Carole Presern has worked in international development for most of her career.  A consistent thread throughout has been her passion for human rights, particularly sexual and reproductive health and rights. Originally trained as a midwife, she has a degree in anthropology from University College London, a PhD in public health policy from the University of London and an advanced diploma in health systems management from LSHTM.

Carole is currently a Professor of Practice, Global Health Policy, LSHTM and the Global Health Faculty Lead for Applied Research Projects at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Her career includes senior leadership positions with the Global Fund, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and as the Executive Director of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) based at WHO.

Before that she worked for the UK government for many years as Counsellor at the UK Mission in Geneva, and in health advisory roles covering Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Pakistan and Nepal.

Carole has served on many boards, including the Global Fund, Unitaid, and UNAIDS.  She has also sat on the Board of the International HIV Alliance, and as its Vice Chair, and is currently a trustee of the Orchid Project and the Center for Reproductive Rights (Geneva, Switzerland).