JSI has named Dr. Sylvia Bartley as Chief of Staff for JSI, the global public health organization, and its affiliate, World Education, Inc.
Dr. Bartley brings to the role a distinguished career in healthcare, engaging employees, boards, and organization partners toward achieving strategic health business, philanthropic, and equity goals.
“JSI is delighted to welcome Sylvia Bartley who has demonstrated extraordinary talent in influencing change, leading people, and working cross-functionally to achieve goals at a global level. Throughout her many accomplishments, she has been a champion for health equity that is at the heart of our mission,” said JSI CEO Margaret Crotty.
As Chief of Staff, Dr. Bartley will assume an executive role and business departmental responsibilities, working with leaders across the organizations to maximize their strategic, communications, operational, and partnership strengths and achieve goals of improving the health of individuals and communities around the world, according to a press release.
A neuroscientist who has held numerous global leadership roles at Medtronic, a global leader in medical technology, services, and solutions, she most recently served as Senior Director of Health Equity Americas. Previously she was Senior Global Director for the Medtronic Foundation, in which she engaged a global workforce, nonprofit organizations, and communities towards addressing community needs, increasing access to healthcare and disaster relief, where she collaborated with innovators to forge long-term solutions. As Global Director Corporate Philanthropy, she expanded the company’s impact by consistently delivering structured and sustainable global philanthropic programs that strengthened capacity in minoritized communities, while increasing access to healthcare. For most of her twenty years at Medtronic, Dr. Bartley collaborated with healthcare systems, physicians, patients, and key stakeholders to develop, execute, and manage global neurosurgical strategies, product, and business plans, with clear measurable outcomes and metrics.
Her dedication to reducing healthcare disparities extends to her civic engagements. Dr. Bartley serves on several nonprofit boards, including as Vice President of the Board of Directors at the Johnson STEM Activity Center, connecting students from diverse backgrounds to STEM skills; Regent at Augsburg University; Advisory Board Member at The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory University and Georgia Tech; Secretary for the Board of Directors for The Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE): A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities; long standing board member for the African American Leadership Forum (AALF); and President of Black Women Rising, a nonprofit that helps develop and support female leaders in leadership positions.
Dr. Bartley is a celebrated leader and recipient of numerous awards including; the Top 100 Most Influential and Powerful Black Briton list in 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019; AALF Community Award; AARP MN and Pollen 50 over 50 Honoree (2019); Minneapolis/Saint Paul Business Journal’s Diversity in Business Award (2013) and Women in Business award (2014); The Bush Foundation Fellowship (2014); Medtronic’s Star of Excellence award (2010); African Descent Network – Atlanta Chapter Influencer Award (2021); and Human Resource Stewardship Award (2021).
She is author of Turning the Tide: Neuroscience, Spirituality, and My Path Toward Emotional Health, and hosts a long-standing weekly community public affairs radio show and podcast, The More We Know Community Show, featuring change-makers who level the playing field for all minorities by breaking barriers in their careers, lives, and communities.
Dr. Bartley earned a Ph.D. in Neurophysiology at the St. Barts and The Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry. She received her BSc with Honors in Pharmacology from the University of East London.
JSI is a global public health organization dedicated to greater health equity and improving the health of individuals and communities in the U.S. and around the world. Its affiliate, World Education, Inc. is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to improving people’s lives through education and social and economic development programs.