Helene D. Gayle
Helene D. Gayle
Helene D. Gayle, M.D., M.P.H., is CEO of McKinsey Social Initiative, a nonprofit organization that implements programs that bring together varied stakeholders to address complex global and social challenges. McKinsey Social Initiative's first program, Generation, addresses the problem of youth unemployment, with programs in five countries--India, Kenya, Mexico, Spain, and the United States--and a goal of connecting one million young people with skills and jobs in five years. Previously, Dr. Gayle was president and CEO of CARE USA, a member...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActivist
CountryUnited States of America
I always knew that I wanted to do the most that I could for the most people.
Real, sustainable community change requires the initiative and engagement of community members.
The more you look into health and health inequalities, you realize that a lot of it is not due to a particular disease - it's really linked to underlying societal issues such as poverty, inequity, lack of access to safe drinking water and housing. And these are all the things we focus on at CARE.
What keeps me motivated is going out to the field and seeing programs that incorporate a focus on both people and the planet, and seeing how mutually reinforcing they can really be.
Any discussion of investment or putting monetary value on the environment must start with the populations who rely on those resources.
There are plenty of risks when we encourage "investment" or commoditization of natural resources, as power dynamics may mean that poor people (who are often marginalized and have less power) are sidelined by more powerful interests when money is involved.
The environmental community has an opportunity to create and leverage partnerships with the development community on social issues, rather than trying to develop new expertise of its own.
When a child is starving, a family may not be able to think about long-term sustainability or damage to ecosystems that support endangered species.
Learn to forgive yourself and move on.
As many as half of Ethiopias girls become wives before becoming adults. But Ethiopia is also a place where lasting solutions to child marriage are starting to make a difference.
The environmental movement could do a better job incorporating the message about the connection between poverty and environmental degradation, and building that message at the grassroots level.
The difference between rich and poor is becoming more extreme, and as income inequality widens the wealth gap in major nations, education, health and social mobility are all threatened.
Early marriage is most prevalent in communities suffering deep, chronic poverty.
We always say at CARE that we would love to see if we can work ourselves out of business.