Kate Somers

Kate Somers leads initiatives that focus on distilling and applying strategic evidence to reduce vulnerability; collaborating with country teams to adopt and integrate life-saving interventions within government health strategies; and fostering partnerships with UN agencies and other institutions to accelerate reductions in maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths through technical assistance, financing, advocacy, and monitoring. She also oversees work on improving measurement of MNCH interventions, as well as supporting the development of decision-making tools for health policy, planning and programming.

Since joining the foundation in 2011, Kate has managed multiple investments in service delivery, health policy, quality of care, and measurement, and has co-authored publications on these topics. Currently, she serves on external technical groups including the Countdown to 2030 Steering Group, WHO Policy Reference Group and the Global Financing Facility Quality of Care Technical Advisory Group, as well as the Board for the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. Prior to joining the foundation, Kate served in the Peace Corps and worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California Endowment, and IntraHealth International.

Kate holds a master’s in public health policy and administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s in English from North Carolina State University, and a juris doctorate from California Western.