Partnering in a pandemic: 

Amruta Byatnal is an Associate Editor at Devex. She reports on global health and human rights, with a special focus on the politics of international food policy. Previously, she worked for News Deeply and The Hindu. She is a graduate of Cornell University where she studied international development.

Salome Maswime is an Associate Professor and the Head of the Global Surgery at the University of Cape Town, an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, and the President of the South African Clinician Scientists Society. She was the Discovery MGH research fellow in 2018 at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and a former lecturer at the Wits University. Salome is from Limpopo province, South Africa. After qualifying as a medical doctor at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Maswime completed a Fellowship and a Masters in Medicine degree in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and a PhD in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She has worked in various hospitals in South Africa, including the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg for approximately 10 years.
She is recognized as a global surgery expert, because of her research contributions on caesarean sections. She is an advocate for women’s health rights, and equity in surgical and maternal care. She is an advisor and consultant to several institutions, including the World Health Organization. She has received numerous awards for her tenacity and commitment to maternal health, and for ongoing research in maternal health.

Dr. Brey has worked in senior leadership positions where his core role was that of change agent and turnaround specialist. Currently he is the TB program lead in South Africa for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, part of Global Health team. During the COVID response he provided direct technical support to government departments in restoring service delivery and planning for recovery of key programs. He previously served as the Acting General Manager of the South Africa Medical Association; process analyst for the Western Cape Department of Health; as internal consultant to the Deanery of the faculty of Health Sciences UCT; and has been involved with consulting to the National Departments of Health and Higher Education Ministries. His expertise centres on improving efficiency and quality, and leveraging innovation to drive patient centred approaches.

Dr. Peter Donkor, is a Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon and a member of Smile Train’s African Medical Advisory Council and Global Medical Advisory Board. He has been a Smile Train partner since 2003 and has over 25 years of experience in providing comprehensive cleft care. Professor Donkor serves as the Director of the Cleft/Craniofacial Clinic at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. He will be leading the effort to establish KATH as a Smile Train Cleft Leadership Center in Ghana. He is the Coordinator of the Central Office of Grants and Research at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi Ghana. Dr. Donkor is also is the Vice-President of the West African College of Surgeons and President of the Ghana Cleft Foundation. He has served as the Foundation President for the Pan African Association for Cleft Lip and Palate (PAACLIP) and partnered with Seattle Children’s Hospital to establish the PACT initiative for advancing cleft team care in Africa. Professor Donkor’s research interests include cleft lip and palate, head and neck surgery, global health, medical/surgical education, and injury control. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications to his credit.

Mrs. Nkeiruka (NK) is based in Lagos, Nigeria. Under her leadership and direction, the Smile Train programs have experienced exponential growth, increasing access to cleft care in 23 countries across West and Central Africa. Through dedicated advocacy, NK has built a network of key community influencers, including First Ladies, to help spread awareness and improve the quality of life of patients with clefts and, ultimately, build stronger communities. She has worked to develop local capacity and elevate expertise in cleft care by nurturing partnerships with key professional bodies in the region like the West African College of Surgeons (WACS).

Susannah Schaefer is Executive Vice Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer of Smile Train, an international organization focused on empowering local medical professionals to provide free cleft lip and/or palate surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally.
Susannah joined Smile Train in February 2013, after serving as a member of the organization’s Board for over ten years. In her role as CEO, she leads Smile Train’s vision to expand access to healthcare and increase local capacity in countries in which Smile Train helps children. During her time as CEO, Susannah led an organizational rebrand, seeded funding for hundreds of thousands of new smiles, expanded cleft surgical training and education programs throughout the world and helped to establish organizational partnerships in Haiti and Rwanda. In addition, Susannah led the team in developing Smile Train’s ground-breaking Virtual Surgery Simulator, further accelerating cleft surgical training and enhancing the organization’s “teach a man to fish” model.