The Team

As a Co-founder and President of SsahiPath, Dr. Tidiane plays a key role in the planning and operations implementation of the organization’s coordinated care model throughout all SsahiPath care centers. He brings a wealth of knowledge to the team and speaks from an anatomical laboratory professional perspective, which makes him an essential component to the Executive Management Team.
Erick guides SsahiPath in harnessing the power of data, technology, and innovation to create a modern and effective operation that works to improve the health of our communities. SsahiPath initiatives are rooted in three key areas: empower internal innovation, leverage external talent and creativity, and build collaborative communities to tackle cross-cutting issues of strategic importance. As CTO, Erick and his team guide SsahiPath long-term technology strategy to achieve optimal levels of performance and product innovation for our communities.

Dr. Tidiane has an advance Clinical Anatomy Degree from Creighton University, a Master in Healthcare Administration, and Doctorate in Organizational and Industrial Psychology. He is ASCP Board Certified in Surgical Pathology (PA), and his specialties include soft tissue tumors and gastrointestinal Pathology.

As Vice President and Chief of Women's Health Services for SsahiPath, Dr. Coleman is responsible for the overall performance and leadership of Department of Women's Health Services. Dr Coleman oversees the training of medical staff and implementation of contemporaneous health screening, and diagnosis of pathologies that affect women. She will advocate for and ensure patients receive cutting edge and competitive surgical and medical treatment of gynecologic cancers and other debilitating diseases.

Dr. Coleman joins the team with eight years experience in women’s health, obstetrics and gynecology. Having worked in various professional practice models, she has great insight into the makeup a cohesive, efficient and proficient professional workforce. Her focus is will always be on delivery of universal, compassionate, expedited and outstanding services to all.

Dr Coleman received her medical education from Medical College of Virginia, (Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine) and went on to residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sinai Hospital, Baltimore. Dr Coleman hold board certification from the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a member of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist and American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists. She will provide minimally invasive surgical intervention for gynecologic conditions and serve as a vital resource for matching patients diagnosed with breast and gynecologic malignancies with highly specialized and dedicated team of Surgical and Medical Oncologists under the Sub Saharan Health Initiative umbrella.

As the Chief Information Officer for SsahiPath, Gnagna is responsible for all technology strategy and solutions across the organization including all computerized systems, information processing equipment and software related to the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of data. She provides organization-wide direction in the areas of IT operations, customer service, policy and planning. Gnagna interacts with the executive management team to monitor and validate the organization’s compliance with its security policies. She builds, manages, and maintains a strong IT team with skills to meet rapidly changing technology landscape and deliver a results-defined strategy and annual work plans for each team.

Gnagna is an experienced Senior Consultant in Java and Content Management Systems. She is a dedicated professional with years of experience in health care, media, finance, retail, e-commerce and airline industries with many years of experience in international environments. She has worked in Stockholm, Munich, France, United Kingdom, China, Columbia and Luxembourg both as a team leader and architect in many large agile projects.

Gnagna holds a Double-major Bachelor degree in Computer Information Systems and Computer Sciences as well as a Master's degree in Computer Sciences from Suffolk University in Boston, MA.

As a Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of SsahiPath, Jacques main focus is leading operations and strategic direction, including long-term planning, development of high quality business plans, as well as ensuring trust relations with key partners and stakeholders. With more than 15 years of management experience working with the public and private sectors and participating in all stages of project development including initiation, planning and execution, Jacques will ensure the desired results are achieved and consistent with the overall strategy and mission. A visionary and transformational leader, Jacques has extensive work experience in four continents in engineering, mining, energy, infrastructure, and water/sanitation, and is a strong proponent of corporate responsibility and environmental protection.

Jacques holds a Master Degree in Chemical Engineering, from the University of Dortmund, and is a professional Engineer with certifications in project management. His core competency includes strategic planning, tactical market planning, high-stake negotiations, key partnership development, organizational Project and Risk Management.

Dr. Emungania provides leadership and management oversight to SahiPath in order to meet all performance metrics, including financial, quality/safety, patient experience and people. He works closely with the Chief Executive Officer to align the group specific performance to the overall strategic initiatives of the organization. Dr. Emungania leads the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Nursing Officer in a matrix based reporting relationship to ensure optimal daily performance of all operational areas. He advises the Chief Executive Officer on operations, facilities, policies, and regulatory performance.

Dr. Emungania is currently the lead surgeon at The North Hospital/Marseille University Hospital in Marseille, France and specializes in general and gastrointestinal surgery. Under the leadership of Professor Berdah and Dr. Emungania, The North Hospital is one of the few institutions in the south of France to perform "Gastric Bypass" procedures, a complex surgical technique that requires interdisciplinary monitoring involving surgeons, endocrinologists and dieticians.

With 17 years of experience as a lead gastrointestinal surgeon, Dr. Emungania will lead all medical operations at SsahiPath by providing medical supervision, direction and leadership for all aspects of healthcare delivery.

Dr. Emungania is a Board Certified Medical Doctor and a well-renowned surgeon with special interests and focus on digestive cancer surgery, general surgery, and bariatric surgery.

Reywen leads the overall strategy to manage the financial risk for SsahiPath. He is responsible for oversight of the organization’s accounting, budgeting, and financial planning. In addition to being a perennial member of the Ontario Society for Professional Engineers (OSPE), Reywen has more than 23 years of experience preparing Detailed Estimates for Capital Projects involving all engineering disciplines and including process design, civil, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical, instrumentation, and process control for Mining and Heavy industrial Projects. His past professional accomplishments include executive oversight in:

• The Renard Diamond for Stornoway Diamond Corporation, the biggest Diamond Processing Plant in Canada: CAPEX: over 800Millions Dollars.
• The Pueblo Viejo for Barrick Gold, the biggest Pressure Oxidation Process Plant in the world, Dominican Republic: CAPEX: over 3 Billion Dollars.
• The Toromocho Silver/Copper for Minera Peru Copper S.A, the biggest copper project in South America, Peru: CAPEX: over 3 Billion Dollars.
• The Koniambo Nickel for Falconbridge, the biggest Nickel reserve in Caledonia: CAPEX: over 3 Billion Dollars.
• The Mary River Iron ore for Baffinland iron Mines Corporation, the biggest and richest iron ore in Nunavut, Canada: CAPEX: over 3 Billion Dollars.

Reywen has Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering and a Bachelor ‘s Degree in Civil Engineering from Moscow State University. He is also PMP Certified, Member of PMI, Project Management Institute in the United States of America and active President of AACEI Toronto Chapter. Reywen is fluent in five languages including English, French, Russian, Swahili, and Kirundi.

Dr. Chockalingam is a Professor of Epidemiology, Medicine and Global Health at University of Toronto, Canada. His experience encompasses a unique combination of global health research, policy, training, and administration in addition to international leadership within the global health community. He is a co-author of the Institute of Medicine’s “Promoting Cardiovascular Health in the Developing World” a key resource documents for the UN High Level Meeting on NCD Prevention and Control, 2011. He contributed to the developments of UN Resolution 66 on NCD Prevention and Control.

His prior appointments include as Founding Director of Global Health at the following institutions: University of Toronto School of Public Health; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH); and Faculty of Health Sciences at the Simon Fraser University Vancouver, BC. He has also served as Associate Director of the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Senior Policy Advisor at the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Health Canada. He served as the Secretary General of the World Hypertension League for nine years, from 2005.

Dr. Chockalingam is passionate about global health research, particularly on NCD prevention and control in LMICs. He has established research collaborations in all six continents including China and India, . His multidisciplinary research interests, beyond cardiovascular health, include household air pollution; mental health; congruency of health, agriculture and economics; and smart villages. He has published over 175 papers; served as an editorial board member and reviewer for numerous journals. He reviewed grants for funding agencies, including CIHR, NIH and the European Commission. He has organized several national and international conferences in Canada and abroad.

Dr. Chockalingam is a fellow of American Heart Association (FAHA), American College of Cardiology (FACC) and International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences (FIACS). He has also received many prestigious awards, including the Canadian Cardiovascular Society’s Harold Segal Award of Merit (1998) and the Simon Dack Award from the Mount Sinai Medical Center, NY and ACC (2013).

Dr. Chockalingam climbed and reached the glaciers covered summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, also known as Roof of Africa (5,895 m), in Tanzania in November, 2002.

Erica is responsible for driving improvements leading to better care and clinical outcomes for our patients. Throughout her career, Erica Tidiane has held a wide range of nursing roles in academic and community settings, beginning as a front-line nurse and advancing to nurse supervisor and then into senior leadership positions with SsahiPath. Most recently, she served as nurse supervisor for Neurosurgery Intensive Care Unit at the University of New Mexico University Hospital.

Erica Tidiane has her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Clarkson College and a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is Board Certified with American Nursing Association.

Arsene will assist the CFO in managing and coordinating the work of the Finance Division comprised of Accounting, Budget and Fare Revenue, Grants, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system management.

Arsène has 17 years of planning, optimization and project management experience in the telecommunication field. He has successfully managed and coordinated international projects in Africa in different fields, including telecommunication, but also energy, infrastructure, water, sanitation, sport, social, health and safety, etc. His tremendous experience in adapting the approach of projects and programs to local realities will be essential.

Arsène holds a Master Degree in Electrical Engineer from the University of Dortmund in Germany.

As Medical Director and Chief of Radiology Services for SsahiPath, Dr. Gbeddy, is responsible for the overall leadership of the Department of Radiology and ensures the quality of medical services provided, the education and training of professional staff, and the safety and ethical conduct of employees assigned to the service line. Dr. Gbeddy serves as the primary point of accountability in the service and maximizes the efficient use of available resources. In order to accomplish this, Dr. Gbeddy is involved in providing the framework for planning, directing, coordinating, providing and improving the health care services that are responsive to community patient needs and that improve patient health outcomes within the service.

Throughout his professional career as a Radiologist, Dr. Gbeddy has continuously shown extensive knowledge and understanding of safety, imaging procedures, relevant accreditation standards including those of Joint Commission, College of American Radiologists, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He ensures that all staff radiologists and department volunteers work effectively with the administrative staff to ensure appropriate services are available when needed. Dr. Gbeddy provides diagnosis and interpretation for radiology exams which are performed in SsahiPath Diagnostic Services. He coordinates/makes work assignments as needed to improve and optimize patient care exam results.

Dr. Gbeddy completed medical school at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA and subsequently completed a year of internship at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Pennsylvania. Subsequent to pursuing a medical degree, he worked as research chemist at Merck and Co Inc where he gained valuable experience in the FDA regulatory environment.

Dr. Gbeddy went on to complete his radiology residency at Monmouth Medical Center in New Jersey and a body fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He currently works at Virtual Radiologic Inc (VRAD) and Veterans Affair Medical Center in Fayettevile, NC. Through his professional career of over 8 years which includes both diagnostic and interventional radiology, he has seen and diagnosed a wide range of pathology that has resulted in many positive patient outcomes.

As the Sr. Director of Public Health for SsahiPath, Ivana’s role is to supervise other public health professionals, technicians, and public health representatives to ensure establishments under the jurisdiction comply with sanitation standards and properly implement systems that control hazards from entering the food and water supply. She prepares and implements disaster response programs, initiates, directs, and conducts preventive medicine and communicable disease control programs, food and water safety and sanitation, directs and conducts epidemiological investigations of communicable diseases and food and water borne disease outbreaks, and making recommendations.

Her role also includes the application of epidemiological and statistical methods to identify and evaluate factors increasing disease morbidity and mortality and manages administrative aspects of communicable disease including disease detection and management control programs and developing disease vector surveillance programs.

Ivana graduated with a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cheikh Anta Diop, School of Medicine in Dakar, Senegal.

As the Director of Communication, Public Relations, and Community Outreach for SsahiPath (Central African Region), Antonia is responsible for amplifying brand awareness through the development & execution of a fully integrated public relation and communication strategy that gains positive consumer and industry media coverage for SsahiPath leadership, campaigns and affiliated partners.

In this role, she is the spokesperson for SsahiPath and the key contact for media interviews with national, regional and local media outlets. In addition, she provides added-value to Ssahipath Affiliates by creating strategy and delivering information via our social platforms to help empower the organization. She develops communication strategies, key messages, and content for integrated marketing and communications collateral, leads projects in a project management role, and coordinates with cross-functional teams.

Antonia joined SsahiPath with a wealth experience in marketing and communication budget development, advertising and promotional campaign management, and event planning. She is passionate about her work, goal oriented, energetic and highly efficient. She graduated from the Florida International University with Bachelors Degree in Mass Communication with special emphasis in Advertising and Promotion. She also holds a Masters Degree in Global and Strategic Communication with an emphasis in Advertising Promotion and Public Relations.

As the Director of Public Health Data Analyst for Ssahipath, Karl leads the tactical efforts for the development of a robust and reliable cancer registry for the sub-Saharan region. Karl provides data management support to research projects focused on the prevention of cancers and other malignant conditions such heart diseases, strokes, diabetes etc. In addition to database development/management, Karl is responsible for the development of data collection tools, performing QA/QC, exporting data, creating reports and conducting basic and complex statistical analyses mainly for cancer studies in the sub-Saharan region.

Karl graduated with a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics for the University of Nebraska in Omaha and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the Ohio State University. He is currently completing a Doctorate in Biostatistics from the University of Nebraska Medical School.

As a Community Outreach Director for SsahiPath (Province of Quebec), Francois' role is to connect, engage and educate the community about the organization and its goals. Francois will be the main point of contact for SsahiPath in the province of Quebec.

As a seasoned and results-driven sales professional with more than 11 years in sales and, most recent 8 years, as an account manager in public (including health care institutions) and private sector in Province of Quebec, Francois will use his skills, network, experience, and great personality to reach out to potential technical partners, key stakeholders, donors and other future partners.

Francois holds a Bachelor Degree in International Trade from Perier – Marseille and a diploma in Administration and Accounting from L.E.P. - St Eloy Les Mines, France. Francois is completing a Master at HEC Montreal.

Educator and Career Development Practitioner with Master of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction. Over 10 years of combined experience in career planning, job development, employment counselling, and student services. Former US intercollegiate track and field and Canadian Junior/Juvenile/Midget elite level athlete. Appreciated for strong work ethic, grace under pressure, discipline, team-oriented attitude and unflagging commitment to excellence in customer service, professionalism and presentation. Open to networking with other business professionals and connecting to people with opportunities, information, resources. Monique holds certificates from Virginia Polytechnic States University in Race and social Policy, and Non-For-Profit Organization Management.

As Executive Assistant Monique will conduct and organize daily calendar management, coordinate, manage, liaise, and maintain relationships with partners, and stakeholders. Monique will handle highly confidential and sensitive information that pertains to partners and associates, business strategy and general administration. She will help in prioritizing the workload of the CEO and the President and coordinate travel arrangements for the team.

As a Community Outreach Director for the province of Ontario in Canada Monique's role is to connect, engage, educate the community in Ontario about the mission and vision of our organization. In this capacity, her previous community outreach, and NGO management experience , as well as her network in the province of Ontario will be a great asset.