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Helen Gayle

2011 Speaker

Dr. Helene D. Gayle is president and CEO of CARE USA, a leading international humanitarian organization with programs in nearly 70 countries to end poverty. An expert on health, global development and humanitarian issues, she spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control, working primarily on HIV/AIDS. Dr. Gayle then worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, directing programs on HIV/AIDS and other global health issues. Dr. Gayle was named one of Foreign Policy magazine’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers,” Newsweek’s top 10 “Women in Leadership” and the Wall Street Journal’s “50 Women to Watch,” as well as one of the “100 Most Influential Atlantans” and the “100 Most Influential Georgians.

“She has published numerous scientific articles and been featured by media outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, ForbesWoman, Glamour, O magazine, National Public Radio and CNN. Dr. Gayle also chairs the Obama Administration’s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, and serves on the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. Dr. Gayle was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She earned a B.A. in psychology at Barnard College, an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University.