Since I had a ticket for the Seattle Symphony concert this evening I decided to make a night of it and headed downtown on the monorail straight after work. Pike Place market was packing up when I got there but I bought a selection of cheeses from Beecher's for the weekend and then made my way to the Pike Brewing Co to sample a flight of their signature house beers and order a salmon sandwich for dinner. Both were excellent.
The Symphony was packed - it is good to see that classical music is alive and kicking in Seattle. Benaroya Hall is vast, with curlicued Dale Chihuly (a famous local glass artist) chandeliers that look as fantastical as Dr.Seuss creatures hanging in the foyer. First on the programme was Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto sensitively played by Yefim Bronfman, a giant Russian bear of a man. It's my favorite of Beethoven's five piano concerti, especially the slow movement in which Orpheus (the piano) tames the beast (the orchestra). After the encore and interval came Beethoven's Seventh Symphony which Richard Wagner famously called 'The apotheosis of the Dance'.
Unfortunately principal cellist Efe Baltacigil, whom I've never heard play but is quite well-known, wasn't there tonight, but there were some very interesting characters to watch. One of the first violinists had a grey beard down to his waist and one couldn't help wondering how he could play the violin, let alone even see it through all that facial hair. I have to tie my hair back to play the cello so it doesn't snag on the pegs or get under my fingers and make them slip on the fingerboard. The violinist sitting behind him was a dapper little man who was so small that only the tips of the toes of his patent shoes touched the floor, but he played with such flourishes of his whole upper body and bow that the overall effect was very dramatic. I really enjoyed watching the timpanist too who stood elevated at the back centered beneath the organ pipes. He was the only African American I spotted in the orchestra. The Symphony has a great timpani part, especially in the Scherzo.
I rode the bus home - public transportation is very convenient here. The only downside is that the main bus stop on Third and Pine where I catch the bus is also a hangout for homeless druggies who sit sprawled against the storefronts smoking dope or worse. They seem harmless enough but I am still relieved when the bus comes along.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
The importance of good nutrition
Today we were invited to bring our lunches to hear about the new strategy for addressing nutrition, which is a factor in 45% of deaths of children under 5 years old in the developing world. Luckily I had finished my lunch before I got too deep into conversation with Alexis, one of the Global Health Fellows here, who it turns out is a parasitologist by training and regaled me with gruesome tales of exotic human parasites...
I was particularly impressed by the way that multiple groups - research, agriculture, maternal and child health, development and advocacy - are working together across the foundation in an integrated way to address systemic issues around poor nutrition. Solutions range from better understanding what children in different countries eat, how nutritious the food is and even how it is absorbed, to developing affordable crops with higher nutrition value, to empowering women to have more control over how they grow or buy food to feed their children. The intent is to halve the number of children dying through poor nutrition in 15 years' time.
I was particularly impressed by the way that multiple groups - research, agriculture, maternal and child health, development and advocacy - are working together across the foundation in an integrated way to address systemic issues around poor nutrition. Solutions range from better understanding what children in different countries eat, how nutritious the food is and even how it is absorbed, to developing affordable crops with higher nutrition value, to empowering women to have more control over how they grow or buy food to feed their children. The intent is to halve the number of children dying through poor nutrition in 15 years' time.
More on disasters
Yesterday's lunchtime talk by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction cast the recent earthquake in Nepal in a rather different light.
Global emergency response to disasters caused by earthquakes, wind and flooding is improving, but as the third world is developing rapidly, we are increasing the risk of catastrophic losses in the case of a disaster. While wealthy countries like the US stand to lose the most in disasters if you count loss in financial terms, we are largely covered by insurance and have the financial wherewithal to recover. Not so developing countries, especially those termed Small Island Developing States or SIDS. A cyclone or tsunami that devastates a Caribbean island effectively wipes out a whole country and these countries GDP is so low and financial situation is so precarious that they struggle to rebuild not only homes but also vital health and education services.
The conclusion was that we need to be thoughtful about investing development dollars in a sustainable way to help the beneficiaries become more resilient to disaster - otherwise it was likened to pouring water in a bamboo basket. My personal takeaway was think twice before you plan on retiring to the Caribbean...
Global emergency response to disasters caused by earthquakes, wind and flooding is improving, but as the third world is developing rapidly, we are increasing the risk of catastrophic losses in the case of a disaster. While wealthy countries like the US stand to lose the most in disasters if you count loss in financial terms, we are largely covered by insurance and have the financial wherewithal to recover. Not so developing countries, especially those termed Small Island Developing States or SIDS. A cyclone or tsunami that devastates a Caribbean island effectively wipes out a whole country and these countries GDP is so low and financial situation is so precarious that they struggle to rebuild not only homes but also vital health and education services.
The conclusion was that we need to be thoughtful about investing development dollars in a sustainable way to help the beneficiaries become more resilient to disaster - otherwise it was likened to pouring water in a bamboo basket. My personal takeaway was think twice before you plan on retiring to the Caribbean...
Monday, April 27, 2015
Summer is a cumen in...
Aristotle may have said 'One swallow does not a summer make' but today I saw no fewer than three swallow swooping up into the eaves, and the Gates Foundation Facilities department evidently decided summer is on its way as all the picnic tables and chairs, umbrellas and even a giant outdoor chess set have appeared in the courtyard at the heart of the campus. The weather also decided to cooperate as it was positively balmy outside at lunchtime. The blueberry and strawberry plant in the ecological planters are all blooming so berry season can only be a month or so away.
Having heard the news of the Nepal earthquake over the weekend I was surprised by the lack of 'coverage' at work. I had assumed the Foundation would be at the front line supporting humanitarian efforts but so far I haven't heard anything other than one or two employees posting messages on our internal social media platform Yammer reaching out to those who have friends or relatives stranded in Nepal to ask if anyone at the Foundation may have contacts on the ground who might be able to assist. Will watch for more news in the coming days.
Update two days later: this morning the Foundation announced it has made a $700,000 grant to Oxfam in support of emergency relief work in Nepal!
Having heard the news of the Nepal earthquake over the weekend I was surprised by the lack of 'coverage' at work. I had assumed the Foundation would be at the front line supporting humanitarian efforts but so far I haven't heard anything other than one or two employees posting messages on our internal social media platform Yammer reaching out to those who have friends or relatives stranded in Nepal to ask if anyone at the Foundation may have contacts on the ground who might be able to assist. Will watch for more news in the coming days.
Update two days later: this morning the Foundation announced it has made a $700,000 grant to Oxfam in support of emergency relief work in Nepal!
Weekend on Guemes Island
What could be more idyllic than spending a weekend playing string quartets in a room with a beautiful view across the waters of Puget Sound towards Bellingham and snow-capped Mount Baker beyond? Pam and I drove up early on Saturday morning to Anacortes where we'd arranged to meet Becky and Sam at the cinema to watch the live in HD broadcast of Cavalliera Rusticana and Pagliacci from the Met Opera in New York. It's only the second time I've watched one of these broadcasts and it was fabulous - close up and personal.
After the curtain went down, we headed across to the car ferry for the five minute crossing to Guemes, where Becky has a home and her violin making studio. The rain that dogged the drive up had cleared and while we waited we took a walk on the beach, which was strewn with pink, purple and green kelp. The water didn't feel that cold when I dipped a finger in but apparently it's a chilly 45 degrees Fahrenheit so is not suitable for swimming.
Guemes Island is very rural, roughly kite shaped and seven miles at its greatest length with Mount Guemes rising about 1000 feet at its north east corner. About 350 families or roughly 1000 people live on the island, although many only come for the summer. Becky showed us several log cabins built by the first homesteaders who settled there in the 1860's, which were just like the ones the Ingalls family built in 'Little House on the Prairie'. During the weekend we spotted deer, a sea otter, bald eagles and red winged blackbirds as well as Anna's and rufous hummingbirds which Becky's sister Holiday feeds no less that 10lb of sugar each week, refilling the feeders twice a day. It's so cold there that the birds have to guzzle nectar constantly to keep warm; in the winter they can freeze to death.
As we played string quartets I was mesmerized watching the perfect plane waves come lapping up to the beach below. Thank you Becky for your wonderful hospitality! I brought some rhododendron blooms back to Seattle with me and their fragrance is a lingering souvenir of a memorable weekend of music and friendship.
After the curtain went down, we headed across to the car ferry for the five minute crossing to Guemes, where Becky has a home and her violin making studio. The rain that dogged the drive up had cleared and while we waited we took a walk on the beach, which was strewn with pink, purple and green kelp. The water didn't feel that cold when I dipped a finger in but apparently it's a chilly 45 degrees Fahrenheit so is not suitable for swimming.
Guemes Island is very rural, roughly kite shaped and seven miles at its greatest length with Mount Guemes rising about 1000 feet at its north east corner. About 350 families or roughly 1000 people live on the island, although many only come for the summer. Becky showed us several log cabins built by the first homesteaders who settled there in the 1860's, which were just like the ones the Ingalls family built in 'Little House on the Prairie'. During the weekend we spotted deer, a sea otter, bald eagles and red winged blackbirds as well as Anna's and rufous hummingbirds which Becky's sister Holiday feeds no less that 10lb of sugar each week, refilling the feeders twice a day. It's so cold there that the birds have to guzzle nectar constantly to keep warm; in the winter they can freeze to death.
As we played string quartets I was mesmerized watching the perfect plane waves come lapping up to the beach below. Thank you Becky for your wonderful hospitality! I brought some rhododendron blooms back to Seattle with me and their fragrance is a lingering souvenir of a memorable weekend of music and friendship.
Friday, April 24, 2015
More New Technology
Today I received my new Windows smartphone, which is my Foundation cellphone. Quite a steep learning curve as I am not particularly tech-savvy, but it promises to be a very handy tool to keep on top of work when I'm away from my computer. I spent a satisfying day completing some of my outstanding new hire related tasks and can safely say that now the training wheels are off and I'm starting to function and fill my role.
I'm looking forward to spending the weekend playing string quartets on Guemes Island, one of the San Juan Islands. Getting there involves a 2 hour drive to Anacortes and a short ferry ride; we're planning to meet at the Anacortes Cinema to watch the Metropolitan Live Opera broadcast of 'Cav & Pag' on Saturday morning. This necessitated an after-work jaunt downtown on the monorail to buy a warm sweater (Nordstrom Rack - Seattle is the birthplace of Nordstrom's) and some wine (for apres-quartets). The cello and I are all packed and the alarm is set for 6 am!
I'm looking forward to spending the weekend playing string quartets on Guemes Island, one of the San Juan Islands. Getting there involves a 2 hour drive to Anacortes and a short ferry ride; we're planning to meet at the Anacortes Cinema to watch the Metropolitan Live Opera broadcast of 'Cav & Pag' on Saturday morning. This necessitated an after-work jaunt downtown on the monorail to buy a warm sweater (Nordstrom Rack - Seattle is the birthplace of Nordstrom's) and some wine (for apres-quartets). The cello and I are all packed and the alarm is set for 6 am!
Battle of the Bacteria
Do you remember how the invading aliens were finally defeated in H.G. Wells' 'War of the Worlds'? It was by lethal infection by microscopic pathogens. In this case science fiction comes close to reality as the human race is in a constant battle with the bacteria that colonize our bodies.
I've been reading up some references, namely WHO position papers on immunization against on pneumococcus, one of the bacteria that causes pneumonia. This bacteria is carried by toddlers in their noses and can cause sinusitis or middle ear infections if it strays to those places, or more serious septicemia if it gets into the bloodstream, meningitis in the brain or pneumonia if aspirated into the lungs. Beware the snotty toddler!
Recent epidemiological studies show that if sufficient children are vaccinated the incidence of pneumonia in all age groups goes down dramatically in all age groups due to what is termed the Herd Effect. Through vaccination programs, we are causing massive worldwide shifts in the microflora of bacteria. Some strains that the vaccines target are dying out and bay be eradicated all together, while others, through Darwinian survival of the fittest are emerging to take their place. It is fascinating to think how fast the universe of micro-organisms is shifting and adapting to the environmental pressures we place on them through medical interventions.
I've been reading up some references, namely WHO position papers on immunization against on pneumococcus, one of the bacteria that causes pneumonia. This bacteria is carried by toddlers in their noses and can cause sinusitis or middle ear infections if it strays to those places, or more serious septicemia if it gets into the bloodstream, meningitis in the brain or pneumonia if aspirated into the lungs. Beware the snotty toddler!
Recent epidemiological studies show that if sufficient children are vaccinated the incidence of pneumonia in all age groups goes down dramatically in all age groups due to what is termed the Herd Effect. Through vaccination programs, we are causing massive worldwide shifts in the microflora of bacteria. Some strains that the vaccines target are dying out and bay be eradicated all together, while others, through Darwinian survival of the fittest are emerging to take their place. It is fascinating to think how fast the universe of micro-organisms is shifting and adapting to the environmental pressures we place on them through medical interventions.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Getting up to speed
Looking back over my first four weeks at the Foundation I am amazed how quickly the time has gone but also at how fast I've adapted. Much of my initial training is done and I'm checking off the longer term set-up items on my task list (mobile phone, business cards, retirement elections and so on). I've started leading meetings rather than being an observer and am planning my first two business trips, both to the East Coast in mid May. June will be here before I know it so I'm now starting to think about the rhythm of work once I'm back in San Diego and how to most effectively keep in contact with my teams.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Women and Girls at Gates
I've been hearing a lot about Women and Girls at Gates in the last week. This is a big priority, cutting across many of the teams within the Foundation The vision is to put a cellphone in the hands of every woman to give her access to financial services, medical care and safety. Next time you text or Facetime with your phone, just think about the unharnessed potential of cellular technology to help empower women in developing countries.
Money Matters
On Monday I had an introductory meeting with the Finance manager for the pneumonia team, Seng. He has a very interesting background, having worked in several dot coms including Amazon and spent over a year working in Rwanda, so we enjoyed swapping experiences of East Africa.
The IRS requires that a private foundation like the Gate Foundation spends at least 5% of its investment value each year on its charitable purpose, which means that we have to spend at least $4 billion per year or face serious tax consequences. What a nice problem to have! Moreover, when Warren Buffet, who has pledged his fortune to the Foundation dies, the Foundation is required to spend his entire bequest on charitable purposes within 15 years. So our job is to ensure that the good works intended by Bill, Melinda and Warren are carried out around the world.
The IRS requires that a private foundation like the Gate Foundation spends at least 5% of its investment value each year on its charitable purpose, which means that we have to spend at least $4 billion per year or face serious tax consequences. What a nice problem to have! Moreover, when Warren Buffet, who has pledged his fortune to the Foundation dies, the Foundation is required to spend his entire bequest on charitable purposes within 15 years. So our job is to ensure that the good works intended by Bill, Melinda and Warren are carried out around the world.
Midnight Rain to Georgia
The post title was dreamed up by Libby Weber on Facebook - it was so good I couldn't resist stealing it. I took the red-eye flight last Thursday to Atlanta, returning at 1 am on Monday, and the rain poured incessantly all weekend, while I'm told it was glorious back in Seattle.
On Thursday I hopped on a bus to go downtown at lunchtime to buy a bouquet of spring flowers at Pike Place Market to take to Atlanta as a gift for the hostess. To my delight the flowers made it all the way through airport security, I found a space for them in the overhead locker on the plane despite a full flight, and they arrived fresh and fragrant on Friday morning and were still looking good on Sunday. A bit like me (hah!). There are some great ethnic eateries at the market and I bought myself a piroshky (Russian potato and mushroom snack pie) for lunch - delicious Russian comfort food! There is a Turkish cafe a few doors down that i plan to try next time. I managed to get downtown and back by bus, stop in at the apartment to eat my piroshky and was back at my desk in under an hour. Not bad!
I plucked up the courage to try taking an Uber taxi for the first time to the airport, which worked as efficiently as a Swiss clock and worked out at almost half the price of the taxi back. As we crested the I-5 freeway, Mount Rainier rose like a vast moons in the south in the clear twilight sky. I was so excited to glimpse the sleeping giant at last after three weeks of searching for it on the horizon. It is just as impressive a sight as they say.
Home week
The second full week of every month is designated 'Home Week' at the Foundation, when employees are asked not to travel to facilitate scheduling internal team meetings in Seattle. Ironically, since I will be working from home in San Diego longer term, 'Home Week' is the one week I will not be at home! The campus is thronged with people and conference rooms are at a premium. The sinks overflow with used coffee cups and there are long lunch lines in the cafeteria. My week was crammed with meetings, business lunches and dinners, while the fresh vegetables I'd bought the weekend before at Pike Place Market, intended for cooking at home, languished uneaten in the bottom of the fridge. New restaurants visited this week included Tilikum Place Cafe (twice) which is only five minutes' walk from the apartment and serves great oysters raw or baked; Etta's Seafood down at Pike Place whose famous rubbed salmon lived up to expectations; and a sushi bar complete with conveyor belt.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Who's who at WHO
Today Gates Foundation employees crowded into a packed conference room to hear a panel discussion moderated by Chris Elias, who heads Global Development at the Foundation with speaker Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General of WHO, the World Health Organization, about partnership between WHO and the Gates Foundation. The other panelists were Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, Assistant Director General, who worked with the Foundation on the successful roll-out of the Meningitis A vaccine in sub-Saharan Africa's 'meningitis belt', since which not a single case of Meningitis A has been reported in the region, and Dr, Ala Alwan, Regional Director for East Mediterranean who is currently working with the Foundation to eradicate polio in Pakistan
WHO praised the Foundation as a partner that contributes not just funding but also technical expertise and collaboration. We currently have 92 'investments' (Gates-speak for grants) with WHO totaling around $1,5 billion, about half of which is going towards eradication of polio. Other themes included the importance of working with industry to increase access to drugs and vaccines to the whole world, as well as getting national governments to take ownership of national health systems and not to rely on foreign development organizations.
The most fascinating aspect for me was Dr. Chan's comments on how she is reforming WHO, which is now 65 years old. Dr. Chan advised that to reform such an elderly organization one must first change programmes to be relevant today (and not 65 years ago when WHO was formed). Second one must change the managers where necessary and third, and hardest to effect with 194 member countries, one must change governance. To do this, she said, trust and transparency are paramount. Crisis can also be a useful catalyst for change, and Dr. Chan described how WHO had evolved through the global economic crisis of 2008 which dramatically reduced donations to WHO, the 2009-10 pandemic flu outbreak and then the 2015 Ebola outbreak in mounting an emergency response.
WHO praised the Foundation as a partner that contributes not just funding but also technical expertise and collaboration. We currently have 92 'investments' (Gates-speak for grants) with WHO totaling around $1,5 billion, about half of which is going towards eradication of polio. Other themes included the importance of working with industry to increase access to drugs and vaccines to the whole world, as well as getting national governments to take ownership of national health systems and not to rely on foreign development organizations.
The most fascinating aspect for me was Dr. Chan's comments on how she is reforming WHO, which is now 65 years old. Dr. Chan advised that to reform such an elderly organization one must first change programmes to be relevant today (and not 65 years ago when WHO was formed). Second one must change the managers where necessary and third, and hardest to effect with 194 member countries, one must change governance. To do this, she said, trust and transparency are paramount. Crisis can also be a useful catalyst for change, and Dr. Chan described how WHO had evolved through the global economic crisis of 2008 which dramatically reduced donations to WHO, the 2009-10 pandemic flu outbreak and then the 2015 Ebola outbreak in mounting an emergency response.
Big Brother
Do you ever watch the CBS show 'Person of Interest'? It's about a computer that tracks individual people and sends in a team to rescue them when it perceives they are in mortal danger. It turns out that today's technology is closer to this capability than you might think. Yesterday I attended a talk by a senior program officer from the Polio team about a grant with Oakridge National Laboratory to assess population using satellite imaging. The goal is to accurately determine the population and where they live in Nigeria for the purpose of distributing polio vaccines. Censuses can be inaccurate particularly in countries where 20% of the population is under 5 years old and this can lead to shortages or expensive waste of vaccines for mass immunization programs.
The technology is breathtaking. Sandia scientists can analyze images anywhere in the world down to 0.5 meters resolution. They use team members on the ground to assess which kinds of structures are non residential and residential and also how many people of what socio-economic status and demographic live there, and then apply these assumptions to satellite images. The boundary between different kinds of residences indicates the socio-economic status with shanty towns having ragged edges and more expensive planned developments having straight edges. Infra red imaging can be used to distinguish one crop from another and also to identify water, for example open sewers which often carry diseases. While the power of this technology is immense, the biggest challenge is getting local governments to accept and use the data. Many do not want to know about small communities under the radar as the implications of being obliged to provide services and also even for redistricting and impact on elections can be considerable.
Big brother is watching you!
The technology is breathtaking. Sandia scientists can analyze images anywhere in the world down to 0.5 meters resolution. They use team members on the ground to assess which kinds of structures are non residential and residential and also how many people of what socio-economic status and demographic live there, and then apply these assumptions to satellite images. The boundary between different kinds of residences indicates the socio-economic status with shanty towns having ragged edges and more expensive planned developments having straight edges. Infra red imaging can be used to distinguish one crop from another and also to identify water, for example open sewers which often carry diseases. While the power of this technology is immense, the biggest challenge is getting local governments to accept and use the data. Many do not want to know about small communities under the radar as the implications of being obliged to provide services and also even for redistricting and impact on elections can be considerable.
Big brother is watching you!
Chamber music in Vancouver
Vancouver is a beautiful city. Peter and Gesine's home looks out across English Bay to the high rise buildings downtown. The bay runs due east and at sunset the rays of the setting sun shines from the Pacific Ocean straight up the bay to set the mirrored skyscrapers afire with a rosy glow. We were blessed with good weather - bright sunshine with fluffy clouds - while we were there and the sunset also illuminated the drifting swathes of mist descending from the snow capped mountains. Really beautiful.
Becky and I were treated to a tour of Vancouver highlights, which included a drive around Stanley Park and a trip to Granville Market. One of the more unusual sights was a pile of sulphur waiting for shipment to China for manufacturing sulphuric acid. It is truly canary yellow and brought back fond memories of high school chemistry. Granville Market lived up to expectations with a fabulous array of jams, cheeses, pates, fruits and sausages from around the world.
The raison d'etre for the trip was to play chamber music from Peter's extensive library. As Becky was also staying we only needed a fourth to make up a quartet and Peter invited a series of local friends to join us throughout the weekend. I kept having to pinch myself to remember I was in a foreign country; rolling through on the train you don't get the same sense of crossing a border that you do when you fly.
Becky and I were treated to a tour of Vancouver highlights, which included a drive around Stanley Park and a trip to Granville Market. One of the more unusual sights was a pile of sulphur waiting for shipment to China for manufacturing sulphuric acid. It is truly canary yellow and brought back fond memories of high school chemistry. Granville Market lived up to expectations with a fabulous array of jams, cheeses, pates, fruits and sausages from around the world.
The raison d'etre for the trip was to play chamber music from Peter's extensive library. As Becky was also staying we only needed a fourth to make up a quartet and Peter invited a series of local friends to join us throughout the weekend. I kept having to pinch myself to remember I was in a foreign country; rolling through on the train you don't get the same sense of crossing a border that you do when you fly.
Friday, April 10, 2015
From the train
I'm blogging aboard the train from Seattle to Vancouver, where I'm headed for a weekend of playing chamber music. The tracks run along the rim of Puget Sound, fringed with gorse and pussy willow in bloom, with crows and seagulls chasing the train and mallards bobbing on the water. The beaches are grey shingle with tree trunks washed up here and there. Seattle King Street Station is palatial, with carved and polished white marble columns and ceilings, with green and gold tile mosaic inlays on the walls
Today has been fascinating. I met with the head of Discovery to find out what kinds of preclinical research the Foundation funds. We are doing a number of human challenge studies used for vaccine testing, in which healthy volunteers are infected with a safe strain of whatever the disease being studied is, to see if prior vaccination can protect against the infection. Then I met with my Grants and Contracts manager and learned about the way the Foundation ensures compliance in grant making with US tax laws. My third meeting was with a colleague from strategy and program management who told me how the Foundation is working across a number of 'product development partners' whom the Foundation funds to do the drug and vaccine development in the third world, to help build their capabilities and give the access to tools to help them be more effective. It is amazing to see the breadth of work the Foundation is supporting and the ways that systems and processes are continually being improved for more effective grant making.
Today has been fascinating. I met with the head of Discovery to find out what kinds of preclinical research the Foundation funds. We are doing a number of human challenge studies used for vaccine testing, in which healthy volunteers are infected with a safe strain of whatever the disease being studied is, to see if prior vaccination can protect against the infection. Then I met with my Grants and Contracts manager and learned about the way the Foundation ensures compliance in grant making with US tax laws. My third meeting was with a colleague from strategy and program management who told me how the Foundation is working across a number of 'product development partners' whom the Foundation funds to do the drug and vaccine development in the third world, to help build their capabilities and give the access to tools to help them be more effective. It is amazing to see the breadth of work the Foundation is supporting and the ways that systems and processes are continually being improved for more effective grant making.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
If money were no object...
When I arrived at work this morning I was greeted by the surreal view of gardeners weeding the 'green' rooftops, safely tethered to the building outside the fifth floor windows. I should elaborate that the Gates Foundation building, which has the highest LEED rating, literally has green roofs planted with spreading succulents, heathers and blueberry plants to harvest rainwater and provide thermal insulation.
I participated in a 'learning circle' mentoring / training session on grantee relations this morning. The facilitator was an eight year foundation veteran who works on grants in the local Pacific Northwest region and the other participants were both physicians, one an expert in tuberculosis research and the other had previously been the CDC country director in Swaziland. The discussion struck home what a topsy-turvy world we work in, where we are seeking to solve the most difficult and intractable problems in global health, and where there's a will and a way, there is money to fund it.
I participated in a 'learning circle' mentoring / training session on grantee relations this morning. The facilitator was an eight year foundation veteran who works on grants in the local Pacific Northwest region and the other participants were both physicians, one an expert in tuberculosis research and the other had previously been the CDC country director in Swaziland. The discussion struck home what a topsy-turvy world we work in, where we are seeking to solve the most difficult and intractable problems in global health, and where there's a will and a way, there is money to fund it.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Foodies on foot
Today I got to sample not one but two Seattle eateries for the first time. Fortunately both were within walking distance so I managed to burn off at least some of the calories consumed on the way there and back.
The Pneumonia team had a celebration lunch at Laredo's in honor of two team members who are moving on to other things; one is a six year Gates Foundation veteran who has a six month secondment into the Grand Challenges Grant-making group; these are relatively small (by Gates Foundation standards) grants for innovative new ideas. The other team member would have been my assistant but is moving to work at Expedia. Seattle is experiencing strong growth in e-business with both Amazon and Expedia moving in and hiring large numbers of staff. She is also contemplating living on a houseboat - very 'Sleepless in Seattle'! According to the Duck Tours guide, the actual houseboat in the movie is moored in Portage Bay in nearby Lake Union. Anyway, back to the food, which was Tex-Mex; I enjoyed a carnitas plate - succulent chunks of slow-cooked smoked fatty pork rolled in tortillas.
My colleague Lynn, who has a similar Portfolio and Platform Lead role, invited me to join her for dinner. We walked up Capitol Hill to Terra Plata and enjoyed several small plates, my favorite was the roasted baby brussels sprouts with serrano ham. Next to Terra Plata is a temple to coffee - the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. We popped in for a free sample of cold brew coffee. Did you know they actually make and sell growlers for cold brew coffee? I didn't until today and it prompted me to ask how long cold brew coffee stays fresh in the fridge. We were treated to a lecture by Nathan, who like so many millennial Seattleites had long wavy hair and an unruly ginger beard. Nathan concluded that it lasts about 5 days. He was rather intense - perhaps he drinks too much cold brew coffee...
The Pneumonia team had a celebration lunch at Laredo's in honor of two team members who are moving on to other things; one is a six year Gates Foundation veteran who has a six month secondment into the Grand Challenges Grant-making group; these are relatively small (by Gates Foundation standards) grants for innovative new ideas. The other team member would have been my assistant but is moving to work at Expedia. Seattle is experiencing strong growth in e-business with both Amazon and Expedia moving in and hiring large numbers of staff. She is also contemplating living on a houseboat - very 'Sleepless in Seattle'! According to the Duck Tours guide, the actual houseboat in the movie is moored in Portage Bay in nearby Lake Union. Anyway, back to the food, which was Tex-Mex; I enjoyed a carnitas plate - succulent chunks of slow-cooked smoked fatty pork rolled in tortillas.
My colleague Lynn, who has a similar Portfolio and Platform Lead role, invited me to join her for dinner. We walked up Capitol Hill to Terra Plata and enjoyed several small plates, my favorite was the roasted baby brussels sprouts with serrano ham. Next to Terra Plata is a temple to coffee - the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. We popped in for a free sample of cold brew coffee. Did you know they actually make and sell growlers for cold brew coffee? I didn't until today and it prompted me to ask how long cold brew coffee stays fresh in the fridge. We were treated to a lecture by Nathan, who like so many millennial Seattleites had long wavy hair and an unruly ginger beard. Nathan concluded that it lasts about 5 days. He was rather intense - perhaps he drinks too much cold brew coffee...
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Cutting Edge Coworkers
It can be very chilly here in the mornings; I came prepared for rain but was unprepared for the brisk walk into the office first thing. Have sent home for a care package of woolly hat and gloves!
I had some really interesting meetings today. I am so impressed with the calibre of my colleagues here. I'm working alongside the former head of Merck's Regulatory Affairs, and the former head of Genprobe Diagnostics' Research and Development. I also sat in on a meeting with Boston Consulting Group who are working on a model for us to forecast global demand for new vaccines. Surely with such a think tank of collective experience we can make a positive impact on global health.
I had some really interesting meetings today. I am so impressed with the calibre of my colleagues here. I'm working alongside the former head of Merck's Regulatory Affairs, and the former head of Genprobe Diagnostics' Research and Development. I also sat in on a meeting with Boston Consulting Group who are working on a model for us to forecast global demand for new vaccines. Surely with such a think tank of collective experience we can make a positive impact on global health.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Week two begins
My second week at the Gates Foundation began with the official announcement that Emilio Emini, currently Head of Pfizer's Vaccine Research & Development has accepted the position as Head of HIV Vaccines at the Gates Foundation! You might be forgiven for thinking that I've started a trend but the reality is that this has been in the works for much longer than my own recent change of job. I received a flurry of communications from former colleagues and Pfizer after the news broke at their end.
I'm starting to formulate a list of priorities and tasks to be done once I get through my initial training and orientation phase. It's fun to see my new job start to take shape and become more defined.
Now that I have a cello I can practise in the evenings after work - so far no neighbors have complained. I am planning on working my way through all 21 of Duport's cello studies as well as studying the cello parts of the late Beethoven string quartets during my three months away from San Diego.
I'm starting to formulate a list of priorities and tasks to be done once I get through my initial training and orientation phase. It's fun to see my new job start to take shape and become more defined.
Now that I have a cello I can practise in the evenings after work - so far no neighbors have complained. I am planning on working my way through all 21 of Duport's cello studies as well as studying the cello parts of the late Beethoven string quartets during my three months away from San Diego.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Weekend Wanderings
I took advantage of my first free weekend and the glorious spring weather to explore Seattle. First order of business on Saturday was to pick up my rental cello from Bischofberger Violins, a gingerbread concoction that perches atop a hill about a mile and a half's walk from the apartment. The map didn't make it clear that it was an uphill climb all the way; happily I realized that the number 8 bus goes almost door to door.
Gates Foundation employees are encouraged to save the environment by using public transportation which extends to everyone being given a free bus pass to cut down on car travel, both work and non-work related. So I've also been exercising my Orca card on the buses. I hopped on a number 70 up to the Washington University campus. The bus travels north along the shore of lake Union through Eastlake.
I spent a very pleasant couple of hours trying not very successfully to follow the walking tour of the campus in my guidebook in reverse, starting from half way around since that's where the weekend bus stops. The campus reminded me of Princeton; the cherry trees were slightly past their best but I enjoyed all the blooms including azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. Mount Rainier was stubbornly elusive, hiding behind cloud even though most of the sky was blue. I enjoyed a leisurely lunch and a flight of Washington IPAs at Big Time Brewery and Alehouse and then caught a bus downtown to Pike Place Market.
I managed to stick to my shopping list at the market although it was tempting to stray. My haul included a beautiful bunch of tulips, variegated red and gold, fresh juicy local salmon and smoked mussels, Beecher's cheese, local veggies and a box of Fran's chocolates (well, it is Easter after all), a little teapot and a couple of second hand books.
Sunday's exploring focused on Queen Anne, an upscale and historical residential neighborhood just north of the Gates Foundation. I scaled several sets of steps built in the early 1900's to connect people with the trolley stops, and enjoyed stunning panoramic views from the top. Snow capped mountains were visible to the east but Mount Rainier remained hidden behind the skyscrapers of downtown. I'm determined to see it one of these days soon! The homes in Queen Anne are beautiful, a mix of styles and periods from Victorian to modern, and the gardens are gorgeous with cherry trees, azaleas, daffodils and tulips blooming, with bluebells delicately scenting the air on the shadier slopes.
Gates Foundation employees are encouraged to save the environment by using public transportation which extends to everyone being given a free bus pass to cut down on car travel, both work and non-work related. So I've also been exercising my Orca card on the buses. I hopped on a number 70 up to the Washington University campus. The bus travels north along the shore of lake Union through Eastlake.
I spent a very pleasant couple of hours trying not very successfully to follow the walking tour of the campus in my guidebook in reverse, starting from half way around since that's where the weekend bus stops. The campus reminded me of Princeton; the cherry trees were slightly past their best but I enjoyed all the blooms including azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. Mount Rainier was stubbornly elusive, hiding behind cloud even though most of the sky was blue. I enjoyed a leisurely lunch and a flight of Washington IPAs at Big Time Brewery and Alehouse and then caught a bus downtown to Pike Place Market.
I managed to stick to my shopping list at the market although it was tempting to stray. My haul included a beautiful bunch of tulips, variegated red and gold, fresh juicy local salmon and smoked mussels, Beecher's cheese, local veggies and a box of Fran's chocolates (well, it is Easter after all), a little teapot and a couple of second hand books.
Sunday's exploring focused on Queen Anne, an upscale and historical residential neighborhood just north of the Gates Foundation. I scaled several sets of steps built in the early 1900's to connect people with the trolley stops, and enjoyed stunning panoramic views from the top. Snow capped mountains were visible to the east but Mount Rainier remained hidden behind the skyscrapers of downtown. I'm determined to see it one of these days soon! The homes in Queen Anne are beautiful, a mix of styles and periods from Victorian to modern, and the gardens are gorgeous with cherry trees, azaleas, daffodils and tulips blooming, with bluebells delicately scenting the air on the shadier slopes.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Completed my first week
I seem to have successfully navigated my first week at the Gates Foundation and am making progress in deciphering the alphabet soup of acronyms, understanding the strategy and systems and most importantly, making friends. Today's highlight was meeting CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann in the elevator on the way back from lunch. I've also made plans for dinner next week with Cristina and chamber music on Sunday with Deputy Director Chris, who gave me CDs of chamber music by his composer friend Joel Hoffman who writes beautifully for cello.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Chance encounters and playing tourist
Seattle has more weather than England in spring! A storm came rolling through early evening yesterday with lightning bolts and thunderclaps overhead, but by lunchtime the skies were clear blue again. This evening the weather was so fine that I couldn't resist taking a stroll after work down to Elliott Bay, the closest part of Puget Sound, through Olympic Sculpture Park which has its own version of an Easter Island sculpture, and the pocket park at Myrtle Edwards Beach. Everyone was out walking their dogs - Seattle seems a very dog friendly place.
I am settling in at work and finding my way around the technology, the buildings and the people. I've had a couple of very pleasant chance encounters in the kitchenette, yesterday with Cristina who moved here from San Diego two months before I did, and told me about her challenges in buying a property downtown where demand and prices are rocketing. Today I bumped into Su who was the first 'PPL' to be hired a year ago when the position was created. I am the fourth PPL to be hired. It turns out we have a shared love of birdwatching and our husbands both collect classic cars.
I have already picked up some unique Seattle souvenirs - I needed a tea towel to dry my dishes and found a very nice hand sewn one with a printed local design and rainbow dyed ric-rac braid trim. The local Walgreens also had some garden gnomes on sale with strong Seattle ties - they play left hand guitar as did Jimi Hendrix, have a hat badge with a picture of the Space Needle and are decked in the blue and green of the Seattle Seahawks. A great way to learn some local lore.
I am settling in at work and finding my way around the technology, the buildings and the people. I've had a couple of very pleasant chance encounters in the kitchenette, yesterday with Cristina who moved here from San Diego two months before I did, and told me about her challenges in buying a property downtown where demand and prices are rocketing. Today I bumped into Su who was the first 'PPL' to be hired a year ago when the position was created. I am the fourth PPL to be hired. It turns out we have a shared love of birdwatching and our husbands both collect classic cars.
I have already picked up some unique Seattle souvenirs - I needed a tea towel to dry my dishes and found a very nice hand sewn one with a printed local design and rainbow dyed ric-rac braid trim. The local Walgreens also had some garden gnomes on sale with strong Seattle ties - they play left hand guitar as did Jimi Hendrix, have a hat badge with a picture of the Space Needle and are decked in the blue and green of the Seattle Seahawks. A great way to learn some local lore.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Day Two
I got to use my umbrella today since the weather turned out to be squally showers with sunny intervals. My working day started with a welcome breakfast meeting, a great opportunity to start meeting the people I'll be working closely with. Remembering names is a challenge; I don't know how schoolteachers manage. I was also invited to two different project team meetings. It felt good to be able to contribute to the discussion. I also watched a recent video with CEO Sue Desmond-Hellman explaining the strategy and three year business plan that provided helpful context at a high level.
After work I hopped on the monorail, the quickest way to get downtown, as I had to pick up my Zipcar card that will enable me to borrow a car when I need one from the lot across the street Iconic Pike Place Market is just a short walk from the monorail stop and I also found the downtown Target store, handy for grocery shopping, right opposite the Seattle Symphony The cherry blossoms were a little overblown and bedraggled in the rain as were the homeless people huddling together under tarpaulins to stay dry.
After work I hopped on the monorail, the quickest way to get downtown, as I had to pick up my Zipcar card that will enable me to borrow a car when I need one from the lot across the street Iconic Pike Place Market is just a short walk from the monorail stop and I also found the downtown Target store, handy for grocery shopping, right opposite the Seattle Symphony The cherry blossoms were a little overblown and bedraggled in the rain as were the homeless people huddling together under tarpaulins to stay dry.
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