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Sheila O'Dougherty

Vice President, International Health Policy & Systems

Sheila O'Dougherty is Chief of Party of the USAID-funded ZdravPlus project, a broad health-systems reform and development program in Central Asia. With its innovative conceptual model and operational implementation approach, the project's significant results have been recognized throughout the region. She has been based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, since 1994.

Prior to coming to Abt Associates in 1994, O'Dougherty was a social science research analyst for the Office of Research and Demonstrations of the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). She was also a professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, detailed there from HCFA to work on health care reform after President Clinton's Health Reform Bill was submitted to Congress.

A champion athlete, she has been a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Board of Directors and has served in numerous other sports-governance capacities. As a member of the U.S. Table Tennis Team for eight years — two of them as number-one player — she participated in the World Championships and Pan-American Games. She was National College Champion in table tennis from 1976 to 1978.

O'Dougherty holds an M.H.A. and a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Minnesota.