Advisory Council
The members of the Group Care Global (GCG) Advisory Council form an interdisciplinary group, comprised of individuals who bring a wide variety of expertise in areas that enhance the administration and mission of GCG. Council members serve as advocates for GCG, promoting its mission, vision, and values.
Members of the Advisory Council commit to the following areas of involvement with GCG:
- Identifying and creating opportunities to promote group care to the international community
- Sharing personal and professional expertise as requested by GCG
- Serving as connectors to advancement initiatives and funding opportunities
- Providing advice on issues of importance to GCG
Lilian Anomnachi
Amy Crockett
Katja van Groesen
Douglas Laube
George Little
Vlorian Molliqaj
Lilian Anomnachi
Dr Lilian Anomnachi is an integrated global health development expert with extensive combined experience in design, coordination, implementation, and monitoring of health development programs in Sub Saharan Africa. Her expertise spans clinical health, technical programming across various health diseases areas including NCDs, HIV, Malaria, SRH, MNCH, Nutrition, TB, CVD, communication, research, and behavior change, new business development and health systems strengthening with focus on Primary Health Care systems.
She has over 20 years’ experience in leading and managing large-scale integrated global health development programs with notable successes. Dr. Lillian has led critical reforms through series of technical assistance efforts within the health sector resulting in improvement in the health service delivery across the various parameters, strengthening of health-related institutions, improving capacity across all levels, strengthening processes, and impacting the lives of beneficiaries.
In her role as TAConnect’s Executive Director, she oversees a portfolio which spans Primary Healthcare (PHC) systems’ performance and increase in the uptake of RMNCAH+N, Malaria, immunization, among other services, reaching over 1,000,000 pregnant women as direct beneficiaries so far. TA Connect is a non-profit organization registered and based in Nigeria. It is a one-stop shop for the procurement of cost-effective technical assistance services for Primary Health Care (PHC) service delivery. As an innovative platform, it responds to TA priorities to promote sustainable improvements in Primary Healthcare (PHC) systems’ performance and increase the uptake of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) services especially the scale up of patient-centered care for pregnant women through Group Antenatal Care across states. TA Connect is currently in 10 states in Nigeria with an array of Technical Assistance (TA) Partners.
Prior to her role at TAConnect, Lilian has worked at Director level across various organizations like FHI360, Clinton HIV AIDS Initiative (CHAI), Health Strategy & Delivery Foundation and as an Advisor with the Federal Ministry of Health.
Lilian is an alumnus of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore MD USA and Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria; a member of American Public Health Association (APHA), National Association of Professional Women (NAPW), Association for Public Health in Nigeria (APHN), Society for Quality Health in Nigeria (SQHN) amongst others.
Katja is a long-time Group Care trainer, consultant, and advisor to programs incorporating CenteringPregnancy and Parenting into their practice. She is the Chair of the Centering Nederland Foundation.
Katja joined a midwifery practice in the Netherlands in 2004 and integrated Centering in 2012. In 2010 She received her Master’s in Midwifery with a focus on Education. She partnered with other Midwives to launch CenteringZorg in 2013 and became Chair in 2017, a position she continues to hold.
With her enthusiasm and commitment, CenteringZorg continues to grow and Katja remains instrumental in implementating, training, and developing Centering-Based Group Care in the Netherlands. In 2020, Katja began working as a GCG Consultant in Belgium, Switzerland and South Africa and is the GCG Co-lead consultant and part of the implementation research team carrying out the European Union-funded GC1000 initiative in 7 countries (Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 848147).
George Little
Dr. George Little, MD, recently retired as Professor of Pediatrics and of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Dartmouth Medical School and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in the United States where he was a neonatologist. He is involved in improving pregnancy outcomes in Kosovo where he has served as an advisor to the Ministry of Health.
George has served with a US Agency for International Development (USAID) Child Survival Project in Egypt and as a consultant to the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the United Arab Emirates University in Abu Dhabi. Early in his career he served as a Peace Corps staff physician in Nigeria and Malawi and then as the Regional Medical Officer for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Vlorian Molliqaj
Vlorian has been instrumental in implementing health and social initiatives in Kosovo, notably serving as the Kosovo country lead during the GC1000 project, part of the European Union-funded Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. During 2019-2023, he was Executive Director at Action for Mothers and Children, contributing to significant growth of impact of the organization and overseeing numerous health initiatives and securing essential funding and strategic partnerships.
Currently, he works as the Head of Mission at PLAY International in Kosovo, where he spearheads programs focused on social inclusion and youth development. His efforts have significantly promoted the use of sports as a tool for development, enhancing community resilience and well-being.
Amy Crockett
Amy Crockett, M.D., is a Maternal and Fetal Medicine specialist and the medical director of the Greenville Health System Obstetric Center. She serves as the Clinical Lead for the South Carolina Birth Outcome Initiative, the South Carolina perinatal quality collaborative and is the Vice Chair of the South Carolina Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). She is a CenteringPregnancy champion in South Carolina and now is leading a randomized controlled trial of the model in the Greenville Health System.
Amy is a Fellow of the eighth class of the Liberty Fellowship Program, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and is a founding member of Group Care Global.
Douglas Laube
Doug Laube, MD, retired as Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin. During his tenure the department experienced unprecedented growth in faculty as well as in research funding. In May of 2006, Dr. Laube became President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) following a year as President Elect. He continues to be involved in several international projects focused on women’s reproductive health and rights.
Doug served as Board Chair with the Centering Healthcare Institute and is a founding member of Group Care Global. Her served as Board Chair for Group Care Global from 2017-2023.