ENgAGE Launch Speakers' Bio
Dr. Hiromasa Okayasu
Director of the Division of Healthy Environments and Populations, World Health Organization - Regional Office for the Western Pacific
Dr. Hiromasa Okayasu has over 20 years of experience in public health and the private sector. He worked for McKinsey & Company in Tokyo and New Jersey, advising clients in private and public sectors on various strategic issues. Then, He has spent 15 years at the World Health Organization (WHO) in various roles at Headquarters, Regional, and Country Offices.
At WHO Headquarters, Dr. Okayasu led the Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV) technology transfer initiative, resulting in three new IPV products. As a focal point for the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization's polio Working Group, he coordinated policies that led to the declaration of polio as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and the withdrawal of OPV2. In WHO Cambodia, he led the Mekong Malaria Elimination initiative, contributing to significant reduction of malaria cases in the Greater Mekong Subregion. In the Western Pacific Region, he started the Healthy Ageing Programme, promoting changes in social and health systems for ageing populations.
Currently, he serves as Director of Healthy Environments and Populations, responsible for prevention of non-communicable diseases, social determinants of health, healthy ageing, and environmental health.
He holds an MBA from Stanford University and an MD from Keio University.
Ms. Yoonhee Kim
Practice Manager for Urban, Disaster Risk Management, and Land in East Asia Region at the World Bank
Yoonhee Kim is the Practice Manager for Urban, Disaster Risk Management and Land (East Asia Region) within the Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Department at the World Bank. She has worked more than 15 years as an Urban Specialist in a number of countries in East Asia, South Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean Regions, where she led multi-sectoral and complex lending operations and policy dialogue on green and resilient municipal infrastructure, local government support, and urban housing. She also led and participated in a number of publications on urban economics and policy, housing and municipal service delivery. Prior to her current position, she worked as the Lead Urban Specialist and Program Leader for Sustainable Development (SD) in China, Mongolia and Korea at the World Bank, where she coordinated the SD programs consisting of environment, natural resources and blue economy, water, social sustainability and inclusion, urban, resilience and land, and agriculture and food. Yoonhee has a B.A. in political science from Yonsei University, Korea, and graduate degrees in international economics from Johns Hopkins SAIS and in urban economics and policy from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Upali Nanda
Global Sector Director and EVP, HKS Inc
Professor of Practice, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
Dr. Upali Nanda is EVP and Global Sector Director for Innovation at HKS, an international architectural firm where she oversees a range of innovation practices that work within, through and beyond the built environment for meaningful impact. Prior to her current role she served as the global research director for the firm and as the Executive Director for the non-profit Center for Advanced Design Research and Education. Dr. Nanda teaches as Professor of Practice at the Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning at University of Michigan and serves on various boards including the Academy for Neuroscience for Architecture. Her award-winning research around health and wellbeing, neuroscience and architecture, sensthetics, point of decision design, and outcome-driven design has been widely published. She has won various research and innovation awards including the 2018 Women in Architecture Innovator Award.