Innovation Council

The Innovation Council is a group of early-career professionals who are passionate about global health and development. Through committees focused on communications, partnerships, fundraising, and research, the Council supports and strengthens Move Up Global's work in Rwanda. Council contributions help expand our health and education initiatives while fostering collaboration and innovation across the organization.

  • 
Dan is a third-year medical student at Tufts University School of Medicine with plans to become a physician-researcher in infectious disease and health equity. He graduated from Tufts University in 2024 with a degree in Biology, Community Health, and International Relations, with a concentration in global health, nutrition, and the environment. At Tufts, he first joined Move Up Global in 2022 as a research fellow, originally studying community health workers as a form of primary care in Musanze. He is now a co-chair of the Innovation Council, leading programmatic efforts in research, advocacy, and partnerships for the organization. Dan looks forward to continuing MUG’s Ipfundo model through future implementation research initiatives and sustaining partnerships with like-minded organizations to further health equity among communities in Musanze and beyond.


    Outside of Move Up Global, Dan engages in research on humanitarian water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) with the Lantagne Group at Tufts University, adolescent HIV with Socios En Salud (Partners In Health), and racial disparities in emergency department boarding with the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women's Hospital. His future research interests lie at the intersection of infectious disease, One Health, migration, climate change, and community-based participatory research frameworks.

  • Originally from Washington, D.C., Ben graduated from Tufts University in 2023 with a degree in Community Health and is currently a third-year medical student at Brown University. Over the past six years, he has worked on a range of global health initiatives across South Sudan, Rwanda, Bangladesh, and the Solomon Islands, focusing on programs addressing both neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). His work has spanned research, program implementation, health systems strengthening, and community-based interventions aimed at improving access to care in underserved settings.


    Ben joined Move Up Global in 2022 and co-founded the Innovation Council in 2023. Since then, he has helped advance the organization’s work through research, strategic partnerships, educational initiatives, and organizational development. His experiences working across diverse health systems have strengthened his commitment to understanding how health, education, and policy intersect to create lasting opportunities for young people and communities. Through his work with MUG, Ben seeks to foster innovative collaborations and sustainable solutions that empower communities and improve long-term health outcomes around the world.

  • 

Sarah will be graduating from Tufts University in May 2027 with a B.S. in Biopsychology and Community Health and plans to attend medical school. As a 2025 Move Up Global Fellow, she worked on developing and implementing a sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education program for adolescents in Musanze through a community-defined quality improvement framework, as well as implementing the Health Passport program. Sarah is particularly interested in chronic disease management, women’s health, health literacy, and increasing access to equitable healthcare in both community and global settings.

  • 
Sarah graduated from Tufts University in 2024, where she focused her Community Health studies on learning how to enhance menstrual health access and education across underrepresented populations. She brought this passion into her Move Up Global fellowship in 2024, developing and piloting a preliminary sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education curriculum for students in Musanze. She prioritized making this curriculum inclusive, digestible, and interactive for all students. Starting July 2026, she will be attending Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine in California, where she will continue exploring ways to promote women’s health equity and education in medicine through a public health lens.

  • 
Mia will graduate from Tufts University in May 2027 with a B.A. in Community Health and a minor in Spanish. Through the 2025 Move Up Global Fellowship, she worked to advance sexual and reproductive health (SRH) literacy among adolescents in Musanze. She contributed to the development and delivery of an SRH education program guided by the community-defined quality improvement framework and supported the implementation of the Health Passport program. Mia is passionate about advancing health equity through community-driven initiatives that address the social and structural determinants of health. She is particularly interested in maternal and child health, environmental health, infectious disease, and health policy. After graduation, Mia plans to pursue a career in public health.

  • 

Originally from just outside Washington, D.C., Cami graduated from Boston College in 2023 with a degree in Applied Psychology, Human Development, and Global Public Health. Over the past four years, she has supported youth-focused health and education initiatives across Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and the United States. Since graduating, she has worked with a maternal health organization in South Africa and with Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda.


    Cami joined Move Up Global’s Innovation Council when it was founded in 2024 and became a Board Member in September 2025. Her experiences working across both health and education systems deepened her interest in the ways these fields intersect to shape long-term well-being and opportunity for young people. She is especially passionate about youth development, sexual and reproductive health, and sustainable community-based initiatives.


    With MUG, Cami supports communications, fundraising, partnerships, and organizational operations, with the hope of strengthening systems that allow children, families, and communities to thrive.

  • Egide is a Clinical Medicine and Community Health student at the University of Rwanda and currently serves as a Program Officer at Bold Women Rwanda. He is passionate about public health, research, and youth, Girls & Women empowerment. Egide actively engages in initiatives that promote sexual and reproductive health, Mental health awareness, and community health education. He has experience in digital communication, health advocacy, and research, and is involved in projects that explore community-based health interventions. Egide is Aspire Leaders Alumni 2025 Community Project Mini Grant Winner and also served as UNITED Movement Eastern and Southern Africa Country Representative.

  • Gawon earned a Bachelor of Science in Community Health and Biology from Tufts University and is currently a medical student at Tufts School of Medicine. In Summer 2025, she completed the Move Up Global Fellowship, where she focused on improving sexual and reproductive health (SRH) literacy among adolescents in rural Rwanda. During her fellowship, she helped design and implement an SRH education program applying the innovative community-defined quality improvement framework. She is passionate about advancing women's health, strengthening health education, advocating for task-shifting, and addressing gaps in health systems, including improving access to acute surgical care in resource-constrained communities.