Nation’s Oldest Anti-Leprosy Organization Welcomes New Program Team Member

POSTED ON: JUNE 20, 2018

(Greenville, S.C., June 20, 2018)—The South Carolina-based organization working to cure and care for people with leprosy and related diseases is adding to its staff with the hiring of a program systems analyst. Joining American Leprosy Missions is Melissa Edmiston who comes with experience in global health, economic development, monitoring and evaluation, and systems development.

“Melissa has expertise in data systems plus field experience leading public health responses to infectious diseases,” says Darren Schaupp, vice president of programs. “This, combined with her heart for the people we serve, make her a great addition to our team as we build next-generation data and analytics systems to help those affected by neglected tropical diseases like leprosy.”

Prior to joining American Leprosy Missions, Edmiston worked with various global health and economic development projects in west and east Africa, supporting monitoring and evaluation methods and systems development to show impact and inform program improvement.

Most recently, Edmiston was Vice President of Operations at Mavuno, a small nonprofit organization working in eastern Congo. Prior to that she was a research fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta working to build countries’ local capacity to prevent and respond to public health outbreaks. Edmiston also served with Samaritan’s Purse International Relief in Liberia as a public health intern and later as a program manager during the Ebola outbreak, helping to strengthen community prevention measures.

Edmiston received both her bachelor of science in nutrition and her master of public health from the University of Tennessee. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science Applied Analytics online from St. Louis University.

About American Leprosy Missions

American Leprosy Missions, based in Greenville, South Carolina, is the oldest and largest Christian organization in the United States dedicated to curing and caring for people affected by leprosy and related diseases. It currently supports projects and partners in countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas. Since its founding in 1906, American Leprosy Missions has provided holistic care to more than four million people around the world including medical treatment and training, community development and vaccine research.

For Additional Information

Sarah Hesshaus
Communications Director
864.241.1731
[email protected]