Global Scholars

Short Biography

Dr. Shaloo Puri is a global health leader with more than 24 years of progressive experience and transformational impact in complex multi-sectoral settings at country and global levels. She has held leadership positions in eminent organizations including Harvard University, World Economic Forum and World Health Organization (WHO), working in collaboration with USAID, Global Fund, Gates Foundation, World Bank, other development and UN agencies, and public and private sectors. Her career has traversed clinical medicine, research, policy analysis, leadership and management of grassroots, national and global health organizations and interventions. Dr. Puri is known to be a distinguished thought leader with expertise in innovative multi-stakeholder partnerships across the spectrum of global health and health systems.

Raised in India, she studied medicine and specialized in pulmonology. Stirred by the narratives of her patients and a burning desire to explore the linkage of health, development and poverty, she stepped out of the clinical set up and re-routed her professional journey to explore the larger landscape of public health. She spent several years working in some of the remotest, destitute villages in India with civil society organizations, to improve the health status of, and empowering the most vulnerable. She takes special pride in the award of “Top ten local heroes” that she received as one of the local heroes worldwide for her work in disaster-hit regions, amongst other honors that she has received and remained committed to public service.

She moved on to work with the World Health Organization to advise the Government of India on cross-sectoral partnerships in health, followed by her work as the Country Representative, India and Advisor to the World Economic Forum’s Global Health Initiative. Here she led multi-stakeholder alliances in India, South Africa and China, coalitions that brought together businesses, NGOs and the public sector to work collaboratively on health issues. She developed the first ever guidelines for business sector engagement in Tuberculosis control and continues to provide strategic advice to UN agencies, national governments, business sector and NGOs on global health challenges as a member of technical advisory groups of WHO, ILO, UNAIDS and a board member of NGOs and academic institutions. After continuing her education at Harvard University, she was engaged in policy research on health systems and public private partnerships and health sector reform initiatives for several countries.

In July, 2018, Dr. Puri moved to St. Jude from the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, where she was directing the Doctor of Public Health Program (DrPH). At St. Jude, she will be directing the St. Jude Global Graduate Studies and is designing a Master of Science in Global Child Health Program that will be offered through the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in collaboration with GPM. The Program will offer a unique transformative educational opportunity for health professionals from across the globe. It aims to equip students with knowledge, tools and skills that will enable them to: assemble and assimilate scientific evidence; apply analytical tools and integrative thinking to develop evidence-based policies and programs; acquire leadership and management skills to bring about positive change; and ultimately identify and implement the necessary changes to systems that will improve the treatment and care of childhood cancers and catastrophic illnesses. Dr. Puri will also be working to guide and support other GPM teams and transversal programs.

Short Biography

Julie Laveglia, EdD, MA, is Director of the Global Scholars Program in the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine and Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

With over 20 years of experience in international education, Julie has cultivated expertise in global program development, strategic partnerships, student affairs, policy development and implementation, risk management, and program evaluation. She has worked in institutions and organizations to support innovative international collaborations, beginning with teaching English through the JET Program outside of Kyoto, Japan. Julie then returned to the U.S. to work at New York University with its Center for Global Affairs and NYU-in-Paris program. Afterward, Julie worked on the International Human Resources team at Lehman Brothers. She returned to higher education to join the LASPAU Office of Harvard University, where she advised graduate-level Fulbright grantees from Central and South America. Julie then worked in the Overseas Programs division at Washington University in St. Louis, collaborating closely with students, faculty, and university partners across East and South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

At St. Jude, Julie works with the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences on the design, implementation, management and evaluation of the Master of Science in Global Child Health Program, the Global Scholars Projects, and the Alumni Network. Together these initiatives form the Global Scholars Program. She leads the administration of the Global Scholars Program, operationalizes the vision, and advances the mission to deliver transformative education, generate innovative knowledge, and build global capacities to empower a diverse community of change agents. Julie also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. 

Originally from Southern New Jersey, Julie received her bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Environmental Science from Boston College. While an undergrad, she studied abroad at the Universidad de Sevilla. Julie went on to receive her master’s degree in International Education from New York University, where she interned with the Sister City Program within the New York City Commission to the United Nations. Julie received her Doctor of Education degree from the University of Memphis, concentrating in higher and adult education.

Short Biography

Brooke Happ is a program manager for the Global Scholars Program in the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine.​

In this role, Brooke works with the team on the administration and vision of the Global Scholars Program. She leads the planning, coordination, implementation and oversight of processes related to the Global Scholars Projects. The projects are implemented by graduates of the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Global Child Health master’s program that aim to bring about systems-level change to improve child health around the world.

A native of Georgia, USA, Brooke obtained her bachelor’s degree at the University of Georgia and earned a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Kentucky. She has a range of experience in program coordination, public health epidemiology and infectious disease surveillance. She began her career with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and subsequently worked as an epidemiologist at the Kentucky Department for Public Health. ​

Prior to joining the Global Scholars Program team, she supported the Global Infectious Diseases Program in the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine by facilitating training courses and coordinating capacity-building initiatives to improve infection care and prevention. It is her distinct privilege to work with the Global Scholars Program team to carry out the vision of the program and build out the Global Scholars Projects initiative.

Short Biography

Raina Burditt is a program coordinator for the Global Scholars Program in the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine. In this role, Raina supports the overall design, development, delivery and assessment of the Global Scholars' curriculum to align with program goals and objectives. This includes educational content and training materials associated with the Master of Science in Global Child Health Program and the Scholars Projects. Raina assists with developing new content and also reviews existing educational content for accuracy and quality, including curriculum mapping and alignment of learning outcomes. Her role also includes supporting and training faculty in the development and application of effective instructional strategies and assessments. Additionally, she designs, builds and organizes the online classrooms in the program learning management system and offers technical support for students, scholars, staff and faculty.  

Prior to joining St. Jude, Raina was the technology instructor at Memphis University School, where she provided training and technical support to faculty and students. She taught courses in digital design, Microsoft tools and computer coding. Before that, Raina worked at St. George's Independent School. She taught seventh-grade English and developed a specialty course called Critical Thinking, Innovation and Communication. Raina also published Scratch Programming for Beginners: A Kid's Guide to Coding Fundamentals in 2020.

Raina is originally from Boulder, Colorado. She came to the South to earn a BA in English Literature from Rhodes College. She then completed an MA in English Literature at the University of Memphis, and an MS in Instructional Design and Technology from the University of Memphis.