BOARD MEMBERS
Current Board Members: 2022-2024

Dr. Adam is a co-founder of Africa Consortium for Quality Improvement Research in Frontline Healthcare (ACQUIRE). She trained as a pediatrician and has been working in medical education and public health based at AIC Kijabe Hospital, Kenya, since 2011, where she is Head of Research and the Director of the Kijabe Maternal Newborn Community Health Project.
She completed her medical school and pediatric residency training at the University of Arizona as well as her PhD in Psychology, with a focus in Program Evaluation and Research Methods, with Lee Sechrest, PhD. Her ongoing interest in public health in developing countries was fueled in 2007-2008 when she spent a year in Kenya courtesy of a Fulbright Research Award in HIV prevention and the experience resulted in her relocating to Kenya. She has published work in the fields of judgment and decision making, pediatrics, bioethics, and public health and is a Clinical Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Vanderbilt Institute of Global Health.
Her current research focus is on quality improvement and her work at the front line of community engagement examines the use of human centered design in building community-based improvement strategies. She has also published work on developing rapid cycle quality improvement processes to support employee well-being during COVID.
Dr. Adam served with the American Academy of Pediatrics as member and chair of the Section of Bioethics. She has written on multiple topics in the field of Bioethics including The American Academy of Pediatrics Case Based Teaching Guides. She has been a fellow of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity Bioethics since 2002.


Dr Okutoyi is a clinician and the head of department for Quality of Care at Kenyatta National hospital. She has participated in quality of health care learning exchange and hosted neighboring county hospitals at KNH for quality and safety symposium. In addition, she is a member of the TWG on quality and standards with the MOH, in the steering committee for the QOC Quality of care for maternal health. Independent maternal Health expert at the Grant selection committee for county innovative challenge fund (CICF) DFID 2017-2019. She is the inaugural president for the Society of Quality health care Kenya (SQHK).

Dr. Fielder has served as a medical missionary to Africa for almost 20 years. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Chemistry from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, in 1999, he earned his Doctor of Medical degree (MD) from The John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., in 2002.
Dr. Fielder was a physician at AIC Kijabe Hospital in Kenya from 2002 to 2006, overseeing a US government-funded HIV program for nearly 2,000 patients. He served as a consultant physician at the Partners in Hope Medical Center in Lilongwe, Malawi (Africa), from 2009 to 2014. His handbook, Tuberculosis in the Era of HIV, has been used widely in several African countries.
In 2010, Dr. Fielder co-founded African Mission Healthcare (AMH) with the investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Mark Gerson, a college friend, to support the work of mission hospitals across Africa. Dr. Fielder serves as chief executive of AMH, which since its inception has provided financial support totaling more than $26 million and expertise to more than 40 hospital partners in 18 African countries.
Dr. Fielder and his wife, Amanda, a social worker, have three children.

Dr. Pete Halestrap is a family medicine physician from the UK, serving in Kijabe Hospital since 2012 under mission agency AIM. Dr. Halestrap was co-creator of the Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Clinical Officer training program, faculty for the Kabarak Family Medicine Residency program, serves on the Kijabe Hospital Internal Review Board for research, has served as director of Outpatient Department.

Ruthpearl is a strategic communicator with 15 years of hands-on expertise in building effective co-production. She has deployed her skills in over 15 countries across Africa and globally. Ruthpearl has led senior-level multisectoral policy efforts geared towards using evidence to influence policy and practice. She brings expertise in the application of a wide variety of innovative knowledge management technologies to spur social and behavioural change. Committed to building the practice of factual and inspiring development communications Ruthpearl launched and convenes a group of DevComm practitioners in Nairobi that meet once a month to plot new ways of sharing science driven messages effectively. The question of why and how we communicate – data, science, research, knowledge or simply new learning – remains a subject that she enjoys deconstructing wherever she goes.

Dr. Sigilai is a Senior Medical Specialist with 22 years of experience in Diabetes and Endocrinology. He is a holder of MBChB, MMed (Internal Medicine) from the UON; Chairman of the KNH Medicines and Therapeutics Committee, Kenya Association of Physicians, and Kenya Diabetes Study Group.
He has dedicated a lot of his time to providing care to diabetes patients over the years.
His main responsibilities include formulating, implementing, and reviewing health policies, regulations, standards, guidelines, and protocols providing clinical care, general/community diagnosis, and treatment as well as rehabilitation of patients. He is also charged with undertaking medical examinations, conduct disease prevention, surveillance, and control, and provide emergency response and clinical care services during disasters.
Founding Board: 2020-2022

Dr. Adam is a co-founder of Africa Consortium for Quality Improvement Research in Frontline Healthcare (ACQUIRE). She trained as a pediatrician and has been working in medical education and public health based at AIC Kijabe Hospital, Kenya, since 2011, where she is Head of Research and the Director of the Kijabe Maternal Newborn Community Health Project.
She completed her medical school and pediatric residency training at the University of Arizona as well as her PhD in Psychology, with a focus in Program Evaluation and Research Methods, with Lee Sechrest, PhD. Her ongoing interest in public health in developing countries was fueled in 2007-2008 when she spent a year in Kenya courtesy of a Fulbright Research Award in HIV prevention and the experience resulted in her relocating to Kenya. She has published work in the fields of judgment and decision making, pediatrics, bioethics, and public health and is a Clinical Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Vanderbilt Institute of Global Health.
Her current research focus is on quality improvement and her work at the front line of community engagement examines the use of human centered design in building community-based improvement strategies. She has also published work on developing rapid cycle quality improvement processes to support employee well-being during COVID.
Dr. Adam served with the American Academy of Pediatrics as member and chair of the Section of Bioethics. She has written on multiple topics in the field of Bioethics including The American Academy of Pediatrics Case Based Teaching Guides. She has been a fellow of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity Bioethics since 2002.




Dr. Joe Muchekehu has over 40 years’ experience in Accounting, Auditing, Consulting, and Financial Management Services and has been instrumental in the development of the Accountancy Profession in East Africa has been a past chairman of ICPAK council, the founder Chairman and Trustee of KCA University. He served in IFAC Ethics Committee and was the first Country representative at the International Assembly of Chartered Certified Accountants. He was a fellow of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (UK), a Certified Public Secretary of Kenya and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. In the past he was Council Chairman at Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya. Dr. Muchekehu on the board of the Total and is the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board.

Dr. Pete Halestrap is a family medicine physician from the UK, serving in Kijabe Hospital since 2012 under mission agency AIM. Dr. Halestrap was co-creator of the Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Clinical Officer training program, faculty for the Kabarak Family Medicine Residency program, serves on the Kijabe Hospital Internal Review Board for research, has served as director of Outpatient Department.

Dr. Nelson Gitonga is a leading health professional in Kenya and EA with over 23 years’ experience. He is the founder and CEO of Insight Health Advisors, a health management advisory firm. His client base is diverse, ranging from private health sector companies to development partners such as USAID, IFC/WB, KfW, DFID and consulting/development firms seeking African expertise (Pharmaccess, Abt Associates, FHI 360, QED GH-Tech, ECORYS & Deloitte). His practice covers health systems strengthening, PPP’s, health policy/ regulatory reforms, demand-side healthcare financing (including public and private health insurance, vouchers and micro-insurance) and health infrastructure & technology. Drawing from his knowledge, experience and vast networks in the health sector, he also provides advisory services to various entities seeking to invest in the health sector in EA.
In the past 15 years he has been involved in efforts to bring together the public and private health sectors to address health systems and service delivery gaps in Eastern and Southern Africa. He has contributed in the design of various Healthcare Financing reforms in EA. He supports capacity development in health management and has been a part-time lecturer at the Strathmore Business School and University of Nairobi UNITID program where he has facilitated courses such as managing healthcare businesses, systems thinking, health insurance and quality. Working with GE Healthcare EA and various MOH’s in the region he has contributed in the development of healthcare infrastructure & technology.
Dr. Gitonga started his career in clinical practice in both public and private health sector for 9 years before transitioning to healthcare management. He holds an MBChB from the University of Nairobi, PG Diplomas in Health Systems Management from the University of London, Galilee International Management Institute (Israel) and National Insurance Academy (India). He is an alumnus of the IESE/SBS AMP Program.




From September 2004 to March 2006, he served as Program Officer of the Secretariat for Institutional Support for Economic Research in Africa (SISERA) in Dakar. He has extensive experience in designing, implementing and evaluating agricultural research and development projects on a regional scale in Central and West Africa. He has a strong interest in research and development activities related to agricultural development, agricultural products market innovations and the development of competitive agro-industries, poverty analysis and microfinance.