Our Board Of Directors

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ABOUT US

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MEDGE OWEN | FOUNDER & CEO

Dr. Medge Denise Owen is a Professor of Obstetric Anesthesia at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC and Faculty Affiliate, Office of Global Health at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. She earned a medical degree at the University of Kansas, completed residency at the University of Missouri-St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, MO, and has been on faculty at Wake Forest School of Medicine since 1994. Owen received a Fulbright scholarship in 1997 to teach obstetric anesthesia and neonatal resuscitation in Turkey. After returning home, she felt compelled to further advance childbirth safety in Turkey and other countries. This led to the formation of Kybele in 2001. Dr. Owen continues to use her medical training and passion for safe childbirth to work worldwide. She has been involved in global health at many levels, including the World Federation Societies of Anesthesia, The American Society of Anesthesiology, and the Society for Obstetric Anesthesiology and Perinatology. She has published extensively on maternal and newborn health and is an invited speaker at conferences around the world. Owen believes that women worldwide deserve the right to safe and supported childbirth, and she is determined to make that happen.

LISA CORBETT | PRESIDENT

Lisa Corbett, M.D., Professor, Provisional of Anesthesiology and Medical Director of Obstetric Anesthesia for Oregon Health and Science University. She has served Kybele as a team leader for the Georgia, Armenia, and Romania projects and is currently active as a team leader for the Ukraine project. Her passions include teaching and traveling, so Kybele has allowed her to combine these loves in a humanitarian way. She considers serving on the Kybele Board of Directors a privilege and is honored to provide her experience and passion to help move the mission forward.

LAWRENCE FORDJOUR | VICE PRESIDENT

Lawrence Fordjour, M.D., FAAP, is a neonatologist and clinical associate professor of pediatrics at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York. He has been a practicing neonatologist for over 13 years. Lawrence is involved in residency and fellowship educational programs, including the neuro-developmental high-risk follow-up program. His research interests are nutrition, gut immunology and global health. Lawrence joined Kybele in 2008 and has since participated in multiple trips to Ghana, Serbia and Uganda. He was involved in the Making Every Baby Count Initiative (MEBCI) program in Ghana and is currently working on the Designated Resuscitation Team program at Ridge Hospital in Accra, Ghana, and at St. Francis Hospital, Nsambya, in Kampla, Uganda.

GILL ABIR | SECRETARY

Gill Abir MBChB, FRCA is a Clinical Associate Professor and Clinical Director for obstetric anesthesiology in the Department of Anesthesiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is originally from the UK, and graduated in the UK prior to her move to the US. Gill is the residency program director for obstetric anesthesiology, the lead anesthesiologist on the multidisciplinary obstetric simulation team and obstetric disaster preparedness team at Stanford, and serves on national committees that include SOAP (patient safety, international outreach, simulation subcommittee) and the CMQCC (maternal sepsis toolkit). Gill has a keen interest in global health and has been involved with Kybele since 2012 with several trips to Armenia, Serbia, and Bosnia.

MELVIN SEID | TREASURER

Melvin Seid, M.D., FACOG, is an obstetric hospitalist with OB Hospitalist Group who practices in South Florida. Prior to moving to Florida, he was the director of clinical research at Lyndhurst Gynecologic Associates and chairman of the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. Melvin has contributed to numerous Kybele initiatives, including its work in Mongolia, Ghana, Vietnam, Serbia, Armenia, and Georgia.

MARTIN BOAMAH

Martin Owusu Boamah MD, MA Min, MPH, FGCS, FISQUA is an Obstetrician Gynaecologist and a Reproductive Health and Family Planning Specialist with Fellowships from the Ghana College of Surgeons and the International Society of Quality in Health Care. He currently works as a Senior Specialist Obstetrician Gynaecologist at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ghana. He is the Quality Improvement Lead for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and a member of the Hospital’s Total Quality Management Team and Quality Technical Committee. He is also part of a team of health care professionals in Ghana who work on the “Saving Lives at Birth” project and the “Making Every Baby Count Initiative (MEBCI) 2.0.” He is Kybele’s National Physician Champion for the “Obstetric Triage Implementation Package (OTIP)” project, which has introduced a formal and structured obstetric triage in various hospitals countrywide. He is involved in numerous quality improvement projects in obstetrics and very passionate about quality in women’s health.

STAN DEAN

Stan Dean is an attorney in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Stan has lived in North Carolina for 30+ years and has followed the growth of Kybele since its inception, especially since his wife and daughter began traveling to Ghana with the Bridge Project. He has served as the chair of the Ethics Committee of Hospice of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County and on the board of Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN). He has an interest in bioethics and has always been actively involved in philanthropic pursuits throughout the community. 30+

SHAHLA NAMAK

Shahla Namak, M.D., was born in Baghdad, Iraq, completed Medical School from Mosul, Iraq and then earned a Diploma in OBGYN from Baghdad while serving during the first Gulf War. She completed the Board of Family Medicine then the Maternal Health Fellowship from Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Namak is currently an Associate Professor at Wake Forest Family and Community Medicine and an Affiliate for Global Health at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. She is committed to patient care along with teaching residents and medical students in addition to her global health work locally with the Syrian Refugee population and abroad with Kybele with whom she is currently active as a Team Leader in an Emergency Obstetrics Course in Novi Sad, Serbia and was involved in educational trips to Egypt, Armenia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Ukraine.

OLEG TURKOT

Oleg Turkot M.D is an obstetric anesthesiologist and an assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He joined his first Kybele mission trip in 2016 and has continued to work with projects in Serbia, Bosnia, and North Macedonia. He co-founded Kybele’s initiative in Ukraine and currently serves as the co-leader of the project. Oleg is passionate about the mission of education and empowering local champions to provide the best care possible with the resources they possess.