Dr. Blair Gifford is a Professor of International Health Management in the Business School at the University of Colorado Denver. Also, he is the Managing Director of the International Health Management certificates in the MBA/Health and Executive MBA/Health programs, and the Founder and first Director of the Center for Global Health (School of Public Health, University of Colorado Denver). He is the current Chair of the Global Health Management Faculty Network, AUPHA.
Blair was a New Century Scholar/Fulbright (2009/10) to work on a project to bring sustainable development in health, economic development, education and forestry/agriculture to Haiti. Blair’s recent research efforts include: 1) a book on sustainable business strategies for small and medium size businesses, 2) an analysis of changing expectations for health care among the middle class in China, and, 3) a comparative study of the perceptions of medical tourism in 4 nations (Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, and India). Blair teaches international health travel/study courses (Haiti, Thailand, Venezuela, China, Vietnam), International Health, and Managing for Sustainability courses at the University of Colorado.
Blair is the founder and current Board Chair of Global Health Connections, Inc, a not for profit organization in Denver. GHC just opened (8/1/2014) a Maternity Center at CAMEJO Hospital in Leogane, Haiti. Note that Haiti has the highest maternal mortality rate in the western hemisphere, and Leogane was the epicenter for the 2010 earthquake in Haiti (200,000 dead).
Previously, Blair worked at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the American Hospital Association, and IBM. He has a PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago and did his undergraduate work in economics at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Blair assisted with global health developments as a visiting professor at Yale’s School of Public Health during the 2008/9 academic year and Northwestern University in 2000/1. He hopes to do similar sabbatical work at another university in the next year or two. Let him know of any possibilities.