Meet Our Team

ETH-U Board of Directors
ETH-Uganda is Empower Through Health's sister organization and implementation arm, operating directly on the ground to oversee clinical care, conduct research, and implement high-impact direct interventions that improve public health across our entire catchment area. ETH-U's Board of Directors are passionate global health experts from a variety of backgrounds and specialties.

Board Secretary
Scott Blackwell, MD
Scott first became involved with ETH in 2018, when he spent a year working as Field Director to open and operate Mpunde Health Center. Inspired by his time in Uganda, he has worked ever since to fulfill the mission of ETH and fight for global equity and justice. Scott continued his involvement throughout his medical school training and became ETH's Executive Director in 2022. Since then, he has pushed the organization to new heights by Directing the 2023 GHEF with a record number of students. Scott is a Psychiatry resident at the University of Alabama where he aims to pursue an academic career in global mental health. He was born in Nashville, TN and enjoys creating music, playing pool, and backpacking in his free time.

Director
Yang Jae Lee, MD
Jae is the first medical student to gain acceptance to the McDonnell Scholars Academy at Washington University in St. Louis. Jae has lived in 11 places on three continents, and this exposure has motivated him to solve problems in global health inequity. He connected to the Busoga region of Uganda through a malaria research project he undertook in 2015. Jae has since contributed to Ugandan healthcare initiatives by creating a business plan for a maternal hospital, publishing award-winning medical journalism through the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, and devising or collaborating on original ground-breaking research in emergency medicine, gynecology, infectious diseases, immunization, and gastroenterology. Jae believes unequivocally that all lives are equally valuable.

Director
Peter Muwereza
Peter holds a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. He is a Project Implementation Specialist on the Community in which Mothers and newborns Thrive Project in Luuka District, East-central Uganda. Peter previously worked as a Senior Medical officer, in charge of a health Sub-district in Iganga District Local Government, in East-central Uganda. He has also served as a Health Center Manager and contributed to projects for the national government. Peter has special interest in maternal and child health and Quality Improvement. Peter’s focus now is RMNCH research and implementation of best practices with the aim of learning and improving the health of mothers, newborns, Children and Adolescents in Uganda.

Director
Ibrahim Ssekalo, MPH
Ibrahim Ssekalo is a global health researcher with over 10 years of experience in the field of public health and adolescent health in particular at various levels in a decentralized environment. He has participated in and supervised various studies as well as teaching and research management at the university level. He has been the principal investigator on various Health research projects. Ibrahim has a master's degree in international health from Uppsala University in Sweden and he is currently doing his PhD in maternal and newborn health at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Ibrahim provides the overall supervision, oversight, support study design, management, planning, and monitoring evaluation of ETH projects and programs.

Board Chairperson
Peter Waiswa, MBChB, MPH, PhD
Hailing from the Busoga Region of eastern Uganda, Dr. Peter Waiswa is a renowned Ugandan medical doctor and researcher who has made significant contributions to the field of maternal-newborn-child health and health systems. He is an associate professor at Makerere University College of Health Sciences, and has led several innovative initiatives that aim to improve newborn health and development in low- and middle-income countries, using evidence-based approaches and community engagement. He has also served as an advisor for various global organizations such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Save the Children and others on maternal-newborn-child health issues.
​