About
About
Donna Russell, MHA
Skills & Expertise
Effective leader
Adept at creating and implementing innovative programs
Accomplished manager
Strong relationships within the MNCH research community
Ability to bring diverse experts together for a common goal
Optimistic and persistent
Education
University of Washington
School of Public Health & Community Medicine
Master of Health Administration
University of California, Berkeley
School of Natural Resources
Bachelor of Science in Nutrition & Food Science
Organizational Development & Management
GAPPS/GAPPS Repository
Co-founded the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS), an initiative of Seattle Children’s Hospital. As Director of Research Development, provided strategic leadership to align, harmonize and accelerate research globally to improve maternal and newborn health. Achievements included:
2009 International Conference on Prematurity and Stillbirth
Brought together for the first time an interdisciplinary group of MNCH experts to develop and prioritize recommendations for preventing prematurity and stillbirth globally.
GAPPS Repository
Created the GAPPS Repository, a standardized, prospective collection of data and biospecimens from pregnant women. Launched in the states of Washington and California to support and facilitate research on normal and abnormal pregnancy outcomes to improve maternal, newborn and child health. This is the first ever open-source tissue / data repository and is a model for setting up similar collections in developed and developing world.
Strategic Partnership Development
2010 Cohort Harmonization Meeting
Convened Principal Investigators of large prospective cohorts of pregnant women, as well as experts in genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and other relevant fields from around the world to explore opportunities to harmonize / standardize collections and collaborate on future studies. The meeting resulted in a series of recommendations for promoting collaboration across studies and settings, and led to the formation of a global workgroup to create a searchable, web-based database of pregnancy-related tissue/data collections known as the LINK Registry, which was launched in 2011.
GAPPS-InterBio Collaboration
Facilitated a collaboration between GAPPS and Oxford University Intergrowth 21st, a new research study of fetal growth in health and disease in developed and resource-poor settings. Collaborated with project leadership at Oxford University to utilize GAPPS Repository expertise in collection SOPs, collection kits, specimen tracking system, and quality control protocols to implement specimen collections during pregnancy in the InterBio cohort sites in low-resource settings.
MotherChildLink eHub
Initiated a collaboration with University of Oxford Global Health Network team to develop a website (eHub) within the Network, which is focused on supporting maternal, newborn and child health researchers in low-resource settings. Worked closely with web developers to create the brand and website for the LINK Registry; and identified the leadership team for site development and management, which will launch in 2012.
LINK Registry
Led a core team of experts in the creation of the LINK Registry (www.linkregistry.org), the first ever searchable, web-based database of detailed information about data and specimens collected from pregnancy and birth cohorts around the world. The project was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and has an overarching goal of facilitating collaboration among researchers across studies and settings and leveraging resources for future research.
Policy Development
Neonatal Group B Strep disease prevention
Initiated dialogue and raised visibility for neonatal GBS disease among key stakeholders in Washington State, which led to the creation of a GBS Workgroup at the State Department of Health and recommendations to improve data collection and improve awareness. Served as a consultant to the Centers for Disease Control on the revision of guidelines to prevent neonatal GBS disease. Achievements include:
Amended GBS screening to the state’s Prenatal Screening Rule
Revised prenatal record form used by 90% of prenatal care providers in WA to include GBS culture results and include a cue for providers at 35-37 weeks gestation to culture for GBS
Developed GBS clinical lab guidelines
Added questions regarding mother’s GBS status to the WA State Birth Certificate
Added GBS status and treatment questions to the PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System) questionnaire
Health Disparities
Served as senior policy advisor to the Washington State Board of Health, acting as lead staff on the Board’s Health Disparities Priority. Identified and recruited key stakeholders to address issues of health disparities; facilitated discussions; and analyzed and interpreted health disparities data to address policy-related questions.
Health Care Personnel Shortage Task Force
Served as a consultant to the Washington State Workforce Training & Education Coordinating Board, which is charged with developing a highly skilled workforce in Washington State. Lead staff on the Recruitment and Retention Committee of the Health Care Personnel Shortage Task Force. Facilitated committee meetings, comprised of representatives of the labor unions, nursing commission, Office the Superintendent of Public Instruction, among others to establish priorities and strategies and leverage opportunities. Collected and analyzed data pertaining to the shortage of health care personnel and outlined an action plan to alleviate the shortage. This project culminated in a final report and recommendations that resulted in significant federal funding.
Program Management
Steps to a Healthier Washington State
Provided program oversight and served as community liaison for the federally funded program that provided pass-through funds to four Washington communities to work with local partners to identify, implement and track interventions addressing obesity, diabetes, and asthma in the targeted communities.
Local Capacity Development
Created infrastructure and managed the Local Capacity Development Funds (LCDF) program for the State Department of Health. This new program provided $15M per biennium in flexible funding to the 34 local public health jurisdictions to develop and strengthen local public health capacity. Provided consultation and technical assistance to local health jurisdictions; developed contractual agreements and budget control systems and procedures; implemented policies and procedures for the use of LCDF; and reported progress to the Washington State Legislature.
Copyright 2012, Donna Russell Consulting, LLC.