The Leadership Alliance's Executive Office is located at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Valerie Petit Wilson, Ph.D., Executive Director
Medeva Ghee, Ph.D., Associate Director
Karen Zaretsky Ball, Manager, Finance and Administration
Barbara Kahn, Coordinator for Graduate and Undergraduate Programs
Maria DoVale, Executive Assistant
Fei Qi, Institutional Research Coordinator
Elizabeth McCurdy, Project Assistant

Valerie Petit Wilson

Dr. Wilson, a graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana (B.S., 1970, chemistry/pre-med), earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics at Johns Hopkins University in 1976, where she was a Ford Foundation pre-doctoral fellow. After a post-doctoral year in human genetics at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, she joined the National Institutes of Health, where she conducted research at the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Between 1982 and 1993, Dr. Wilson held a series of increasingly responsible positions in program administration and policy analysis at the NIH and Department of Health and Human Services. In 1993, she moved to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine as director of the Division of Health Sciences Policy in 1993. In 1998, Dr. Wilson was appointed clinical associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and deputy director of the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane University. In July 2003, Dr. Wilson was appointed as Executive Director of the Leadership Alliance; she also holds an appointment as Clinical Professor of Community Health at Brown University.
Valerie_Wilson@brown.edu

Medeva Ghee

Medeva Ghee, Assistant Director, received her undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University and her Ph.D. in microbiology from New York University School of Medicine. Her postdoctoral research was conducted in Paris, France at Hopital de la Pitie Salpetriere where she investigated gene therapy technologies for Parkinson's disease. She subsequently joined the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative as a Laboratory Systems Specialist where she provided technical assistance and strategic advice on the development of laboratory plans and systems to support national HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs in the Initiative's partner countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Medeva_Ghee@brown.edu

Karen Ball

Karen Ball is Manager of Finance and Administration for the Leadership Alliance Executive Office and organizes the annual Leadership Alliance National Symposium. Prior to joining the Executive Office staff in 2004, she served as Assistant to the Director of Brown University's Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. Ms. Ball has held a variety of administrative positions at Brown since 1990, including Assistant to the Senior Vice President for Academic Outreach and Affiliated Programs, and coordinator of the Coalition of Essential Schools Regional Centers Project. Karen has a B.S. in Psychology from Oberlin College.
Karen_Ball@brown.edu

Barbara Kahn

Barbara Kahn is the Coordinator for Graduate and Undergraduate Programs for the Leadership Alliance. In this capacity, she coordinates the combined application process for the 21 undergraduate summer research sites and supervises the Alliance summer research program at Brown University. Prior to her appointment with the Leadership Alliance, Ms. Kahn was part of the professional development team at Brown University's Annenberg Institute for School Reform, a center promoting quality education for disadvantaged children, especially in urban communities. She came to Brown University from Chaffee & Partners, a public relations and advertising firm in Providence, R.I. Ms. Kahn holds a B.S. in Education from Boston University.
Barbara_Kahn@brown.edu

Maria DoVale

Maria DoVale is the Executive Assistant for the Leadership Alliance. In this capacity, Maria is responsible for providing administrative support for the executive office to ensure the successful implementation of Alliance programs and activities. She comes to us with a wealth of experience in administration, event planning and management augmented with exemplary technical, organizational and customer service skills. Prior to her appointment with the Leadership Alliance, Ms. DoVale worked for 5½ years at the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau helping to promote the state of Rhode Island as well as the city of Providence as a convention destination.  Prior to this appointment, Maria worked for American Express corporate travel for eight years.  Ms. DoVale holds a B.A. in Travel & Tourism Management from Johnson & Wales University. 
Maria_DoVale@brown.edu

Fei Qi 
Dr. Qi, Institutional Research Coordinator, joined the Leadership Alliance on March 1, 2008 and is responsible for data collection & analysis, student tracking, survey design and related research. He received his undergraduate degree from Xi’an Jiaotong University, China and his Ph.D. in Management Information System from University of Nebraska, Lincoln at 2007. Prior to joining The Leadership Alliance, he was a marketing analyst in China Ocean Shipping Co with a research emphasis on information system implementation.
Fei_Qi@brown.edu

Elizabeth McCurdy

Beth McCurdy, Program Coordinator, joined the Leadership Alliance part-time in June and provides the office with additional expertise and support. Beth is also the Program Coordinator for the Brown University - Tougaloo College Partnership. This partnership began in the early 1960's and remains a unique collaborative venture that engages the culture, academia and histories of these two distinctive institutions. Prior to joining the Leadership Alliance Beth worked at the US Cochrane Center, Quality Partners of RI and for several other healthcare organizations. Beth received an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Boston University in 1988.
Elizabeth_McCurdy@brown.edu