About

 

Donna Russell, MHA

Skills & Expertise

  1. BulletEffective leader

  2. BulletAdept at creating and implementing innovative programs

  3. BulletAccomplished manager

  4. BulletStrong relationships within the MNCH research community

  5. BulletAbility to bring diverse experts together for a common goal

  6. BulletOptimistic and persistent


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:

  1. BulletAmended GBS screening to the state’s Prenatal Screening Rule

  2. BulletRevised 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

  3. BulletDeveloped GBS clinical lab guidelines

  4. BulletAdded questions regarding mother’s GBS status to the WA State Birth Certificate

  5. BulletAdded 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.