ADVISORY BOARD

Mpho. A. Tutu is the founder and Executive Director of the Tutu Institute for Prayer & Pilgrimage. Ms. Tutu has run ministries for children in Worcester, Massachusetts; for rape survivors in Grahamstown, SA; and for refugees from South Africa and Namibia at the Phelps Stokes Fund in New York City. She earned her MDiv from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts and began her ordained ministry at Historic Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

Ms. Tutu is an experienced preacher, teacher, and retreat facilitator. With her father, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, she has authored the recently published book, “Made for Goodness”. The Reverend Mpho Tutu is the Chairperson Emeritus of the board of the Global AIDS Alliance, the Chairperson of the Board of Advisors of the 911 Unity Walk, and a trustee of Angola University. Ms. Tutu is married to Joseph Burris; they have two daughters, Nyaniso and Onalenna.

Tabisa Bata is the Director of Administration and Programs for an international non-profit organization. She is based in East London, South Africa.  Her work includes managing a provincial HIV Basic Care Package program that is now going national. She has a BSC Honors in Medical Microbiology and an MPH.  She was the recipient of the Ford Foundation Scholarship. Tabisa previously worked with the Steve Biko Foundation on community and youth development programs including implementing projects on social history, debating programs in schools and youth conferences.  She has been working on health issues in the Eastern Cape for more than 5 years.

Dr. Jennifer Beard is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Health at the Boston University School of Public Health where she directs the writing program and teaches courses in international health writing. She travels frequently to India and has also worked in South Africa and Tanzania. Her areas of research interest include orphans and vulnerable children. She has an MPH and a Ph.D. in English Literature.

Jonathon Lee Simon, M.P.H., D.Sc., is the Chair of the Department of International Health, Director of the Center for Global Health and Development  (CGHD), and Professor of International Health at the BUSPH. He has been involved in applied child health research activities for 5-years, working in more than twenty developing countries.   CGHD is a university-wide applied research center committed to generating policy and program relevant research to help improve the health of populations. Currently, he is leading a Center-wide effort to evaluate the costs and effectiveness of interventions to improve the well being of orphans and vulnerable children.  He is also part of a multidisciplinary team investigating the costs and outcomes of the global ART treatment programs.

Before joining Boston University, Dr. Simon was a Fellow of the Harvard Institute for International Development, where he was Principal Investigator of several child survival research projects. During his tenure at HIID, he was resident in Pakistan for two years as the regional advisor. Dr. Simon has had extensive experience working in Africa, particularly on issues including child survival, infectious diseases, and capacity strengthening.

Thembi Ngubane-Zungu is a South African HIV activist living with HIV and is one of the lead characters in the documentary. She works for a non-profit organization in Port Elizabeth as the Policy and Advocacy Director. She manages health projects and works with local and international partners to address health system challenges. She is also a professional nurse who has worked in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape in the areas of dermatology, intensive care, and community health. Thembi previously served as a provincial coordinator for NAPWA (National Association of people living with HIV) and was one of the founders of the Masihlanganeni Network of People Living with HIV (MANEPHA).