Meet The Team
Our multidisciplinary team has expertise in program development, capacity building, innovative research design, measurement and analytics, global health, clinical social work, development studies and business strategy. We have worked with communities and vulnerable populations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, South Africa and Nigeria. The MWP has engaged in over 50 years collectively of rigorous research which truly makes us unique in our design, monitoring and evaluation approach.
Dr. Lynn Murphy Michalopoulos began her work with trauma-affected populations in Zambia almost 10 years ago. Inspired by her work there, she developed the Global Post Trauma Symptom-Item Bank, in partnership with Johns Hopkins University, which has been validated in multiple non-Western contexts. Building off of her clinical experience working with trauma survivors, she developed a research program focused on understanding the lives of migrant populations. From there, she expanded her work to other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa, Malawi, and Zimbabwe which contributed to formative research indicating the complex risk environment among both labor and forced migrants in sub-Saharan Africa. This work served as the genesis of the Moving Well Project, International. Throughout her academic career at Columbia University and her role as the Resilience Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor at USAID, Lynn has sharpened her focus on the measurement of mental health outcomes and adaptation of evidence-based health and mental health programs among mobile trauma-affected populations. In addition, the extensive relationships she has built with stakeholders at the community, national, and international level has contributed to the organization’s foundational success.
She has a Bachelors in Psychology from Williams College, an Masters from the University of Chicago in Social Service Administration and a PhD from the University of Maryland in Social Work.
Lynn Michalopoulos, MA, PhD
Founder and President of the Board
Simona is a lecturer of Sociology and Research Methods in the Department of Social Work and Sociology at the University of Zambia. His research focuses on structural sources of disparities in health outcomes in low and middle-income countries, especially sub-Saharan Africa. His specific research areas include medical sociology, global health, gender-based violence, mental health, in addition to quantitative and computational social science. As a co-founder of the MWP, Simona is keen on participating and supervising the programs of the organization on the ground in Zambia. He holds an Masters of Research in Sociology and Research Methods and a PhD in Sociology and Quantitative Methods from the University of Glasgow.
Simona J Simona, PhD
Co-Founder and VP of the Board
Molly brings to MWP experience working and volunteering in nonprofits as well as background in African diaspora studies during graduate school in which she was ABD in a PhD program in History where her fields were the Atlantic World, the Black Atlantic World, and Colonialism and Imperialism. She holds a bachelors in Ancient/Medieval History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an masters in Global History with a concentration on Caribbean and Latin American Studies from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and ABD in the History PhD program at the University of Buffalo.
Molly Herrmann, MA
Treasurer of the Board
Mario Diaz, LMSW, has been in the social work field for nearly 10 years and has worked with populations ranging from youth and families, people who engage in transactional sex, people who are experiencing homelessness, and people who are living with HIV/AIDS. He earned a Masters in Social Work from the Columbia University School of Social Work and has experience working in Uganda and South Africa providing professional development and direct support to a team of social workers, medical staff, teachers, and vocational training staff. Mario has also gained clinical experience providing individual psychotherapy and is currently working as Program Director for a vocational training program that serves individuals with visible and invisible disabilities.
Mario Diaz, MS, LMSW
Secretary of the Board
Felicitas Moyo, MA, ABD
Board Member
Felicitas Moyo is a Sociologist and Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Social Development Studies. She holds a Bachelors degree in Sociology with a minor in Public Administration from the University of Zambia, a Masters degree in Sociology from the University of Manchester, and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies from Stellenbosch University. Her research areas of interest include Research Uptake, Research Utilisation, Science Policy Studies, Social Science Research Methods, Sociology of Health and social problems such as disability and mental stress-related issues. Her most recent work focuses on Social Science Research and Policy Utilization in Zambia. She has been part of the University of Zambia research team working on immunization programs under the Gavi Alliance and she is currently part of the Zambian team working on the environmental flows and restoration of the Magoye River in the Southern Province of Zambia.
Cindia Gonzalez enjoys working with non-profits as they grow their social media presence to create connectivity among staff, clients, and the community. She received her Bachelors from Salem College in Winston-Salem North Carolina. Cindia earned a Masters in Online Journalism, Magazine, and Newspaper from The Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in Syracuse New York. She currently serves her community as Board Chair for North Star LGBTQ Community Center in Winston-Salem and Co-Organizer of AmBi Triad NC along with moderating the Triad Queer Exchange and Solidarity Network on Facebook.
Cindia Gonzalez
Communications and Marketing Specialist
Mah Asombang, MD, MScGH
Program Director
Susan Chungu
Volunteer Clinical and Research Staff
Betty Oloo
Volunteer Clinical and Research Staff
Patience Mhlanga, MPH Candidate
Volunteer Clinical and Research Staff