As Project Director for Global Programs, Barbara is responsible for Pangaea's role as fiscal administrator and construction manager of a joint initiative with Makerere University, Pfizer Inc, The Pfizer Foundation, and the Academic Alliance for AIDS Care and Prevention in Africa for the construction and operation of an HIV/AIDS medical training center and care facility in Kampala, Uganda. This new, state-of-the-art facility, which has been funded as part of an $11 million grant from Pfizer, will be completed in mid-2004. (For more information about the project, read "Pfizer Provides $11 Million to Build AIDS Clinic in Uganda" in the April 2003 edition of Global View.)

Prior to joining Pangaea, Barbara was Vice President for Administration and Finance at California State University, Monterey Bay. She was previously Vice President of the Marin Community Foundation and Chief Financial Officer for the Pacific Stock Exchange in San Francisco. Barbara received an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980 and her BA (high honors) from UC Santa Barbara in 1971.

Barbara feels like she was in the right place at the right time when Pangaea was formed in 2001 given both her professional experience and deep appreciation of issues relating to the AIDS epidemic. In a recent interview in her office in San Francisco after her return from a visit to the project site in Kampala, Barbara commented: "When I was approached about working for Pangaea, my thought was, 'How lucky can you get?' My whole career has focused on start-ups -- from the Marin Community Foundation to CSU Monterey Bay. I like to go into situations where things are not already set in stone -- where it's possible to build from the ground up."

Pangaea Board Member Lonnie Payne, who was previously President of the Board of Directors of SFAF, expresses respect and admiration for Barbara's contribution in the long fight against HIV/AIDS: "I'm amazed at Barbara's continuing compassion and commitment to her advocacy work. I think of her as an AIDS survivor -- other people would have burnt out long ago, but she's still fighting to remove barriers to treatment and making a difference in the lives of people with AIDS. As a board member, Barbara always made sure that we kept the big picture in mind -- she's someone who could articulate the mission and bring other people along with her thinking in a nurturing way. She's been a continuing inspiration for me and provided valuable leadership at SFAF and Pangaea for many years."

Barbara's background is in developing and implementing administrative systems that will serve as the foundation for future success. In the early stages of the global fight against HIV/AIDS, she thinks that it has been critically important to prove that it is possible to build successful, sustainable care and treatment programs supported and run by local doctors and health care administrators. "It's great to have good ideas, but you need infrastructure in place to assure donors that their money is being put to the best possible use. Our job is to show the skeptics that it can be done."

Donna Ryan-Rose, Manager of Projects for Pfizer Global Engineering, has been impressed by Barbara's ability to promoted teamwork, develop consensus among all the various players and keep everyone moving in the same direction throughout the Makerere project. She notes that "just communicating on a project like this is a challenge when you consider that there are stakeholders on three continents, in ten time zones across countries with very different infrastructures, construction means and methods and cultures. Barbara has been instrumental in focusing the project team on the stakeholders strengths, valuing the cultural diversity and providing a disciplined process during the construction period without compromising the quality of the construction or the safety of the workers on the site."

Paula Luff, Director of International Philanthropy for Pfizer and The Pfizer Foundation, has worked closely with Barbara on the Makerere University project. Paula says that Pfizer contracted with Pangaea to work on the new clinic because they knew that Barbara and her colleagues at Pangaea had the experience and the expertise to manage all facets of the project. Paula commented, "Barbara has been great to work with -- she's a smart, savvy administrator, who has provided valuable oversight every step along the way."

After the clinic is completed and turned over to Makerere University in 2004, Barbara will move on to other Pangaea projects. "I believe that Pangaea can play an important role in the development of medical capacity to provide HIV/AIDS care and treatment throughout the developing world. My job is to help build the financial and administrative infrastructure for our ongoing efforts, while Eric and our colleagues on the medical side assist in the development and implementation of the programs themselves."

Barbara, who says that getting up from her computer to get coffee has been her fitness program over the last few years, is currently training for the Honolulu Marathon to raise money for SFAF and Pangaea. ("My family and friends are astonished. Marathoner is not their image of me -- couch potato is closer.") Charitable giving has suffered as the economy has declined over the past few years and like most non-profits, SFAF has seen its funding drop. Barbara and almost 1,000 like-minded friends in the fight against HIV-AIDS are running in Honolulu in December to do what they can to bring needed funds to SFAF and Pangaea. You can support Barbara's efforts by pledging your support. Go to http://www.aidsmarathon.com/participant.jsp?runner=SF-0066&year=2003 to donate or for more information.