Dr. John Palen

BETHESDA, MD — Dr. John Palen, an expert on health workforce issues who brings more than 20 years of experience in HIV/AIDS policies, research, program implementation, and clinical care, has joined Abt Associates as a senior advisor for human resources for health in Abt’s International Health Division.

Palen will design and direct strategies that address systemic challenges, such as the production, quality and retention of health care workers to improve a wide variety of health outcomes in low-resource settings, including: family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, an chronic and other non-communicable diseases.

“The health workforce plays a crucial role in strengthening health systems worldwide. We are thrilled to have Dr. Palen working with us to build a comprehensive human resources strategy that addresses the structural changes needed to build a strong health workforce that can help solve the most pressing global health challenges,” said Dr. Ann Lion, vice president of International Health Policy and Systems at Abt Associates.

Before joining Abt, Dr. Palen served as the Senior Technical Advisor for Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) and Human Resources for Health (HRH) at the U.S. State Department/Office of Global AIDS Coordinator/ U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), where he provided guidance and coordination on a variety of HRH and HSS activities. During his tenure, he was a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines panel on Transformative Medical and Nursing Education, a board member of the Global Health Workforce Alliance and represented the PEPFAR at high-level WHO and United Nations meetings.

Prior to this, Dr. Palen served as the Senior Technical Advisor for HIV/AIDS Care and Support in the USAID Office of HIV/AIDS, Bureau of Global Health. In that position, he provided technical assistance and guidance to PEPFAR countries, USAID headquarters and missions, and other U.S.-funded development partners in broad areas of HIV/AIDS clinical care and support.

Before his work at USAID, he was Associate Professor of Health Policy and Global Health at The George Washington University School of Public Health. His teaching and research were focused in areas of HRH, and he was the co-principal investigator and contributor to the WHO on the “WHO Recommendations and Guidelines on Task Shifting.”  During his tenure at GW, he was also the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. 
Dr. Palen is trained as a Physician Assistant, and holds a Master’s in Public Health and a Ph.D from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 

About Abt Associates

Abt Associates is a mission-driven, global leader in research and program implementation in the fields of health, social and environmental policy, and international development. Known for its rigorous approach to solving complex challenges, Abt Associates was ranked as one of the top 20 global research firms in 2011 and also named one of the top 40 international development innovators.  The company has multiple offices in the U.S. and program offices in nearly 40 countries. www.abtassociates.com
 

Contact:

Caroline Broder

301-347-5792