Anna Winters Email & Phone Number

Missoula, Mt, Us

Following completion of my doctorate and fellowship at the US CDC, I co-founded a small consultancy that originally focused on domestic health data. Soon my passion pulled me closer to global health and this two person consultancy firm grew into Akros, a sizable organization providing strategic guidance and implementation support to Ministries of Health across southern and eastern Africa and touching Asia and Latin America. Our vision at Akros is progressive, impact-orientated, forward-looking and passionate -- we are a vibrant team of health technicians, epidemiologists, on the ground program managers and innovators who are insistent on making real-life impact by ensuring health is available to everyone. At Akros, we have built solid relationships in the countries we work in. Our boots on the ground approach keeps our innovation grounded in the real world. We understand how to capture and use data effectively to drive health impact to even the most far-flung communities.At Akros, we have been operating on all cylinders for over 12 years to keep our innovation strong, while also relevant. The programmatic processes and procedures we have built in Akros are weathering the test of time and scaled growth. We’ve trained up solid, capable leads who are effectively carrying forward our programs. We are constantly innovating and envisioning the next growth area all with an eye toward bigger, better and more precise health impact.

Life-saving disease interventions, although commonly available, often do not get to all who need them -- many countries across Africa are extremely rural, lacking consistent roadways, maps or even the knowledge of the total population and where they live. This situation has meant that on-the-ground program managers have often not had the tools like maps to visualize where health interventions like malaria bednets or life-saving drugs are needed in order to protect people from deadly diseases. Instead field staff and their managers are often operating in the dark without a means to plan where interventions should be distributed, and monitor if they reach their intended recipients. In 2009, Akros worked with the Government of Zambia to get health interventions to all -- even those at the ‘very last mile’. We combined our teams knowledge of epidemiology and GIS as well as Akros’ growing innovation arm to provide program managers with in-field maps. We collaborated with others and achieved creation of a platform that has now become an open-source digital global good called Reveal. Reveal is a cutting edge spatial intelligence tool which is creating a paradigm shift in how to drive health impact through digital mapping and field management strategies. Through my current position as the Reveal Team Lead, I have worked to hone the direction for the platform and have linked with software developers both inside and outside of Akros, as well as implementation experts at Akros and the countries we work in to drive uptake and delivery of the tool. We have convened a vibrant community through the ‘Reveal Forum’ which consists of government stakeholders, partners and donors who collectively drive the progress of the tool, inputting into the roadmap for the platform. I have spearheaded taking Reveal and the field of spatial intelligence to international attention through speaking engagements and panel discussions across multiple global channels.

Missoula, Montana

Global public health and the use of data to create health impact in rural Africa has the power to make drastic, sweeping change. Our world requires that more passionate, skilled practitioners bring the power of science to the field in tangible, context-fitting ways.Through professorship at UM’s School of Public and Community Health, I have entered a new stage of my career -- towards advocating and inspiring others to pour their lives into impacting global health. Throughout my career, I have held space between academic research and on the ground reality of those in developing countries. This unique experience in both worlds has provided me a practical perspective of how to drive and shape public health interventions in ways that tangibly provide impact. Thus, as I round the corner towards mid-career I have shifted intentions to more mentoring of students and early career professionals. This intentional shift has led to my current professorship at the University of Montana (UM), School of Public and Community Health. Through collaboration with UM and others, I am facilitating exchange of knowledge, skills and learning between academia and ‘boots on the ground’ work which Akros conducts in the Global South.

Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

At the CDC and AIDL I had the opportunity to link my academic training (during my PhD program) with active public health work both domestically and internationally. During this time, I gained a better understanding of how public health in governments functions, and was deployed to Yucatan, Mexico to support dengue surveillance programs. I also designed and conducted an entomological and spatial modeling study during the 2008 outbreak of West Nile virus in Colorado, one of the largest outbreaks of this vector borne disease in the United States. Outcomes included identification of predictive factors for early detection of dengue and West Nile virus disease in the USA and Mexico, as well as plague in Uganda.My time at CDC and AIDL honed my interest in operational public health and confirmed that my path did not lie in academia, per-se but rather in the application of science in operational, real-life settings in developing countries. This period was foundational for my career and life-path particularly as it triggered my ambitions and hope for greater public health impact, which directed my forward trajectory to eventually co-found Akros.

Cheyenne, Wyoming Area

I began my position at the Wyoming Department of Health during some of the most challenging times related to Methamphetamine abuse. Wyoming consistently reported some of the highest rates of addiction and death associated with Meth. I had the opportunity to work closely with the WyDOH, State Legislature and Governor’s Board to plan and lead the Methamphetamine Prevention Plan for the State of Wyoming. I traveled continuously to speak to action groups, educate the legislature and elected bodies, and consistently was asked to translate immense degrees of data into hard-hitting, packaged talking points for government leaders. I developed and worked with a highly skilled team to execute a statewide behavioral change communication social marketing campaign, which was lauded as one of the most impactful methamphetamine campaigns to date. I also was responsible for allocation of US $2 million prevention funding to county programs, requiring negotiation and oversight.

Fort Myers, Florida Area

During this one year research fellowship I lived and volunteered on an active educational and demonstration farm in Fort Myers Florida. I worked alongside international aid workers, missionaries and development personnel who came to ECHO to educate themselves on sustainable agriculture practices for application in the global south. My particular role was as a trainer and research technician. When I arrived, the principal investigator of the laboratory had a vision to cultivate Agaricus blazei, a mushroom known for its uniquely high immune boosting attributes, known for positive outcomes for immunocompromised HIV patients. Over time I worked to build up the laboratory capacity, and learned both from the PI and individual study, sterile cultivation practices for spawning and cultivating these mushrooms. I traveled around Florida to identify and gather the appropriate growing medium, worked in the laboratory to cultivate the mushroom spawn, and reared and harvested A. blazei mushroom as well as two other species. During this time I also documented low-technology processes to cultivate these mushrooms, for testing in partner laboratories in the global south.

Phd, Epidemiology

Fellow, Arthopod-borne Infectious Disease Laboratory- Colorado State University, 2005-2008. Dissertation Title: "Spatial analyses.

Master Of Science (Ms), Epidemiology

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Biology & Chemistry

Activities and Societies: Seattle Pacific Crew Rowing Team