Richard Garfield RN, DrPH

Richard is the Henrik H. Bendixen Professor of Clinical International Nursing at Columbia University’s School of Nursing and a Clinical Professor at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. Richard’s research interests are the assessment of need in humanitarian crises, monitoring humanitarian recovery, and non-communicable conditions in less developed countries. He has been published in the Lancet, the American Medical Association’s journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, and has sat on several editorial boards.

For past research, Richard has quantified the impact of conflict on noncombatants using epidemiologic methods, and has studied the effects of economic sanctions on health in Iraq, Cuba, Nicaragua, Liberia, Haiti, and the former Yugoslavia. He has completed needs assessments for United Nations-related organizations in post-disaster Myanmar, Pakistan, Haiti, South Sudan, and New Orleans. He is member of the team at The Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS) in Geneva, and continues to consult with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Richard has been a visiting professor at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in the U.K and at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and was a 2002 Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Kimberly Kicenuik

Kimberly is an Associate Director with CCS, a boutique, global fundraising consulting firm headquartered in New York City. In this role, she develops major gifts strategy, oversees strategic planning initiatives, and provides interim development management and support to organizations across the non-profit sector. Her recent projects included two $30 million major gifts initiatives with a North Carolina boarding school and the University of Florida Foundation.

Prior to joining CCS, Kimberly pursued her MBA at the Yale School of Management, focusing her studies on Marketing and Nonprofit Management. While at Yale, she completed several consulting projects including a strategic review of financial aid practices at a local independent school and a business development strategy for the Institute for Liberty and Democracy in Lima, Peru.

Before Yale, Kimberly spent several years teaching and assisting the administration at Pingry, an independent school in her home-state of New Jersey. With “one foot in the classroom” and “the other foot in the strategic planning offices” of the school, Kimberly came to understand first-hand the importance of implementing sound fundraising strategies and vigorous financial controls to advance the school’s mission.

Kimberly graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College with an A.B. in English Literature. She is passionate about bringing effective business principles to non-profit organizations. In her free time, she enjoys long-distance running, travel, and the arts.

Laura Jean Ridge ANP-BC, AAHIVS

Laura is a nurse practitioner with experience in addiction medicine, primary care, and HIV. She has worked both in the clinic setting and in private practice. At this time she is working in the Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation’s Harlem clinics in addition to her work with Nursing for All. She is Board certified by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center and is a designated HIV Specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine.

Laura received her BS and MS from Columbia University and her AB from Harvard University, where she majored in Social Studies. She is the Secretary of the Phillips Brooks House Association’s Alumni network. She is the recipient of the 2006 Ames Award, presented to one female member of the class for dedication to public service. Her hobbies are watching classic movies and dog wrangling.

Veena Ramaswamy

Veena Ramaswamy grew up in New Jersey before majoring in Economics at MIT.  While at MIT, she was a research assistant for several renowned economists and was the captain of the MIT Lightweight Women’s Crew team.