Miriam Chickering builds globally scaled education solutions in healthcare and science education. An executive with over ten years of experience, she and her teams create synergy and opportunity for learners everywhere. Ms. Chickering, a transformative leader, specializes in team building, strategic partnerships, nourishing volunteer networks, and managing costs. Ms. Chickering indulges her curiosity and love of learning by bringing experts together for innovation and collaboration. She enjoys participating in think tanks, recently, on K-12 education, which resulted in STEPS, a project in primary STEM curriculum funded by IDRC and occurring now across four school systems and three countries providing materials to 10,000 primary school students.
Dr. Bianco, a cardiologist and expert on Tobacco Control Policies and Tobacco Cessation Treatment with a Masters in Addiction, directs the ATHP. For over 25 years, he has significantly contributed to the development of Uruguay's and Latin America's tobacco treatment. Dr. Bianco was the Regional Coordinator for the Americas of the Framework Convention Alliance (now, Global Alliance for Tobacco Control), and a PAHO and WHO consultant which underscores his commitment to global addiction training. His regional and global contributions and leadership roles have equipped him to enhance ATHP's mission. Dr. Bianco aims to support developing countries in building capacities for tobacco and alcohol control, expand ATHP's training to address various addictions, and reduce global educational disparities through innovative initiatives.
Dr. Valeria Reynolds is a Preventive Medicine and Public Health Physician, currently serving as Hospital Epidemiologist at Hospital Virgen de la Luz in Cuenca, Spain. She also leads regional initiatives to implement evidence-based healthcare practices through the Castilla-La Mancha Health Service, focusing on quality assurance, patient safety, and vaccination consults for at-risk populations. With a Master’s in Public Health and a medical degree from Bolivia, Dr. Reynolds is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Health, Social, and Physical Activity Research, combining academic excellence with hands-on expertise to address global public health challenges.
Since 2020, Dr. Reynolds has been an integral part of NextGenU.org, where she now serves as the Academic Director of PHU and Public Health. In this role, she utilizes her instructional design expertise to advance accessible medical education, particularly for students in low- and middle-income countries. A published researcher and advocate for healthcare improvement, she is dedicated to bridging gaps in public health education and practice worldwide.
Dr. Peterson advises Public Health U at NextGenU.org, focusing on advancing public health education. She has served in key roles, including Assistant Administrator at USAID, State Health Commissioner for Virginia, and Vice-Dean at Ponce Health Sciences University, leading health policy, emergency response, and curriculum development. At World Vision International and Americares, she expanded health programs across 32 countries, emphasizing chronic diseases and mental health. In her advisory role, she contributed to updates for the Ph.D. in Global Health and the launch of a Master of Education for Health Professionals, supporting global public health education.
Dr. Johnson has worked in emergency and disaster medicine, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian response, coordination and health sector capacity building throughout the world. Her research has focused on genocide, child combatants, sexual gender-based violence and conflict-related health, mental health and psychosocial support. She has published works across the emergency management cycle in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings including Humanitarian U’s Assessment of the Impact of eLearning on Humanitarian Aid work (2019), UNFPA’s State of the World Population Report (2015), Global Humanitarian Medicine and Disaster Relief in Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine (2015) and Médecins Sans Frontiers book on Professionalizing Humanitarian Action (2012).
email: info@nextgenu.org
NextGenU.org offers free courses and certificates, covering curricula across the health sciences, making these materials openly available to learners, teachers, and institutions. NextGenU.org partners with learning institutions to build capacity in public health, medicine, nursing, humanitarian response, primary STEM, community health, and addiction medicine.