International Advisory Board

Children’s HeartLink's International Advisory Board consists of experts in health care, public affairs and international development who provide Children’s HeartLink expertise and consultation in areas such as strategic planning, capacity building, international relations, and medical diplomacy.

The advisory board members are listed below. Complete biographies, including photos, can be downloaded here.

Download the press release announcing the addition of Drs. Castañeda and Mayosi.

Download the press announcement regarding the formation of our International Advisory Board.

International Advisory Board Members

Tommy Thompson, Co-Chair - Former Secretary of Health and Human Services and four-term Governor of Wisconsin, Tommy Thompson is a partner at the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

Thomas Daschle, Co-Chair – Former U.S. House of Representatives member and U.S. Senator from South Dakota, Senator Daschle became the only individual to serve twice as both Senate Majority and Minority Leader. Currently, Senator Daschle is a Senior Policy Advisor to the law firm of DLA Piper.

J. Brian Atwood - Brian Atwood is the Chair of the Development Assistance Committee. From 2002 until 2010 he served as Dean of the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and was Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from 1993 to 1999.

Aldo Castañeda, MD, PhD - Dr. Castañeda is the founder of the Pediatric Cardiac Surgical Unit of Guatemala and is pro­fessor emeritus of surgery at Harvard Medical School. After receiving his training and being on the staff of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota from 1958 through 1971, Dr. Castañeda was recruited to Children’s Hospital Boston and served for 20 years as chief of cardiovascular surgery and surgeon-in-chief. Dr. Castañeda received the World Heart Foundation Humanitarian Award in 2004, and in 2006, Dr. Castañeda was inducted into the Pediatric Cardiology Hall of Fame.

Joseph A. Dearani, MD - Dr. Dearani is a congenital heart surgeon, Professor of Surgery, and Chair of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. He also serves as the Medical Director for Children’s HeartLink.

Kathy Jenkins, MD, MPH - Dr. Jenkins is currently a Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and holds the Kobren Family Chair for Patient Safety and Quality. She is a faculty member in the Department of Cardiology and serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Safety and Quality Officer at Children's Hospital Boston.

Bongani Mayosi, MD, PhD - Dr. Mayosi is a researcher, teacher and clinician in internal medicine and cardiology who currently serves as the 7th Professor and Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town and Chief Physician at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. Dr. Mayosi has published widely in both local and international journals and books on various topics related to cardiovascular medicine. His academic work focuses on heart diseases of the poor, including cardiomyopathy, tuberculous pericarditis, and rheumatic fever.

Richard Smith, MD - Richard Smith served as chief executive of UnitedHealth Europe, a subsidiary of the UnitedHealth Group that works with public health systems in Europe. He is currently director of the UnitedHealth Chronic Disease Initiative, a program with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute that has created 11 centers in low and middle income countries that work to counter chronic disease.

Daniel B. Wright, PhD - Dr. Wright served at the U.S. Treasury Department as Managing Director for China and the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) where he provided strategic counsel to the Secretary of Treasury.  Dr. Wright was also formerly Senior Vice President and China practice head of the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm based in Washington, DC. He is founder, President, and CEO of GreenPoint Group, using his 26 years of China experience to build bridges between people, resources, and public policy.