New leadership for Digital Square and PATH’s first Chief of AI

We are pleased to share that Leah Ekbladh will be the new Executive Director of Digital Square supported by Lauren Wall as the new Director of Programs, Digital Square. As PATH increases efforts for a more strategic integration of artificial intelligence (AI) for health, Dr. Bilal Mateen, the former Executive Director, has taken on the new role of Chief AI Officer at PATH.

Leah Ekbladh is the new Executive Director of Digital Square.

Leah Ekbladh has more than 27 years of experience designing, managing, and implementing international health programs with a focus on health systems strengthening and digital health transformation in both the private and public sectors in low- and middle-income countries. As the Strategy Director of PATH’s Center for Digital and Data Excellence, she recently led the Digital Health Ecosystem project funded by the Bayer Foundation to create an equitable entrepreneurial environment for digital health developers. Through her leadership and in partnership with Medic to build on their Community Health Toolkit, developers have a proven, economically viable digital foundation for their applications. 

Previously, Leah supported and led programs under other USAID global mechanisms including PRIME, PRIME2, HS2020, and SHOPS. She has also been the project director or chief of party for USAID bilaterial programs in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Leah holds a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Lauren Wall is the new Director of Programs for Digital Square.

Lauren Wall brings more than 15 years of experience designing and implementing training and technical assistance programs in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. In her role as Deputy Director of Capacity Strengthening for PATH’s Center of Digital and Data Excellence, she has overseen the design, implementation, and evaluation of digital health training programs. As part of the Center’s extended leadership, she has contributed to the strategic planning and management needed to support a growing portfolio that meets the complex human capacity needs experienced by health systems undergoing digital transformation.

In addition to having been part of Digital Square’s management team since its inception, Lauren supported and led prime and subaward teams under USAID DIV funding and the global STAR mechanism. She holds a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health and is pursuing her doctorate in Global Health Policy and Evaluation at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

We want to thank Bilal for his leadership during his time as Executive Director and are looking forward to Leah and Lauren building upon the team’s strengths and invaluable impact on countries’ digital transformation as the new leaders.