Kampuchea Crossings

Bump to baby on the beaten expat track

PORTFOLIO

Check out my LinkedIn Profile. See my field activities in Cambodia with USAID and GIZ, or with NYC Health + Hospitals. Some of my projects are below, with hyperlinks to work samples in Dropbox. You can reach me at nathalie.abejero@gmail.com.

I’m a Program Project Manager in healthcare and social services, with experience in the US and Southeast Asia. I help clinic/research teams optimize operational efficiencies, simplify processes, and develop a patient-focused healthcare ecosystem.

I’m passionate about bridging the research to practice gap. I’m particularly interested in the health outcomes of women and children, and underserved communities. 

I foster inclusive, positive team environments, and put local knowledge at the heart of care approaches. I draw on quality improvement and change management principles to guide cross-function teams towards shared goals.

Results

Facilitated Launch of a Prospective Clinical Registry

I facilitated the successful launch of a prospective clinical registry at Columbia University Medical Center. The goal was faster, more agile access to patient data and analytics, for research, both to support treatment decisions for congenital heart disease and for quality initiatives. The research collaborative consisted of 24 teams across 24 pediatric heart centers across the US and Canada. See the Program and Registry tools here.

Streamlined Grants Management and Managed Quality Improvement Learning Network

At NYC Health + Hospitals, I supported 17 HIV Clinics in meeting targets in the clinical endpoints of HIV care. I managed the standardization of HIV grant approvals enterprise-wide, and monitored ~60 HIV grants enterprise-wide, totaling $9mil, from the CDC, HRSA, NYSDOH, City Council. Here are my HIV-related grants protocols.

I organized the Quality Improvement Learning Network, to support continuous improvement efforts during significant organizational restructuring. See our Quality Management Plan.

I coordinated quarterly grants reporting to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for 17 HIV Clinics. These include enterprise and site-specific HIV testing and linkage, and viral hepatitis patient navigation data.

Led Development of a National Quality Assessment System

I built and led a team to develop and operationalize a national Quality Assessment System. We coordinated the expertise and drew on the evidence base to create locally adapted survey tools and methods. Together with Cambodia’s Ministry of Health we measured process quality of care in 637 health facilities in eight USAID-supported provinces. The system is still in use today to inform provider payments and the Health Sector Strategic Plan.

Reviewed Impact of a New Funding Model on Civil Society

I executed an exploratory mission for Aidspan to review Global Fund programming in five Asia Pacific countries. I presented findings from my research and data gathering to senior Ministry of Health officials at the end of each country visit. In Report on the Global Fund Position in Southeast Asia and Western Pacific, commissioned by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DfAT), the pieces on the Artemisinin Resistance Initiative (RAI), Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Philippines were written by me. This consultancy led to writing analysis pieces for the Global Fund Observer, an industry newsletter produced by Aidspan. See below:

  • Writing samples include analyses in an industry newsletter, the Global Fund Observer: Intellectual property and generics competition. Other select technical pieces are below in the next section.
  • I supported Cambodia’s proposal to the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) by writing the Health Systems Strengthening component, for inclusion to the full proposal. I worked closely with the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and other bilateral organizations and civil society groups to ensure an inclusive process.

Writing Samples

Technical Writing

  1. Global Fund Observer Issue 286 | 13 May 2016: New Strategy for 2017-2022 reflects The Global Fund’s evolving approach to health systems strengthening
  2. Global Fund Observer Issue 284 | 6 April 2016: The Global Fund has been backing away from efforts to promote generic competition
  3. Global Fund Observer Issue 280 | 10 February 2016: Contracts with Sub-recipient resume as Cambodia’s dispute with The Global Fund ends
  4. Global Fund Observer Issue 278 | 24 December 2015: The TERG recommends measures to enhance health systems strengthening Note: TERG is the Technical Evaluation Reference Group, an independent advisory group accountable to the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & Malaria
  5. Global Fund Observer Issue 274 | 04 November 2015: Global Fund has no immediate plans to promote the inclusion of the new malaria vaccine in the programs it supports
  6. Global Fund Observer Issue 273 |19 October 2015: Marking a progression in its HIV landscape, Vietnam chooses a civil society PR
  7. Global Fund Observer Issue 271 |23 September 2015: Turning a funding crisis into opportunity
  8. Global Fund Observer Issue 264 |15 April 2015: Turning the page on the past, Cambodia looks to NFM as a fresh start
  9. I developed the Health Systems Strengthening component of Cambodia’s country proposal to the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). I worked with civil society groups, the World Health Organization and bilateral organizations, and  the Ministry of Health to incorporate it into the final country proposal.

Creative Writing

What I’m Passionate About

Girls’ Education

Educating girls lifts the entire family out of poverty, even if her degree isn’t applied in a professional capacity. Family duties tend to fall on daughters, with preference given to educating boys.

I supported fundraising efforts for a girls’ education fund that my Khmer teacher (top left in the first photo below) organized for nine girls in her home town of Kampong Thom, Cambodia. The funds covered tuition, materials, and the opportunity costs to their families.

Two girls obtained their university degrees, while the rest returned to their family farms after completing high school.

Civic Engagement

The expatriate community is active and highly engaged in our politics – it’s almost like its own state, even as we’re spread out across the world. It is moving to mobilize our diverse demographics globally, to partake in one of the most unique and democratic features of American politics – no matter what country we’re in.

If you’re abroad or traveling during elections, please request your absentee ballot at https://www.votefromabroad.org, and connect with the local chapter of Democrats Abroad. They’re volunteer-run and will make sure your ballot is counted, regardless of party affiliation.

Running

Endurance sports push your limits – forcing you to tweak your mental tools to change your perception of those limits – and this has cross-over benefits to personal and professional goals.

I love the research that Alex Hutchinson does in this space, on the broader value of running, based on the science of exploring your physical limits by building mental toughness. I also appreciate how the vast human performance research get translated into actionable daily tools by people like Stacy Sims, Andrew Huberman, Peter Attia, etc. Endurance training principles have applicability to anyone who wants to boost their own personal capabilities.

Running itself has a transformative effect on people. Helping people cross that finish tape and setting off a lifelong habit of activity is a remarkable gift worth paying forward. I’ve been a volunteer with the Beginners Clinic, Front Runners New York, since 2019. I help produce the weekly newsletters and mentor beginner runners in the annual 10-week, race-based training program. I love my Front Runners club for the camaraderie, advocacy and support, and its worldwide community of runners and walkers. Check them out!

Kampuchea Crossings