Get to know
CGHI Team
Meet the Leadership Team
Meet the leadership team — a dedicated duo guiding CGHI’s vision, strengthening the global community of young professionals across 6 continents, and championing meaningful, youth-driven impact toward a more equitable future.
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CGHI PresidentCharli Sitong Zhang is the President and Co-Founder of CGHI, where she provides strategic leadership across the organization’s global programs, partnerships, and advocacy work. She leads a multinational team across 6 continents advancing health equity through youth-driven innovation, policy engagement, and community-centered solutions.
As Founder and President, Charli guides CGHI’s strategy, governance, and international collaborations, building partnerships globally with governments, researchers, and civil society. Her leadership focuses on elevating Global South perspectives and embedding youth voices in global health decision-making.
Having lived and worked across Europe, Africa, and Asia, Charli brings a deeply multicultural analytical lens to her work. Her cross-continental experience strengthens her commitment to building bridges across cultures, fostering inclusive collaboration, and ensuring that communities meaningfully shape the solutions designed for them.
She holds an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cape Town and a BA from Maastricht University.
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CGHI Vice PresidentJelena Brankovic is the Vice President of CGHI, where she oversees organizational development, shapes community engagement efforts, and supports the growth of CGHI’s global network of young professionals. She works closely with teams across 40+ countries and 6 continents to strengthen CGHI’s programs, communication initiatives, and commitment to health equity.
Her interest in global health emerged during her undergraduate pharmacy studies, where early exposure to public health challenges sparked her dedication to improving health literacy and equitable access to healthcare. Over the past five years, she has built international experience in project coordination, research, leadership, and strategic communication within the global health landscape.
As the Vice President, Jelena focuses on strengthening internal systems, cultivating partnerships, and fostering a collaborative environment where youth voices can meaningfully contribute to global health discussions. Her particular passions include health literacy, inclusive communication, and the intersection of pharmaceutical sciences with community health.
With experience working across different cultural settings, she brings a thoughtful and people-centered approach to her leadership—helping bridge perspectives and support initiatives that uplift communities and young professionals worldwide.
She holds an MPharm degree from University of Belgrade – Faculty of Pharmacy and is currently pursuing a PhD focused on vaccination health literacy.
Meet the Advisors
Meet the advisors — a dedicated team guiding CGHI’s vision, strengthening the global community of young professionals across 6 continents, and championing meaningful, youth-driven impact toward a more equitable future.
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CGHI AdvisorDr. Zacarías is the Principal Mentor, Program Coordinator, and a Founding Member of MultiPOD Mentoring
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CGHI AdvisorMolly Fitzgerald is a global health collaborator, creative, social science researcher and advocate for human rights based inclusive, equity-oriented health systems and communities.
Molly’s Master’s and Doctoral training and research in public health, and her direct experience working with communities has focused on social determinants of health. She continues to be interested in learning and connecting other perspectives.
She currently engages in University Global and Community Health teaching, mentoring, research and program design geared towards improved sexual and reproductive health and community health.
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CGHI Advisory Board MemberMahdi Abdelwahab, MSc, MBBCh, is a Health Systems Strengthening Advisor at KIT, specializing in the effective adoption and scaling of innovations like digital health and AI in healthcare. He holds a Bachelor in Medicine and Surgery, an MSc in International Health (VU), and an MSc in Health Economics, Policy, and Management from the London School of Economics, complemented by professional diplomas in Healthcare Management and Higher Education Teaching.
Mahdi’s work centers on a systems-wide approach to innovation, addressing governance, policy, and finance challenges to foster sustainable transformation. He focuses on strategic health system integration, advising on health workforce development, the reorientation of care to primary and community settings, and the implementation of sustainable and innovative financing models.
Currently, Mahdi is actively engaged with a diverse range of stakeholders to design, evaluate, and scale up innovations for seamless integration into health systems, ultimately strengthening them from within.
Meet the Steering Group
CGHI is a global, youth-led nonprofit bringing together a diverse, multidisciplinary community of 100+ young professionals and emerging leaders from across 40+ countries and 6 continents.
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Charli S. Zhang
PRESIDENT
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Jelena Brankovic
VICE PRESIDENT
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Mutile Mwongo
COMMUNITY TEAM LEAD
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Eniola Z. Folarin
COMMUNITY OFFICER
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Matthew Kedir
CGHI X EMORY CHAIR
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Carme Aguilar
OPERATIONS OFFICER
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Shikin Xu
SOCIAL MEDIA OFFICER
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Naomi June
FUNDRAISING OFFICER
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Mohamed Babiker Musa
COMMUNITY OFFICER
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Jovana Ilkic
ACTION TANK ADVISOR
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Irene Blom
ALUMNI ADVISOR
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Gabriela Carolus
ALUMNI ADVISOR
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Cale Lawlor
ALUMNI ADVISOR
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Julia Selea
ALUMNI ADVISOR
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Tulsi Modi
ALUMNI ADVISOR
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Ruxandra Oroviceanu
ALUMNI ADVISOR
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Christos Tsagkaris
COMMUNITY OFFICER
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Mahdi Abdelwahab
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
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Molly Fitzgerald
CGHI ADVISOR
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Duaa Kambal
COMMUNITY OFFICER
Meet the Interns
CGHI is a global, youth-led nonprofit bringing together a diverse, multidisciplinary community of 100+ young professionals and emerging leaders from across 40+ countries and 6 continents.
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Adrian Lopez
INTERN
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Flavia Tripon
INTERN
Meet the World Health Summit Delegates
CGHI is a global, youth-led nonprofit bringing together a diverse, multidisciplinary community of 100+ young professionals and emerging leaders from across 40+ countries and 6 continents.
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Jelena Branković
Serbia
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Daniel Cherkos
Ethiopia
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Andema Victoire Vunanga
Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Anthony Waked
Lebanon
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Katarina Ritzenthaler
South Africa
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Solomon G. Asfaha
Eritrea
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Delaney Brewer
USA
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Pratik Kijul
Nepal
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Triniti Cato Goldsmith
Jamaica/Trinidad & Tobago
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Hondi Mushagasha
Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Mihailo Paunović
Serbia
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Eniola Z. Folarin
Nigeria
Current Members
Charli Sitong Zhang (China/South Africa)
Jelena Brankovic (Serbia)
Mutile Mwongo (Kenya)
Jovana Ilkic (Serbia)
Irene Blom (Sweden)
Cale Lawlor (Australia)
Gabriela Carolus (South Africa)
Julia Selea (Germany)
Ruxandra Oroviceanu (Romania/The Netherlands)
Tulsi Modi (USA)
Mohamed Babiker Musa (Sudan)
Eniola Folarin (Nigeria)
Triniti Goldmiths (USA/Jamaica)
Odunayo Olaitan (Nigeria)
Aysha Akhtar (Canada)
Naomi June (Kenya/Rwanda)
Lauren Fynn (South Africa)
Welile Dube (South Africa)
Abissa Sano (France/Guinea Bissau)
Taona Chirumarara (Zimbabwe)
Shikin Xinyi Xu (China/Argentina)
Anna Shajee (Canada)
Sara Shajee (Canada)
Ibironke Ajayi (Nigeria/USA)
Adesewa Dotun-Soyege (Nigeria/South Africa)
Adrian Lopez (USA)
Matthew Kedir (USA)
Carme Aguilar (Germany)
Christos Tsagkaris (Switzerland)
Molly Fitzgerald (USA)
Duaa Kambal (UAE)
Mahdi Abdelwahab (Netherlands)
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