Staff | Skoll Global Threats Fund

Team Members:
Larry Brilliant, President
Courtney Colburn, Administrative Assistant
Scott Field, Middle East Manager
Veronica Garcia, Executive Assistant
David Kroodsma, Research Analyst
Sylvia Lee, Water Manager
Bruce Lowry, Director, Policy and Communications
Amy Luers, Director, Climate Change
Annie Maxwell, Chief Operating Officer
Eric Nonacs, Vice President, Alliances and Partnerships
Mark Smolinski, Director, Global Health Threats
Lindsay Steele, Program Coordinator

Larry Brilliant, President

Larry Brilliant is the President and CEO of the Skoll Global Threats Fund. He previously was Vice President of Google and Executive Director of Google.org.

Larry is an MD and MPH, board-certified in preventive medicine. He lived and worked in India for ten years and was on the UN team that led the successful World Health Organization smallpox eradication program. He did his undergraduate in Philosophy at the U of M, his MD at Wayne Medical School and came back to do his MPH at the U of M. Later he joined the faculty from 1977 to 1986, first as assistant professor of health planning and international health and later, as associate professor of epidemiology at the U of M School of Public Health. He has authored two books and dozens of scientific articles on infectious diseases, blindness and international health policy.

In 1985, while in Ann Arbor, Larry founded the Seva Foundation, an international NGO, whose projects have given back sight to nearly 3 million people worldwide through their work to eliminate preventable and curable blindness. Also in Ann Arbor, he co-founded The Well, a pioneering digital community that holds a special place in the history of online communities and he holds a telecom patent related to online transactions.

He also worked for WHO and UNICEF in polio eradication and blindness and volunteered as a physician during several disasters, including the Asian Tsunami in Sri Lanka and Indonesia and the Bihar Floods. After the anthrax attacks in the U.S. in 2001, he volunteered as a first responder for CDC’s bio-terrorism effort.

Larry was founding chair of the National Bio-Surveillance Advisory Subcommittee, created by Presidential directive, and is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Advisory Council on Catastrophic Risks. He was elected to the Council on Foreign Relations in 2008. He is on the boards of the Skoll Foundation, Salesforce.com Foundation and is a frequent speaker and consultant on topics ranging from social action to large scale social change.

Recent awards include the TED Prize in 2006, Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People and Top 20 Scientists and Thinkers (2008), UN Global Leadership Award (2008), Peacemaker Award (2005) and International Public Health Hero (2004) and two Honorary Doctorates. In 2009, the documentary about polio eradication, which Larry conceived and was funded by Google.org, The Final Inch, won an Oscar nomination and was bought and shown by HBO.
Courtney Colburn, Administrative Assistant

Courtney is an Administrative Assistant at the Skoll Global Threats Fund. Previously, she worked as an Administrative Assistant at the Jim Joseph Foundation, where she assisted in the management of a $75 million grant portfolio and oversaw the preparation for the foundation’s quarterly board meetings.

Prior to her arrival in San Francisco, Courtney was an intern at Amnesty International in New York, helping to plan their regional conferences. She also was an intern at Classwish.org, where she worked to increase the organization’s social media presence.

Courtney holds a B.A. in Sociology and Spanish from New York University, where she graduated magna cum laude.
Scott Field, Middle East Manager

Dr. Scott Field is the Middle East Manager at the Skoll Global Threats Fund. He joins the organization after three years with the US Military, teaching International Relations and Middle East Politics in the National Security Affairs Department of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey.

In that position he traveled frequently with US Navy Aircraft Carrier and Expeditionary Strike Groups on deployment to the Middle East and South Asia, delivering briefings to the leadership groups on regional security issues.

Prior to that, Scott was a World Peace Fellow obtaining MAs in Political Science and International & Area Studies at the University of California Berkeley, focusing on International Security and the Middle East, and studying Arabic.

His research interests included Iranian and Palestinian domestic politics and their implications for regional security, and in the summer of 2006 he undertook fieldwork in the West Bank while affiliated with the Palestine Center of The Jerusalem Fund in Washington, DC.

He maintains an affiliation as a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley’s Institute of International Studies.

An ecologist by training, he received his PhD in behavioral ecology from the University of Adelaide, Australia in 1997 and held teaching and research positions in ecology and conservation biology at the Universities of Queensland and Adelaide in Australia from 2000 to 2005.
Veronica Garcia, Executive Assistant

Veronica has over a decade of experience in the healthcare industry through her work with MPM Capital, the world’s largest life science-dedicated venture investors and GeneSoft Pharmaceuticals, Inc. At MPM, Veronica assisted in the startup operations of several biotech companies as well as the development of drugs in the field of cancer and pain management. Meanwhile, her time with GeneSoft, an MPM portfolio company, exposed her to the regulatory and commercialization processes as she assisted a global team that successfully took a new fluoroquinolone through the FDA drug approval process and its eventual marketing in the U.S.

Veronica has a B.S. in Information Systems from the University of San Francisco.

David Kroodsma, Research Analyst

David has a decade of experience researching and communicating climate and environmental science. Prior to the Skoll Global Threats Fund, David worked as a journalist, consultant, and researcher. Most recently, he served as a data journalist for Climate Central, where he analyzed and communicated climate data through articles and interactive graphics, publishing stories with both Climate Central and the Huffington Post. He has also worked as a consultant for philanthropy with California Environmental Associates, where he assisted foundations with their environmental strategies in Latin American and the United States West. Prior to these efforts, he served as a climate researcher and lab technician at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, where he helped research the effects of climate change on California ecosystems.

David is also an accomplished long distance cyclist, and from 2005 to 2007, he biked 16,000 miles from California to the tip of South America. As he traveled, he blogged about how climate change affects the regions he traveled through. David holds a B.S. in physics and an M.S. in Earth Systems, both from Stanford University.
Sylvia Lee, Water Manager

Sylvia Lee has over a decade of experience in the water sector. She most recently worked as a Water Resources Specialist for the South Asia Region of the World Bank based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Her work at the World Bank focused on transboundary water issues and climate change adaptation & resilience building for vulnerable communities.

Prior, Sylvia was with the World Economic Forum based in Geneva, Switzerland, serving most recently as Associate Director, Environmental Initiatives, where she led the World Economic Forum’s Water Initiative. Her work focused on raising awareness of the global water challenge and engaging the private sector in water.

Sylvia has also worked as a consulting engineer on water and sanitation design and construction projects in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Sylvia received her Master’s in Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from McGill University.
Bruce Lowry, Director, Policy and Communications

Bruce serves as Director, Policy and Communications, for the Skoll Global Threats Fund, helping shape the organization’s approach to engagement with government and leading message development and outreach for its communications efforts.

Prior to joining the Skoll Global Threats Fund, Bruce served as Communications Director for the Skoll Foundation, working with media, the Skoll social entrepreneurs, and Skoll’s partners to broadly promote the Foundation’s message around the power of social entrepreneurship.

Bruce brings both private and public sector experience to the Skoll Global Threats Fund, with an international perspective built from working and living in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. He joined the Skoll Foundation from Novell, where he led the company’s global public relations team. He oversaw the company’s media and communications efforts as Novell underwent a major reinvention, moving from a traditional proprietary enterprise software player to a leader in Linux and open source.

Prior to Novell, Bruce spent nearly 14 years at the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Service Officer. An economic specialist, he served overseas tours of duty in Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and Italy. His domestic assignments included stints in the Department’s Economic and Business Affairs Bureau, the European regional economic office, the office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, and the Ukraine Desk. As a diplomat, Bruce worked on a wide range of issues, including, among others, the G-7 summit process, the Middle East peace process, Chernobyl/nuclear safety, human rights, democratization, and economic development.

Bruce earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from Pomona College and a Master of Art’s in international affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He’s a member of the Pacific Council for International Policy, a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research, and a board member for the Cazadero Performing Arts Camp.
Amy Luers, Director, Climate Change

Amy Luers has worked for over two decades at the intersection of environment and economic development. She joined the Skoll Global Threats Fund as Director of Climate Change from Google, where she was the Senior Environmental Program Manager. At Google, Dr. Luers initiated and co-led the development of a number of information technology projects in support of environmental monitoring, management and communication. She has worked and traveled extensively in Latin America, South East Asia and Africa in support of climate risk management programs. Prior to joining Google, Dr. Luers headed the Climate Program for the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) in California where she led a series of collaborative analysis efforts to inform alternative state and federal climate policy options. Before UCS, she lived in Latin America for many years working with rural communities on sustainable development and resource management. She is co-founder and former executive director of Agua Para La Vida, a small NGO dedicated to enhancing sustainable access to water supply in rural Latin America.

Dr. Luers has conducted research and published widely on the vulnerability of social and biophysical systems to global environmental changes. She is a member of the National Research Council Geographical Science Committee and is a lead author of the National Climate Assessment Special Report on Sustained Assessments. She holds a Ph.D. in environmental science and an M.A. in international policy studies, both from Stanford University, and a M.S. and B.S. in environmental resources engineering from Humboldt State University.
Annie Maxwell, Chief Operating Officer

Annie Maxwell is the Chief Operating Officer of the Skoll Global Threats Fund. She joins the organization after serving as a White House Fellow, working in the Office of Vice President Biden, where she focused on implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

From 2002 to 2009, Annie was with Direct Relief International, serving most recently as Chief Operating Officer. Direct Relief is a privately funded nonprofit that, through humanitarian assistance, improves the quality of life for people affected by poverty or disasters in 59 countries, including the U.S. From 2005 to 2006, Annie was seconded to the United Nation’s Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, led by Special Envoy President Bill Clinton. She served as Partnerships and Outreach Officer, focusing on environmental issues and the role of NGOs in the recovery effort.

Annie served as chair and vice chair of the Alumni Board of Governors at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and as a member of the founding Board of Directors for the nonprofit Wizzy Digital. In 2007, she was selected for the Marshall Memorial Fellowship.

Annie received her Master’s in Public Policy and B.A. in English and Political Science, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Michigan. She attended the university on a full athletic scholarship and was captain of the university’s Division I volleyball team.
Eric Nonacs, Vice President, Alliances and Partnerships

Throughout his career, Eric has developed and implemented partnerships and programs supporting sustainable economic and social development, conflict resolution, and reconciliation across Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

Prior to joining the Skoll Global Threats Fund, Eric was Managing
Director for Global Affairs at Endeavour Financial, a merchant bank
based in Vancouver, Canada. Concurrently, he served as a Senior
Advisor to the William J. Clinton Foundation. From 2002 to 2007, he
served as the Foreign Policy Advisor to President Bill Clinton and the
Clinton Foundation.

Prior to joining President Clinton’s staff, Eric was the Executive Director of The Coexistence Initiative, which focused on bringing together policymakers, researchers, advocates and organizations to promote cooperation at national and global levels. Previously, Eric served as the U.S. Executive Director of Co-operation Ireland, and, from 1992 until 1995, he was the inaugural Director of The Project on Justice in Times of Transition.

Eric holds an AB from the University of Chicago, an MA from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from New York University. He is the Chairman of Building Markets, the President of the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative (Canada), and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Clinton Global Initiative. Eric is also a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Mark Smolinski, Director, Global Health Threats

Mark has led global efforts toward early detection and rapid response to emerging threats. His work has brought together governments, NGOs, academia, and private industry in partnerships across national borders in Southern Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Russia, and SE Asia.

In 2006, Mark joined the start-up team at Google.org as the director of the Predict and Prevent Initiative. Prior to Google, Mark served as Vice President for Biological Programs at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a public charity directed by CNN founder Ted Turner and former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn. While at NTI, Mark led the development of a regional disease surveillance system linking Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority, demonstrating the power of health as a diplomatic tool even in areas of longstanding conflict.

In 2003, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences released a landmark report, the Emergence, Detection, and Response to Microbial Threats to Health for which Mark was the study director. He has also served as an advisor to the World Health Organization, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary of Health, and an Epidemic Intelligence Officer at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mark was a member of the investigation team that discovered hantavirus in 1993 in Southwestern United States.

A native of Michigan, Mark holds a B.S. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he also received his M.D. He received his M.P.H. from the University of Arizona. Mark is a trained Internist and board certified in Preventive Medicine and Public Health. WIRED magazine’s 2008 Smart List of 15 people the next president should listen to included Mark, a.k.a., the threat detective.
Lindsay Steele, Program Coordinator

Lindsay is a Program Coordinator at the Skoll Global Threats Fund. She joins the organization after a stint as the Assistant to the Executive Director at Until There’s A Cure Foundation, where she worked to increase funds and awareness for HIV/AIDS by helping develop social media and fundraising campaigns for partner organizations across the U.S.

For two years prior, she worked as the Corporate and Marketing Coordinator for Rodan + Fields Dermatologists, where she managed the office and helped drive marketing and communications projects.

Earlier, she worked as a Market Analyst at Expanish, a Spanish Language school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she coordinated university partnerships.

Lindsay holds a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from the University of California at Santa Barbara.