Joelle Tanguy

Joelle Tanguy joined the Executive Team of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in 2018 as Director of External Affairs. She also serves as executive lead for Diversity, Equity and for the organization’s Climate initiative recognizing innovation for neglected tropical diseases as a cornerstone of climate adaptation.

Joelle is building on her professional experiences as Managing Director at GAVI (the Vaccine Alliance), Under-Secretary-General at the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and, more recently, Director of Partnerships and Advocacy at UN Women.

Joelle was part of the founding team of DNDi, in her capacity as US Executive Director of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and has served on the Board of Directors of DNDi North America. She also established another Product Development Partnership, the TB Alliance, as its founding Director of External Affairs and Public Policy.

Joelle received her MBA from France’s HEC MBA in a joint programme with Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business from where she joined Silicon Valley technology firms. On a sabbatical from the Silicon Valley, she volunteered for Médecins Sans Frontières in Uganda, Somalia, the Balkans, and the Caucasus, leading humanitarian missions.

Joelle has led humanitarian and “access to health” policy campaigns; led and advised humanitarian initiatives; developed public-private partnerships; scaled up MSF fundraising scope; successfully orchestrated GAVI’s first major refinancing effort (US$ 4.3 billion); guided Fortune 500 firms to engage in support of people living with HIV/AIDS; served as focal point for the private sector on the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Board of Directors; and advised Human Rights Watch and private foundations. Joelle now serves on the board of the Access to Medicine Index Foundation