Gillian has a 25-year career that spans private and corporate philanthropy, academia, the private sector, and international development. She is currently adjunct faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health, and prior to this was the Senior Vice President, Global Public Health, and Scientific Affairs at Colgate Palmolive where she led its largest corporate social responsibility investment.
She also served as the health industry specialist in the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, with direct responsibility for the state’s economic diversification and growth through health sector investments. Gillian has held executive roles in philanthropy including the position of vice president of the Aetna Foundation, where she led the foundation’s strategic planning and programs in the US and abroad, and at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation where she led evaluation, impact, and research for health programs. Her strong expertise in international development is seen by her tenure within the World Health Organization, where she was responsible for strengthening health systems in twenty low and middle-income countries, and the CARICOM region.
Gillian has taught at the Harvard School of Public Health, the City University of New York, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of the West Indies, Mona, School of Management and Business. She has conducted research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Channing Laboratory in Boston. She holds a doctorate in public health from Harvard University, a master’s in public health from the University of Michigan, a doctorate in dental surgery from the University of Detroit Mercy and completed her residency at New York Hospital. Her undergraduate degree was earned at the University of the West Indies.
