Helene Gayle

Helene D. Gayle
Helene D. Gayle at the World Economic Forum on East Asia in 2012
Born	Buffalo, NY
Residence	Atlanta, GA
Citizenship	USA
Education	Barnard College (B.A.), University of Pennsylvania (M.D.), Johns Hopkins University (M.P.H.)
Organization	McKinsey Social Initiative
Title	CEO

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 of CARE International (a leading humanitarian aid organization fighting global poverty). Before joining CARE USA in 2006, Gayle directed the HIV, TB, and Reproductive Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and spent 20 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), focusing primarily on HIV/AIDS. Gayle also served as chair of the Obama administration's Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. She has been called one of the top female leaders and global thinkers in the world. As of 2014, she is listed as the 78th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Gayle was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She earned a B.A. in psychology at Barnard College, an M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.P.H. at Johns Hopkins University. She is board certified in pediatrics, completing a residency in pediatric medicine at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.