Gillian Regina Barclay

Biography

Dr. Gillian Barclay is an accomplished executive leader with more than 20 years of experience across philanthropy, the private and public sectors, intergovernmental organizations, and academia. She is recognized for advancing global human rights through evidence-informed policies and strategic partnerships, and for aligning organizational resources with bold strategic visions that drive systemic change. Her cross-sector expertise has been central to advancing health and economic equity for vulnerable populations worldwide.

Most recently, Gillian served as Senior Vice President for Global Public Health and Scientific Affairs at Colgate-Palmolive, where she led impactful initiatives across North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Europe. She designed and implemented a major overhaul of the company’s most significant global corporate social responsibility investment. Her work helped catalyze significant health policy shifts in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, producing evidence-based advocacy that led to the reallocation of public resources to improve health and economic outcomes for children and families and to strengthen the public-sector workforce in health and education.

Previously, as Health Industry Specialist at the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Gillian developed strategies to diversify the state’s economy beyond gaming, mining, and hospitality, positioning health equity as a core driver of economic growth. She played a pivotal role in advancing Nevada’s first state-approved academic health center, fostering new business development and job creation across the health and tertiary education sectors.

As Vice President of the Aetna Foundation, she led the Foundation’s program portfolio, centered on racial and ethnic health equity. She spearheaded initiatives focused on food security, integrated health care and care coordination, digital tools for addressing the determinants of health, and cultivating policy leadership for health equity. In her role as Advisor for Health Systems Strengthening at the World Health Organization (WHO/PAHO), she directed systems-change efforts across twenty-one low- and middle-income countries and the CARICOM region, resulting in strengthened public health infrastructure and expanded primary health care systems. Earlier in her career at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Gillian advanced evaluation frameworks focused on increasing health equity, contributing to the national expansion of school-based health centers, stronger food systems, and improved health and economic outcomes for Alaska Native communities.

A respected speaker and educator, Gillian has held academic appointments at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the City University of New York, Old Dominion University, the University of Nevada–Las Vegas, and the University of the West Indies. She holds a Doctor of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, an MPH from the University of Michigan, a DDS from the University of Detroit Mercy, and a BS in Marine Sciences from the University of the West Indies. She serves on boards and panels, including the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; The Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved; Concordia; Hip Hop Public Health; and the School-Based Health Alliance.

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