughout Dr Ermel Johnson’s career, he has demonstrated a commitment to evidence utilization in policy document development and capacity building of actors along the strategic document development process. He has provided technical support to national actors in politically unstable environments, ensuring that health policies are grounded in evidence and effectively implemented. In his previous roles with the West African Health Organisation (WAHO/ECOWAS), he served as a Knowledge Translation Specialist, Research Assistant, and Research Project Manager, initiating and supervising case study research and organizing symposiums and webinars for research finding dissemination. He successfully established the Maternal and Child Health Research Network and the Infectious Disease Research Network, bringing together a substantial number of researchers to enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing. He played a vital role in mapping researchers in maternal and child health in West Africa and mobilizing these researchers to establish the network. He also provided support in establishing the West African Network of National Research Ethics Committees for Health and contributed to the development of the West African Network for Health Documentation and Information. He demonstrated exceptional project management skills. He was responsible for implementation, capacity building, research priorities, financing, and partnership aspects of the project. He successfully designed and conducted regional research projects and developed a regional evidence-informed policymaking guidance. He also played a pivotal role in advocating for evidence utilization in decision-making and establishing strong collaborations between researchers and decision-makers. In addition to Dr Ermel Johnson’s extensive research experience, he has also gained valuable skills in leadership, coaching, team motivation through voluntary work as a Certified Site Coordinator for a global health research trainings program of the University of Washington, Seattle, USA in Burkina Faso and Bénin. He successfully guided trainees through the program, resulting in a high completion rate and networking among participants. He has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to improving health outcomes in West Africa through evidence-based policy development and implementation. He has authored numerous scientific articles, participated in regional and international conferences, and developed knowledge transfer tools. With his strong research background, extensive experience in strategic policy development, and ability to effectively engage stakeholders, he is well-positioned to contribute to health policy and systems research and drive positive change in the field of public health in West Africa.

In summary, Dr Ermel  Johnson is a highly skilled health policy and systems researcher with a proven track record of successful strategic document development, evidence utilization, and stakeholder engagement. He is passionate about improving health outcomes in West Africa and possesses the knowledge, expertise, and leadership skills to make a significant impact in the field of public health.

Why you are interested in serving on GIS board and the contributions you hope to make:

Thank you for considering me for a position on the Board of Directors of the Global Implementation Society (GIS). I am deeply honored by this opportunity and excited about the prospect of contributing to GIS’s crucial mission of advancing the science and practice of implementation globally.

As a public health physician, scholar, and advocate with a focus on West Africa, I have dedicated my career to improving health outcomes and strengthening health systems in the region. Through my work, I have witnessed firsthand the critical importance of effective implementation in translating research and evidence into real-world impact. I firmly believe that GIS plays a vital role in promoting the systematic uptake of proven strategies and interventions, and I am passionate about contributing to this effort.

My interest in serving on the GIS board stems from a desire to bring a unique perspective shaped by my experiences working in West Africa, particularly in Francophone countries. I believe that to truly advance implementation science and practice globally, it is essential to ensure that the needs, challenges, and priorities of diverse regions are well-represented and addressed. By serving on the board, I hope to be a strong voice for the West African context and contribute to shaping GIS’s strategic direction and initiatives in a way that promotes health equity and responds to the most pressing health challenges facing the region.

Moreover, I am excited by the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with a diverse group of experts and thought leaders in the field of implementation science. I believe that my background as a researcher, policymaker, and advocate would enable me to contribute meaningfully to the board’s discussions and decision-making, while also learning from the wealth of expertise and perspectives represented by other board members. Through this cross-pollination of ideas and experiences, I hope to help GIS continue to innovate and push the boundaries of what is possible in the field of implementation.

In terms of specific contributions, I am particularly interested in leveraging my expertise in primary healthcare optimization, maternal and child health, emergency healthcare, and pandemic response to help GIS identify and prioritize high-impact implementation strategies in these areas. I am also keen to contribute to GIS’s efforts to build capacity and strengthen the implementation workforce, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Drawing on my experience in translating research into policy and practice, I hope to help GIS develop effective approaches for bridging the gap between evidence generation and real-world implementation.

Furthermore, I am committed to being an active and engaged board member, dedicating the time and energy necessary to fulfill the responsibilities and commitments of the role. I am excited by the opportunity to serve as a liaison to leadership committees and work collaboratively to advance GIS’s mission.

In summary, I am deeply passionate about the transformative potential of implementation science and practice, and I believe that serving on the GIS Board of Directors would provide an invaluable opportunity to contribute to this important work. By bringing my unique perspective, expertise, and commitment to health equity to the board, I hope to help GIS continue to drive meaningful impact and improve health outcomes globally. I am truly excited by the possibility of serving in this role and contributing to GIS’s vital mission. Thank you for your consideration.

Vicki Myers
Founder/CEO

Email: [email protected]

Country: United States

Bio: After spending over 20 years of my special education teaching career working with struggling readers, I went on to serve at a state department of education monitoring local school district compliance to United States federal law protecting the rights of students with disabilities. While working on my doctorate degree at the University of Missouri, I served as the Special Education Project Director at a regional professional development center providing support to build teacher knowledge and skills for improving their students’ reading abilities. I had the opportunity to work with colleagues to implement structured literacy, progress monitoring, Response to Intervention (RTI), Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), and data-based decision making in districts and schools in our state. This work included support for implementation of the United States federal Reading First grant which led to the culmination of my doctoral studies in my dissertation entitled “Factors Impacting Teacher Efficacy in Policy Implementation: The Case of The Reading First Initiative.” 

I served eight years under the Obama Administration as a Special Assistant in the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) at the United States Department of Education (USED). These experiences provided not only understanding of policy and grant making at the federal level, but also the importance of family, school, and community engagement in moving the needle to improve literacy rates across the country. My time at the USED was followed by nearly six years studying implementation of state dyslexia and literacy legislation with Paul Tortolani at Wilson Language Training in Oxford, MA. During my time at Wilson, Paul and I joined Barbara Wilson in becoming founding members of the Global Implementation Society. Paul and I went on to serve on the GIS Facilitator Competencies Committee together for the past several years. 

My current consulting work with the National Center on Improving Literacy continues to focus on providing teacher knowledge to support struggling learners and on the importance of effective implementation for sustaining teachers’ beliefs and attitudes that their efforts can and will result in the valued outcome of ensuring their students learn to read. 

I am currently serving as a reading interventionist at John Adams Elementary School in Alexandria, VA. Our school has a diverse population including students from Afghanistan, Somalia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and several Spanish speaking countries. We have a significant population (58%) of students requiring English Learner (EL) services with 68% receiving free or reduced meals. Virginia is currently implementing the Virginia Literacy Act which is designed to bring Virginia’s teachers and teacher preparation programs in line with the science of reading research. 

I am a member of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and serve on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Branch of the IDA (VBIDA).

Why you are interested in serving on GIS board and the contributions you hope to make:

Shortly after finishing my dissertation and doctorate degree, I was appointed as a Special Assistant to the United States Department of Education. While serving in the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Jennifer Coffey supporting the federal grant for the State Implementation and Scaling-up of Evidence-based Practices (SISEP) Center at the University of North Carolina. That experience allowed me to compare the research I had done studying the implementation of Reading First in my state with the work of SISEP researchers and to gain a better understanding of how difficult it is to implement federal legislation across multiple layers of such an expansive and ultimately independent education system such as that found in the United States. It also helped me better understand the importance of organizational support for implementing change. 

Since I had been trained by Barbara Wilson and had had much success in teaching struggling readers, I introduced her to the SISEP implementation work which she adopted in working to not only train teachers but also to train school district leadership in supporting implementation of her programs. After leaving the U.S. Department of Education I went to work for Wilson Language Training studying state dyslexia and literacy legislation. I did a great deal of outreach work with folks supporting that legislation across the country including families, members of state and local dyslexia associations, legislators and state and school leaders. 

During my tenure at the company. I joined the GIS and have spent several years since working on the Competencies for Implementation Facilitators along with my former Wilson Language Training colleague, Paul Tortolani.

As a researcher studying implementation of the United States Federal Reading First grant in districts and schools in one state from 2004 to 2008, I am significantly interested in studying implementation of current dyslexia and reading legislation in states across the country. As varied as implementation was in states working to implement one piece of federal legislation across 50 states and a vast number of local districts and schools across the country, I am curious to gain and share a better understanding of implementation of hundreds of pieces of legislation across hundreds of local districts and schools across the United States. My interest in serving on the GIS board is, among many other reasons, to gain knowledge from education practitioners and researchers around the world so that I might be able to share lessons learned from their implementation experiences. 

My hope is that I might introduce U.S. education leaders to the GIS and to the importance of effective implementation in schools across the country. While U.S. schools are expected to implement not only state, but also, federal laws, there is very little support for how to implement new policies and practices. Teachers and school leaders are overwhelmed. We need the help GIS can provide in building implementation knowledge and support. I am hopeful that GIS will be able to provide professional learning experiences that can help strengthen not only the knowledge and expertise for front line implementers, but can also grow GIS into THE international implementation organization providing implementation expertise for state, district and school leaders across the United States. I believe I can be truly helpful in this endeavor.

Shaheryar Naveed, Ph.D 
Assistant Professor at Fatima Jinnah Women University

Email: [email protected]

Country: Pakistan 

Bio: Dr. Shaheryar Naveed serves as an Assistant Professor at the Public Administration Department and is the Director of Centre for Learning Excellence at Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. With over seventeen years of experience in academia, Corporate and development sector, Dr Naveed Holds a PhD in Management Sciences focused at Organizational behavior. His area of research is Leader member exchange and capacity building. Dr Naveed has Numerous global Publications, book chapters, Projects on his credit. He plays a pivotal role in advancing staff development through training initiatives and continuous learning practices. Driven by a commitment to enhance efficiency, he also harnesses technology to facilitate these endeavors.

Dr Shaheryar’s esteemed career includes serving as a Master Trainer and HR Consultant across various governmental and non-governmental organizations, both on national and international fronts.

Why you are interested in serving on GIS board and the contributions you hope to make:

I am deeply interested in serving on the board of the Global Implementation Society (GIS) due to my profound commitment to advancing the field of implementation science. Throughout my career, I have witnessed the transformative power of effective implementation strategies in translating research into impactful practice, ultimately improving outcomes for individuals and communities worldwide. Serving on the GIS board presents an unparalleled opportunity to contribute to the growth and development of the field, while also shaping the strategic direction of an organization at the forefront of this important work.

In my role as a board member, I aspire to make several key contributions. Firstly, I aim to leverage my expertise and experience to foster collaboration and innovation within GIS, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and best practices among members and stakeholders. By promoting a culture of learning and continuous improvement, I believe we can collectively enhance the effectiveness and impact of implementation efforts across diverse contexts. Additionally, I am committed to advocating for the importance of equity and inclusion in implementation practice, ensuring that our initiatives prioritize the needs and perspectives of marginalized communities. Through these efforts, I hope to help GIS fulfill its mission of promoting excellence in implementation science and driving positive change on a global scale.

Malabika Sarker, MBBS, MPH, PhD 
Professor at Brown University

Email: [email protected]

Country: United States

Bio: Dr. Malabika Sarker is a Professor of Practice of behavioral and social science at Brown School of Public Health, Brown University, USA.  Professor Sarker is an implementation researcher and a mixed-method expert. She is a physician with a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard University, the USA, and a Doctorate in Public Health from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. In her 34-year public health career, she spent ten years implementing community-based programs at BRAC, the world’s largest NGO. She has taught across four continents and has extensive research experience in Sub-Saharan Africa and Bangladesh. She teaches implementation science courses at Brown University, USA, and BRAC University of Bangladesh for graduate students. She has published 137 peer-reviewed articles and five book chapters.  Her Global presence spans across the continents. She is one of the directors of the Board at CUGH (Consortium of Universities in Global Health), an international advisory board member of The Lancet Global Health, an Evaluation Advisory Committee Member of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, National Institute of Health Research UK, Chair of the Advisory Board of the HRP Alliance for Research Capacity Strengthening (RCS) and editorial board member Implementation Science Communications Journal. She previously served as a Metrics for Measurement USA board member, World Federation Public Health Association, and Medical Research Council UK. Prof Sarker was awarded the “Heroines of Health” global award in 2018. Before joining Brown SPH, Prof. Sarker was the Associate Dean & Professor of BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Bangladesh. Prof. Sarker founded the Institute Review Board (IRB) and the Center of Excellence of Science of Implementation & Scale-Up (SISU) at BRAC JPGSPH and led it for six years.

Why you are interested in serving on GIS board and the contributions you hope to make:

The Global Implementation Society (GIS) stands out as a unique organization due to several distinguishing factors, especially its global scope, which fosters collaboration, exchanges knowledge, and addresses implementation challenges across diverse contexts and settings worldwide. It also focuses on skill development, community building, and an interdisciplinary approach to science and practice. As a Global Implementation Science Board member with an extensive and holistic background, I can contribute significantly to advancing and promoting implementation science. In my experience as a leader in academia and my extensive network across continents with academic institutions, governmental agencies, NGOs, and international organizations to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration, I could contribute to expanding the strategic direction for advancing implementation science globally. Drawing upon my experience in establishing and leading the Center of the Science of Implementation to promote capacity-building initiatives, I could foster training programs, workshops, and resources to support researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Finally, traditional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks often overlook the implementation processes and contextual factors influencing program success. Being a member of GIS, I would like to promote and advocate for integrating implementation research into M&E frameworks to enhance understanding of implementation dynamics and improve decision-making processes.

Andrew Sibley 
Programme Manager 

Email: [email protected]

Country: United Kingdom

Bio: Andrew is a Programme Manager of innovation evaluations at Health Innovation Wessex. This organization is one of 15 Health Innovation Networks (HIN) in England. These organizations, unique to England, are designed to support increased collaboration between healthcare organizations, universities, and private companies developing innovations. The HINs (formerly known as Academic Health Science Networks) are the innovation arm of the NHS. They were established by NHS England in 2013 to help adoption and spread of innovation at pace and scale to improve health outcomes and generate economic growth. Each organization works across a distinct geography, serving a different population in each region.

Health Innovation Wessex works with healthcare organizations and businesses in the south of England to support the spread and implementation of all types of innovation within the NHS, from new technologies to ways of working and service improvements. We do this to improve services for patients, enable NHS efficiencies and support economic growth. https://healthinnovationwessex.org.uk/

Andrew undertook his PhD at the Centre for Innovation and Leadership, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southampton in the UK. He spent 13 years working on health services research studies in the University sector in medicine, nursing, and psychology departments in Southampton and London. Andrew’s interests are implementation science, quality improvement, long-term conditions, in particular medication use in diabetes care, and real-world evaluations of innovations.

Andrew works on a range of national and local innovation projects and provides mixed methods research and implementation science expertise to Health Innovation Wessex. He led the investigation on how HINs (formerly AHSNs) approach spread and implementation of innovation in 2021. This report was positively received and considered a key report on the topic of leading the spread of innovation in the NHS. 

https://thehealthinnovationnetwork.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/R48-Review-of-spread-and-adoption-approaches-across-the-AHSN-Network-May-2021.pdf 

https://www.england.nhs.uk/spread-and-adoption/further-resources/key-spread-and-adoption-reports/ 

Andrew led the development of the Attitudes Toward Innovation Survey (ATIS) to support organizations to understand the landscape of staff views and promote an innovation culture. This work is published in BMJ Open Quality https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/12/3/e002394

Why you are interested in serving on GIS board and the contributions you hope to make:

1. Bridging the worlds of implementation science, quality improvement, and change agent approaches.

The NHS is dominated by quality improvement methodologies and change agent approaches from a range of disciplines, e.g. management and marketing. The field of implementation science must work hard to be seen on the frontline of the NHS. The use of theory and models can be limited with the influence of quality improvement approaches and ever-present challenge of resource and capacity to engage in innovative activities. However, these disciplines are complimentary, sometimes called “improve-mentation”, and can co-exist. Serving on the GIS Board would permit an opportunity to open a discussion with a wide academic community and ask ‘Are we talking to our colleagues in different but related fields about the historic drivers of implementation approaches?’ The GIS Board have a great opportunity to lead this discussion and guide researchers and practitioners on understanding personal approaches/preferences to implementation activities and how to avoid implementation ‘tribalism’. 

2. Develop a community of practice to discuss the a-priori use of implementation theory by practitioners.

Often, implementation theories and models are used to explain why and how an innovation was adopted or not adopted, i.e. after the event. Less common are descriptions of how change agents have chosen strategies, used them, changed their approach during an innovation rollout, changed it again due to an unpredicted external event, and then reported on the multi-strategy approach to manage the complexity of implementation projects. Serving on the GIS Board would permit an opportunity to lead that discussion with the GIS membership and develop a research programme to investigate. 

3. Develop a multi-national discussion on whether implementation science theories, models, and frameworks, and strategies travel across different cultures.

I would like to ask the GIS Board and GIS membership if theory crosses national and cultural boundaries and to what extent rolling out an innovation in one culture is comparable to another / different culture. After reflecting on theories and models used by practitioners at Health Innovation Wessex, I’ve been left curious about why we have landed on using particular theories and what has driven those decisions. 

I would welcome the opportunity to serve on the GIS Board and share my experience of supporting the implementation of innovations in the NHS. The lessons learned and network developed from the wide range of projects I’ve been involved in would contribute to the richness of experience already within the GIS Board.