Board of Directors
Frederik Federspiel, MD, MPH, PhD
Frederik Federspiel is the founder and chairperson of The People’s Fund. A decade of work with global health and development issues led him to establish the organization in 2016, aiming to shift the balance for a more equitable, democratic and locally driven development agenda. As a Medical Doctor from the University of Copenhagen, a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, and a PhD in Public Health and Policy from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), he has a solid background for working in global health. His scientific and professional expertise lies within paediatrics, infectious diseases, epidemiology, health policy, -systems, -financing, -equity and -access. Frederik has lived, worked, studied and researched in Uganda, Cameroon, South Africa, Senegal, Côte D'Ivoire, Nepal, Malaysia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, and Denmark. As of 2025, he is completing his paediatric specialty training while serving on the Committee for Global Child Health under The Danish Paediatric Society, and conducting research within global health as an Honorary Research Fellow at LSHTM and a supervisor at the Global Health Unit at Rigshospitalet, Denmark. Frederik is responsible for the everyday management of The People's Fund, including co-development and execution of the organization's strategy.
Penelope Milsom, MBChB, MPH, PhD
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, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Malaysia. She completed a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management at Columbia University in 2014 and has since worked in a number of roles within global public health research and practice. This includes working as a Research Associate at Harvard University's Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, working for the International Rescue Committee in Liberia during the Ebola outbreak, working as a Research Associate at Anthrologica conducting applied research for UNICEF, completing a PhD in Public Health and Policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and a Post.Doc at the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2025, she is completing her specialty training as a Public Health Physician.
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.