• Our Team

    While Konbit Sante has a small U.S. staff in Falmouth, Maine, the majority of our staff lives and works in Cap-Haitien. Both offices support Haitian doctors, nurses, health workers, and administrators.

    Similarly, volunteers are based both in the U.S. and Haiti to develop programs, teach, collect and deliver equipment and supplies, and make infrastructure improvements. The organization is governed by a volunteer board of directors, and other volunteers provide guidance as advisors and committee members.

Maine Team

Nathan M. Nickerson, Strategic Advisor

Prior to his role as strategic advisor, Nate served as Konbit Sante's first executive director for over 15 years. Nate was involved in the initial planning meetings of Konbit Sante as a board member and in the inception of developing relationships with partners in Haiti. During his tenure, he led the organization to develop key programs, build a staff team of employees in Haiti and the US, and formulate long-term partnerships with Haitian healthcare facilities. Nate has BS degrees from Tufts University and the University of Southern Maine, and a master's degree in nursing from Simmons College. In 2007, he received his doctorate in international public health from Boston University.

Rupal Ramesh Shah, Executive Director

Rupal joined Konbit Sante in June 2020. In 2018 and 2019, she lived and worked in Haiti—first as a tuberculosis laboratory consultant at Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais, a Partners in Health hospital, and later at Saint Boniface Hospital as a grant manager. Prior to that, she worked at Boston Children’s Hospital as a quality improvement consultant and at Harvard University as a research assistant and laboratory manager. Rupal earned her BS degree in biology and BA degree in chemistry from Southern Wesleyan University, then obtained an MS degree in microbiology from Clemson University and an MPH degree from Boston University.

Ben Doller, Operations & Logistics Manager

Ben received a BS in biology from the University of New Hampshire, not far from where he grew up. He then served two years with the Peace Corps in Nepal as a food security volunteer. His programs focused on supporting sustainable, community-led initiatives in maternal-infant health, agriculture, and income generation. Upon returning to the U.S., Ben joined the Council on International Educational Exchange to provide crisis and logistical management for exchange students around the world. Ben joined the Konbit Sante team in 2020.

Rod Harmon, Communications and Fundraising Coordinator

Rod joined Konbit Sante as its first communications coordinator in July 2018. He has more than 25 years of experience in communications, including journalism, marketing, public relations, and brand development, and served on the board of directors for the non-profit Friends of Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. A native of Illinois, Rod worked in Florida for 10 years before moving to Maine in 2007. He holds a BA in journalism from the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

Richard Williams, Financial Manager

Richard joined Konbit Sante in 2011 as financial specialist, accountant, and office manager.  Before moving to Maine in 2007, he worked in Minneapolis, the last nine years serving as controller for both a pump manufacturer and a holding company. In his career, Richard has served as a business manager for a construction company and worked in banking. He holds a MBA from the University of Phoenix.

Terri DiGiovanni, Incoming Finance and Technology Manager

Terri joined Konbit Sante in 2020. She brings over 20 years of experience in finance and information technology operations, the last 12 in the non-profit sector. Prior to moving to Maine in 2007, she was the owner/operator of a successful contractor supply chain in Florida. In 2010, Terri joined Council on International Educational Exchange as a member of the finance team and later accepted a role as information technology business analyst supporting finance. She received her BS in early childhood education from Salem State University.

Haiti Team

Dominique Joseph, Administrator

As Konbit Sante’s full-time administrator in the Haiti office, Dominique is responsible not only for overseeing our finances and taxes there, he is also our liaison to various government ministries, coordinates with customs to import humanitarian supplies, and works closely with our partner facilities to help strengthen their administrative capacities. A native of Port-au-Prince, he has a degree in accounting and post-graduate training in business management. Dominique worked as an administrator for various NGOs in Haiti before joining Konbit Sante in 2017.

Ruddy Emmanuel Adeca, Financial Manager

Trained in accounting from Notre Dame University, Ruddy first encountered Konbit Sante in 2006 while working for the Haiti Project, a non-government organization overseen by the University of Miami and based at Justinien University Hospital. He was hired by Konbit Sante as a part-time bookkeeper, and over the years, his responsibilities have grown. Ruddy keeps track of our finances and collaborates daily with the administrator.

Hans-Michel Pierrot, Program Director

Dr. Pierrot was born and raised in Cap-Haitien. Upon completion of his medical degree in the Dominican Republic, he returned home and obtained his license to practice. Although he was interested in pursuing a surgery specialty, his first job, working with Doctors without Borders on the 2010 cholera epidemic response, turned his career aspirations to public health. He worked for the Haiti Ministry of Health for many years as a general practitioner, obtained a bachelor degree in law, and then had the opportunity to go to Israel for a year to obtain his Masters of Public Health. Before joining Konbit Sante, he worked as a health consultant for GROW Project Haiti and as a clinical technical coordinator for a USAID-funded project by the Catholic Medical Mission Board.

Josaime Clotilde St Jean, Community Program Manager

Born in Grande-Riviere-du-Nord near Cap-Haitien, Josaime, affectionately known as “Tijo,” became a registered nurse by studying at the School of Our Lady of Wisdom Cap-Haitien in 1985. She had developed a specialization in community health by 1990, and began working for Konbit Sante in 2011. As community health program manager, she oversees nurses, community health workers, and outreach activities; conducts regular trainings for health workers; and coordinates mobile outreach clinics, with an emphasis on vaccination clinics for newborns and educational programs for new and expecting mothers.

Rony Saint Fleur, Pediatric Program Manager

Originally from Saint Marc, Haiti, Dr. Rony Saint Fleur completed his social service year in general medicine in Gonaives and his residency in pediatrics at Justinien University Hospital in Cap-Haitien, where he currently serves as Konbit Sante’s pediatric program manager. Prior to joining JUH full-time, Dr. Saint Fleur spent five years at Sacre Coeur Hospital in Milot, Haiti, as chief of pediatrics and working with children exposed to or infected with HIV.
Konbit Sante also supports the salaries of more than 40 health workers at our partner facilities in Haiti.
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