Board of Directors
Frederik Federspiel, MD, MPH
Frederik Federspiel is the founder and chairman of The People’s Fund. A decade of work with global health and development issues led him to establish the organization, aiming to shift the balance for a more equitable, democratic and locally driven development agenda. As a Medical Doctor from the University of Copenhagen and a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, he has a solid foundation in the health sciences. His experience includes clinical rotations in Nepal, Uganda and Cameroon, health and development policy and economics research in Senegal, global health systems research at Harvard University, and volunteering for, co-founding and leading other global health NGOs in Denmark. Currently, Frederik is a PhD student in Public Health and Policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Frederik is responsible for the everyday management of the organization, including co-development and execution of the organization's strategy.
Penelope Milsom, MBChB, MPH
Penelope Milsom is the vice chairwoman of The People’s Fund. Penelope is a New Zealand trained Medical Doctor with experience working in diverse settings including New Zealand, Cambodia, Samoa and Liberia. She completed a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management at Columbia University in 2014 and has since worked across the disciplines of applied global health research and health system strengthening project implementation. Penelope has worked as a Research Associate at Harvard University's Program in Global Surgery and Social Change conducting preliminary research on global surgical infrastructure and human resources contributing to the evidence base for the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery. In 2015 she worked for the International Rescue Committee in Liberia during the Ebola outbreak, and since early 2016 she has continued to focus her work in maternal and child health system strengthening in the West African region as a Research Associate at Anthrologica conducting applied research for UNICEF. She has been a lecturer at the BSc in Global Health at Queen Mary University of London, and is now a PhD student in Public Health and Policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Penelope is a strong advocate of community-driven health and social development initiatives and is excited to be part of the team at The People’s Fund. With her tremendous experience in global health she has provided invaluable strategic support in the development of the organization, and will continue to help guide it in a direction that seeks to generate local community-driven change, that holds decision makers accountable to the populations they serve and furthers an evidence-based, sustainable global health and development agenda.
Sabah Boufkhed, MPH, MA, PhD
Sabah Boufkhed is an epidemiologist and public health researcher specialised in the fields of migrant workers' exploitation, humanitarian and global health.
Her international experience includes participation in the Ebola response during the 2014-15 outbreak in Sierra Leone, and research in Senegal on malaria and HIV. Sabah has also established a 27-countries laboratory network within the Mediterranean and Balkans area, as part of a project on preparedness to public health threats (infectious diseases) in this region.
Besides, Sabah has co-founded the Alliance of Women in Academia in 2017 to empower self-identified women working in universities. She coordinates activities aiming at tackling bullying and sexual harassment, primarily in universities but also in coordination with other organisations.
Sabah joined the board of The People's Fund in 2019.