The NCD Alliance team is responsible for operationalising the NCD Alliance's Strategic Plan, including the day-to-day campaign management, coordinating the activities of our network, and external relations to promote our work.
The NCD Alliance team can be contacted via the Contact Us link at the bottom of this website or hyperlinked to the image on this page.
Katie Dain, Chief Executive Officer
Cristina Parsons Perez, Capacity Development Director
Linda Markova, Capacity Development Officer
Linda works as a part of the Capacity Development team, supporting the roll out of the flagship Advocacy Institute, responsible for grant administration duties, monitoring of local conditions and opportunities and collecting M&E data. She supports the Advocacy Institute training programmes and the development of capacity development research and knowledge products. Linda is experienced in providing analytical, project management and advocacy support to teams across multiple settings including NGOs, private entities, and public institutions with particular interest in health systems strengthening, access and UHC agendas. Before joining NCDA, Linda collaborated with People’s Health Movement as a part of the WHO Watch Team and worked at a health technology company performing data and policy analysis on the NHS. Linda holds a BSc in Global Health from Queen Mary’s University London and a MSc in Health Policy Planning and Finance from LSHTM and LSE.
Nazneen Ali, Capacity Development Officer
Nazneen joined NCD Alliance in June 2021 as a Capacity Development officer to support capacity development activities including the training strategy and advocates'/spokesperson directory, and to help develop the Global Charter program with National NCD Alliances as part of the Our Views, Our Voices Inititiative. Prior to joining NCD Alliance, she conducted consultancy work for the Centre for Chronic Disease Control at PHFI in India as a project coordinator and research associate, working on technical materials for a module on the development of online teaching and learning resources for package of essential NCD interventions for primary healthcare workers. She has also worked in global health non-profits in New York such as UNICEF, USA and ICAP at Columbia University in research and strategic planning roles. Nazneen is a doctor by training and completed a Masters in Health Administration from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University
Katrina Barker, Public Engagement Officer
Katrina joined the NCD Alliance in April 2021 as a Public Engagement Officer, to support capacity development activities including the Our Views, Our Voices initiative, and work with National NCD Alliances to establish national advocacy agendas for people living with NCDs. She has experience in policy, research and global health, having most recently worked on international policy projects with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the European and Development Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) prior to joining NCDA. She also worked in Jordan at a policy think tank, and subsequently within public health at the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF), where she focused on international fundraising, advocacy and strategic planning. Katrina holds a B.A. in Political Science from New York University, and a Master of Public Administration degree in Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy from UCL.
Laura Saarinen, Senior Partnerships and Membership Officer
Nina joined the NCD Alliance in July 2018 and is responsible for leading, developing, implementing and managing NCDA’s global policy and advocacy work. Nina has over twelve years of international policy and advocacy experience in diverse fields including environment, transport, industrial policy, taxation and health. She started her career in the private sector in travel and logistics, and gained public sector experience at the European Commission's Energy and Transport Directorate. Prior to joining the NCD Alliance she was based in Brussels, as Secretary-General of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and previously as Deputy Director of the campaign group Transport & Environment. She studied International Business with Modern Languages (German and French) at Aston University, UK and has a Master’s degree in Contemporary European Politics and Policy from Humboldt University, Berlin and the University of Bath, UK, writing her thesis on the role of civil society in policy-making. She has served as a board member of several NGOs, including the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), the European Citizens' Organisation for Standardisation (ECOS), and Green Budget Europe, and has represented civil society on advisory groups to the UNECE, WHO, OECD and to the European Commission on international trade, better regulation, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Tiphaine Lagarde, Senior Partnerships and Memberships Manager
Tiphaine’s role involves managing NCD Alliance’s strategic engagement and partnerships with corporate, foundations and NGOs; developing NCDA’s membership engagement and acquisition plans; as well as implementing its business development strategy and developing prospective partnerships. Prior to joining the NCD Alliance, she worked at Sanofi’s International Public Affairs Department, where she managed Sanofi’s global engagement with UN agencies and trade associations in Geneva, provided strategic and technical guidance to affiliates in emerging countries for approaches to advocacy and public policy, and developed strategic partnerships. She has a Master in Public Affairs & Healthcare Administration from Sciences Po Paris and a Master in Healthcare Products & Industry Law from Sorbonne Paris Cité University.
Tolulope Osigbesan, Advocacy and Partnerships Officer
Tolu joined the team in Geneva in 2019 to further develop NCD Alliance’s strategic relations with WHO, United Nations agencies and member state missions. She is also supporting development of NCDA membership and partnerships across civil society, private sector and academia. Before joining the NCDA, she worked in both the public and private health sectors in Nigeria. Her most recent role was with the secretariat of United Nations Interagency Taskforce for Noncommunicable Diseases (UNIATF). Tolu is a Pharmacist by training and is working towards a Masters degree in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Romain joined the Geneva team of NCD Alliance in January 2019 as Partnership and Member Officer. His role is to support the development, growth and engagement of NCDA’s membership. Before joining the NCDA, he worked in academia leading medical research projects on kidney diseases and metabolic disorders at the Universities of Toulouse, Glasgow and Geneva. Romain holds a Master of Science in Health Biology and a PhD in Pharmacological innovations from University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France.
Marion Ovide, Senior Finance and Administration Manager
Marion is the Senior Finance and Administration Manager of the NCD Alliance, responsible for the organisational operations of NCDA, including finance, office administration, human resources, IT support and contracts. In this role, Marion leads on the financial management of NCDA, including audit, budgeting and producing financial data and reports, and on the development of NCDA staff policies. Prior to joining NCDA, Marion worked in the finance and administration department at the Union for International Cancer Control, where she managed accounting processes. Marion has an Advanced Degree in Finance and Account Management Expertise from the Institute of Accounting of Gland, Switzerland, and a Bachelor in Social and Economic Sciences from the University of Grenoble, France.
Grace joined the NCD Alliance in June 2020 and is responsible for developing and implementing NCDA’s policy and advocacy work on Universal Health Coverage and an Inclusive NCD Agenda. Grace is a medical doctor by background with specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Upon joining NCDA she had held project management positions in humanitarian and development settings in Iraq, Myanmar and Cambodia. She holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of Manchester.
Hany Helmy, Policy and Advocacy Manager
Hany joined the NCD Alliance’s New York office as Policy and Advocacy Manager, leading NCDA's advocacy work with United Nations agencies and member state missions as well as international financial institutions to advance financing priorities for NCDs. Hany is an experienced international development, humanitarian, and global health practitioner with considerable experience in the MENA and Africa regions. Over the course of his career, he worked with various regional and international organisations including WHO, USAID, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and VillageReach in areas of immunization, HIV/AIDS, maternal newborn and child health, financing and governance, Health Systems Strengthening, and COVID-19 response. Hany holds a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from Alexandria University and a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the University of Toledo.
Vanessa Uriarte, Partnerships and Business Development Manager
Vanessa is the Manager, Partnerships and Business Development and is based in Washington, D.C. where she manages strategic engagement with partners and coordinates business development with existing and new sectors. She specializes in international development and partnerships and is skilled in policy analysis and project management. Throughout her professional career, she has developed strategic partnerships for large scale international NGOs. She has a proven track record of institutional growth, donor and partner relations with governments, corporations, and foundations. She holds a Master’s degree in International Development Policy from Duke University and a Bachelor’s in International Relations from Tecnologico de Monterrey; and has postgraduate certificates in Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Fundraising Management, Project Design for International Cooperation, and Public Relations.
Connect with Vanessa: LinkedIn
Jimena Márquez, Communications Director
Jimena leads the development and delivery of NCDA’s communications and media strategy and activities. Jimena has over 15 years of experience working on content creation in international and multilingual contexts, with a special focus on global health, development and human rights. Before joining the NCD Alliance in 2014, she worked as senior editor at a communications agency in Barcelona, where she led the strategic design of awareness-raising campaigns on social and health issues for European audiences. She has also worked for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as communications officer in Geneva and Buenos Aires. Between 1994 and 2001 she worked as journalist in Argentina, her home country. She volunteered for Amnesty International for a decade. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Communications (Universidad de Buenos Aires), a Master in Visual Culture (Universidad de Barcelona) and another in Social Media (Universidad Alcalá de Henares). Her mother tongue is Spanish, and she is a fluent speaker of English and French.
