As a senior advisor at GHV, Rachel Wood works with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on policy, advocacy, and communications for global health innovations. In this role, she manages projects in support of health product research, development, introduction, and scale to maximize the impact of health investments.
Rachel Wood is a strategic leader with 14 years of experience in improving health outcomes through policy change and market-based solutions. She has extensive experience in multilateral negotiations and health diplomacy, as well as in reproductive, maternal, and child health products and services.
Previously, Rachel worked for USAID’s Center for Innovation and Impact where she oversaw health investments streamlining pathways to launch and scale innovations. Before that, Rachel was a U.S. presidential management fellow in the Office of Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she represented the U.S. Government in negotiations at the World Health Organization.
Rachel holds a MPP from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and a BA from the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington in Seattle. She currently lives in California. When not writing her bio, Rachel likes to travel, hike with her family, eat sweets, and take photos, ideally all at the same time.
Areas of Expertise:
• Global health innovation
• Market access and product introduction strategies
• Multilateral diplomacy and negotiations
• Reproductive, maternal, child, and newborn health and family planning
• Strategic planning
• Private sector engagement