Dear Diana:
News of John’s departure is both saddening but also pleasing as rightly said that change also brings an opportunity. I personally worked with John in 2012/13 during the time we provided technical support in the development of the Malawi Ministry of Health HRH Strategy. His technical contribution and advice was enormous and I still recall the weekly discussions we used to have through skype or phone calls at that time. I am happy that that he is leaving at the time Government of Malawi has approved the HRH Strategy and is currently being implemented.
I wish him well as he prepares to join OGAC.
Hudson Nkunika, M.Sc | Senior Technical Advisor, HRH & Policy, SSDI-Systems Project | Abt Associates
Kang’ombe Building, 4th Floor-East Wing, City Centre, PO Box 31537, Lilongwe 3, Malawi
O: +265 1 772 766/7| Res.: +265 1 796 075|Mobile: +265 992961858 | +265 0888/999-563354 www.abtassociates.com
Emails: Hudson Zithane-Nkunika@SSDI-Systems.org; hudsonnkunika@yahoo.com; mchukuchukuhudson@gmail.com
Skype: hudson.nkunika 
From: Diana Silimperi
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2014 10:16 PM
To: All IHD Field; All GBDU
Cc: All Management Advisory Group; Thierry van Bastelaer; Ann Lion; Nicole Barcikowski; Elaine Baruwa; John Palen; Diana Silimperi; Margarita Fernandez; Mark McEuen; Christina Ramey; Jeanette Kesselman
Subject: Breaking News
Dear Colleagues;
I have some important news to share with you – regarding a very difficult decision that a trusted colleague has just made. As many of you know, John Palen had a long and noteworthy career in professional service with the USG before he joined Abt. And that career has called him back. OGAC has recently developed a new Unit focused on Country Ownership and Sustainability and tapped John to play a leadership role in the implementation of a new PEPFAR initiative within that unit, known as Country Health Partnerships - designed to accelerate the transition of PEPFAR countries to greater levels of country ownership and sustainability. This is a unique opportunity and one that is perfect for John’s experience and expertise. In terms of PEPFAR and public health – this is great news, but obviously for IHD, it is a significant loss. As many of you are aware, John has served a dual role over the past year as both DDVP, Technical and Senior HRH Advisor for IHD. He has also played an important role in new business development, especially in the areas of HIV and HRH. Let me assure you all that these 3 core functions: technical management and leadership at divisional level (TWGs); field/country work in HRH (HFG and bilaterals); and new business are being addressed in a careful transition and coverage plan which is explained below, and is being enacted well before his departure, the end of January, to assure overlap and a smooth transition.
Change is difficult, but with every change, comes an opportunity – so we will use this as an opportunity for analysis of the technical subdivision, what is working and what might be improved (which is actually part of a larger divisional analysis planned for later this spring – we will just bump it up!) Rest assured, I will be working closely with IHD senior management, project staff, and John to ensure a seamless transition. Below follows the basic distribution of responsibilities following John's departure.
I am very pleased to announce that IHD Fellow Thierry van Bastelaer will assume overall divisional responsibilities of Acting DDVP - Technical for the next 3-6 months. He will be working closely with John the next few weeks to assure a smooth transition. Some of these responsibilities may be further delegated, but Thierry will have oversight for the TWGs.
As noted above, during this interval we will undertake a participatory internal review of the technical subdivision to identify what is working well, and what can be improved. The role and responsibilities of the DDVP - Technical will also be reviewed, and revised as needed for the recruitment process. Your contributions to this process will be important.
Field and HFG HRH support -- John and the HFG leadership team have developed a coverage plan with new assignments. Nicole will circulate to HFG. Chris Lovelace will assume responsibility for governance work on the current Capacity Project, while Elaine Baruwa and Nicole Barcikowski will address the finance responsibilities we have on this project. We are still discussing coverage for our bilaterals that need HRM technical assistance.
New business -- John will lead AIDSFREE through submission. Ann Lion will assume leadership for Capacity Plus. Other new business to be determined.
Please offer these individuals full support as they assume these additional responsibilities, We will be prioritizing tasks to assure the most critical work is addressed, but we realize some tasks will be put on hold, if we cannot identify additional individuals to share the load.
So now, will all IHD join me in congratulating John on his new position and, more importantly, thanking him for his contributions as a manager, technical advisor, and leader within IHD. He will be sorely missed, but the silver lining in this cloud – we have a friend and trusted colleague at OGAC!!!
Diana
Diana R. Silimperi, MD
Divisional Vice President, International Health
4550 Montgomery Ave., Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20814
Tel: 301-634-1856