DAI’s Bobby Jefferson Named to SID-Washington Board of Directors

September 17, 2020

The Society for International Development-Washington, D.C. Chapter has named DAI Vice President Bobby Jefferson to its Board of Directors. Jefferson is DAI’s lead development technologist and serves as Chief Technology Officer for DAI Global Health.

“SID-Washington is a respected convening force across all sectors of the development community and I am delighted to continue DAI’s long tradition of support as the Chapter charts its course for the upcoming decade,” said Jefferson. “As an expert in digital health, I hope I can bring that expertise to the organization; as a Black American, I hope I can bring some of my personal insights to what I’m sure will be a renewed emphasis on racial and other equity issues in the coming years.”

Jefferson sits on the Steering Committee for DAI’s recently announced Racial and Social Justice Initiative. In his capacity as co-chair of SID-Washington’s ICT for Development Workgroup, he recently hosted a virtual panel on race and diversity in global development, with a focus on achieving racial equity and inclusiveness in the technology-for-development community.

“Bobby is an asset in any leadership team,” said DAI Senior Vice President for Strategy Jean Gilson, a long-time SID-Washington Board member who currently serves as SID-International’s liaison to the D.C. Chapter. “He’s uncompromising but pragmatic, sees the big picture but focuses on how we can bring our ideals and objectives to life in the real world.”

Jefferson serves as a board advisor for numerous enterprises, including the health technology startups THINKMD, ClickMedix, CodePartners, DataElevates, Covelocity.Health, and SimPrints. At DAI, he has taken a particular interest in sourcing, evaluating, and implementing technology startup investment opportunities.

Before joining DAI in 2016, Jefferson was VP and Director of the Center for Development Informatics at Palladium (formerly Futures Group), where he built a practice focused on ICT for global health programs and adjacent sectors such as supply chains and education. Prior to his 10-year stint at Futures Group, Jefferson led a group at CTIS, Inc., that developed systems for managing clinical trials and data management.

“I am absolutely delighted to welcome Bobby to the SID-Washington Board,” said incoming Board Chair Wade Warren, Deloitte Consulting’s Chief Strategy Officer for International Development. “We have many challenges before us, not the least of which is the imperative to promote diversity and inclusion in development. I’m confident that Bobby will help us rise to these challenges and seize the opportunities in them.”

SID-Washington is a forum for international development practitioners and organizations and a leading knowledge broker for ideas and best practices. Its workgroups and presentations feature some of the world’s top thinkers across the spectrum of development issues, including food security and agriculture, gender in development, and international health and nutrition.