Adele is a digital development leader with 15 years’ experience collaborating with governments, international organizations, technology companies, and civil society to scale digital transformation in emerging markets. She is passionate about forging alliances, developing policies, and accelerating programs that harness the potential of digital technologies to advance human wellness and security. A recognized thought leader, she has served as Harvard Humanitarian Initiative fellow; expert advisor to the UN Broadband Commission, G20 Digital Health Taskforce, and Humanitarian Innovation Fund; and she has appeared in the BBC, Financial Times, NPR, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal.
Currently she is Senior Digital Health Coordinator – COVID-19 Response at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) where she guides cross-functional and international teams supporting strategic investments in digital infrastructure. Previously, as Senior Digital Health Advisor to USAID, she was policy lead developing the USAID Digital Health Vision, the agency’s first guidance for its global health-sector digital technology investments, and co-author of the agency’s first multi-sectoral Digital Strategy.
Prior to joining USAID she was founder and managing director of Catalyst Advisory, LLC, which provided strategic and advisory support to international organizations using digital technologies to strengthen global health, humanitarian assistance, and global development efforts. Her clients included the OECD, United Nations Foundation, USAID, and World Bank. Prior to founding Catalyst Advisory she was Senior Director of Technology Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation, where she led a $30 million partnership with Vodafone that leveraged digital technologies to strengthen global health and humanitarian work. In that role she led partnerships with UN agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Program (WFP), and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA); managed innovative programs training UN and government staff on innovative uses of digital technologies; and created the award-winning Access to Communications publication series that charted how advances in digital technologies could make development work more open and effective.
Her previous experience includes work as an advocate for humanitarian and human rights groups, as well as a communications strategist for technology companies. She also has worked as a journalist and editor covering U.S. foreign policy and international affairs.
Adele holds an MA in International Affairs, with specializations in International Law and Organizations, and U.S. Foreign Policy, from The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, and a BA in Sociology and Multi-Ethnic Studies from Bard College. Her studies include semesters abroad at the University of the Western Cape near Cape Town, South Africa, and l’Institut d’études sciences politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris, France.
She is an expert advisor to numerous multilateral and non-profit groups including Digital Square, the Global Digital Health Network, the Health Data Collaborative, and TechnologySalon.org, and she co-chairs the global Digital Health & Interoperability Working Group.