Engineering World Health employs few staff and also depends upon volunteers from the local student community. Please inquire at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for details.

Melissa Driver Beard, M.P.A., Executive Director and CEO

Melissa has held positions at the UN, American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, and Prevent Blindness NC. Most recently, she was the executive director of NC AWWA-WEA, an organization with over 3,500 water and wastewater management professionals that is dedicated to providing clean water to improve public health and protect the environment. She also spent six years as the executive director of the North Carolina Society of Surveyors coordinating large events with surveyors and engineers. Her experience includes 15 years of work for nonprofits, along with skills in five languages, which makes her a perfect choice to head our organization.

Ed Hutton, BMET Program Director

Ed has held various positions of increasing responsibility and leadership at NCR, AT&T, Ericsson, and Harris. He has also lead successful venture-funded start-up companies and turnaround efforts. His early experiences include living abroad while in the United States Army Medical Corp. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and was inducted into Tau Beta Pi. He is an honor graduate of the US Army Medical Equipment and Optical School.

He lives in Chapel Hill, NC, with his wife Mary Anne. He is an instrument-rated private pilot, loves piano, and is a community volunteer. A high technology leader, Mr. Hutton’s affiliation and associations are a vibrant network of contacts, customers, and colleagues with whom he has worked to build successful teams, relationships, and companies.

Justin Cooper, M.S.E., BMET Coordinator for Honduras

Justin manages the day-to-day operations of the BMET Training Program in Honduras. He joined EWH in April 2009 as a Student Programs Coordinator, and is excited to now be involved in training BMETs abroad. He has worked with EWH in Haiti, Ethiopia, Honduras, Ghana, and Rwanda. Justin has taught electronics and computer skills at the university level in the US and through the EWH BMET training program in Rwanda and Honduras. He completed his graduate degree at Tulane University in April 2009 with a Masters thesis project in robotics.

Anna Worm, BMET Coordinator for Rwanda

Anna joined EWH in August 2011. She is responsible for managing the BMET program in Rwanda and will support the Summer Institute in Tanzania. With her educational (BSc Industrial Design Engineering, MSc BioMechanical Engineering from TU Delft) and professional (Valley View University, Ghana and Philips Healthcare BU Interventional X-Ray, Netherlands) background she brings in a mix of product design, medical equipment knowlegde and a commercial sense. Her main focus for Rwanda is to get the BMET program accredited so that, in due time, EWH will be able to hand over the responsibilities to local organizations.

Ben Fleishman, B.S., Summer Institute Coordinator

Ben joined EWH in November 2011 after working in Tanzania as an on the ground coordinator for the Summer Institute. He is an alumni of the 2009 Tanzania Summer Institute and held leadership roles in Engineers With Out Borders at Clemson University, where he received his BS in BioEngineering in 2009. His senior design project was a low cost disposable scalpel for the developing world. He has worked with students in Vietnam, Mexico and Clemson teaching seminars, labs and leading research projects. In his spare time Ben enjoys spending time outdoors and technical projects such as building bikes and modifying cars. His unique combination of student leadership experience and technical skills makes him the ideal choice to manage and expand our Summer Institute programs. 

Julien Benchetrit, B.E., Technology Development

Julien joined EWH in July 2010. He is responsible for the technology design work at EWH, including the Projects That Matter and Kits programs. Julien is an alumnus of the 2009 Summer Institute in Central America and recent graduate of Imperial College London with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. He brings hands-on experience with the technical challenges that face developing world healthcare and numerous technical and communication skills, including web development and fluency in English, French, and Spanish. He is the point person for EWH Chapters, EWH Kits, and the EWH Design Competition.

Alex Dahinten, B.E., Engineer Intern

Alex joined EWH in August 2011 and is responsible for Kits, curriculum development and any relating publicity. He is also working closely with Julien, Ben and Justin on a series of student projects. After graduating in 2010 from Imperial College London with a degree in Biomedical Engineering, Alex spent a year as Deputy President (Education) at the Imperial College Student Union. He brings both technical understanding as well as fundraising experience to EWH. Alex grew up in a number of different countries on three different continents, is fluent in English and German and speaks basic Spanish.

Julie Pinto, B.S., Business Manager

Julie brings to EWH 20 years of Financial and Human Resource experience. She has worked for many various industries including automotive, real estate, printer and copier services, staffing, and not-for-profit. She has a BS in Finance from the University of Dayton in 1989. Originally from Rochester, New York, she moved to Cary in 2006 with her husband, Keith, and her two children, Nicholas and Elizabeth.

Heather Kraudel, B.S., Development Manager

Heather brings 7 years of experience in the nonprofit sector with her focus on event management and corporate relations. Heather started her nonprofit work in Washington, DC where she held positions with Georgetown University Law Center and the American Legacy Foundation, a public health Foundation created in 1999 out of the landmark Master Settlement Agreement between the tobacco industry, 46 state governments and five U.S. territories. Most recently she served as the Director of Special Events for the American Lung Association in Raleigh, NC where she managed large fundraising events and smaller donor cultivation events. Her experience makes her the perfect fit to help expand the reach of EWH on all levels.

Terri Kiesenhofer, Development Assistant

Terri joins our team with over 6 years of experience in management, sales, fundraising, and training in a variety of corporate and nonprofit settings. More recently, Terri has been an active volunteer for the American Red Cross and Susan G. Komen foundation raising funds and awareness through solicitations, fundraising events, and community events. Terri’s experience, and passion for our mission, will help expand the reach of the development efforts of EWH.