About Us
We care deeply about about public health and have devoted the entirety of our careers to advancing the health status and lived experiences of people who are often left behind. We began working together in 2010 and shortly thereafter began to conceptualize Health Across Humanity, LLC which was founded in 2021. With the knowledge that private and public donors, multi-lateral organizations, non-profit/non-governmental organizations as well as academic institutions are leading groundbreaking work, consulting provides us with important opportunities to lead and provide vital contributions to workstreams that we are passionate about and where we know that our inputs will result in meaningful change.
Malia Duffy is a Family Nurse Practitioner with a Master of Science in Public Health (MSN-FNP, MSPH) and greater than 20 years’ experience working domestically and in nearly every region of the world. Inspired by a hospital volunteer trip to Haiti at the age of fourteen, Malia has dedicated the entirety of her career to advancing health and psychosocial outcomes for populations who experience marginalization including children and adolescents, women, families, immigrant/refugee populations, and people living in street and shelter settings. She has deep knowledge and experience spanning HIV, tubercolusis, mental health, sexual and reproductive health, sexual and gender-based violence, human rights, and maternal, newborn and child health, among others. Malia is skilled at drawing upon data to design innovative global and national level strategies and activities that translate research findings into real-world action, contributing to measurable improvements.
Malia’s client experience spans across multi-lateral organizations, inter-agency working groups, national donors, and private foundations. She works in partnership with policy makers, ministries at all levels of government, local partners, and people with lived experience to advance real-world, evidence-based solutions that are deeply contextualized. With > 35 publications, Malia is a highly experienced technical writer, effectively synthesizing research and making it easily understood and actionable for diverse global audiences.
Malia has a Master of Science in Public Health from Harvard University, Pediatric and Adult Nurse Practitioner degrees from Simmons College, a nursing degree from Johns Hopkins University, and degrees in Community Health Education and Spanish from Western Washington University. She currently resides in Boston, MA. See her LinkedIn profile for a comprehensive description of her clients and professional experience and her Google Scholar profile for her peer-reviewed publications.
Melissa Sharer is a social worker ( PhD, MPH, MSW) who has been working in public health, social welfare, and youth development since her time with the Peace Corps in Armenia starting in 1994. She has spent the past 25 years working in global settings, and is experienced in developing, delivering, and managing programs and research in development, relief, and post-conflict/transitional settings. Central areas of interest and experience focus on building strong public health and social services for children/youth inclusive of HIV/AIDS, maternal/child health, mental health, and issues related to sexual and gender-based violence. Dr. Sharer has expertise in designing/managing operational and participatory research, providing training/teaching and in implementing public health and social welfare programs in the United States, and in over 25 countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Having strong writing skills and a background in education, she has developed and delivered professional health, HIV, GBV, and youth/peer trainings tailored for audiences ranging from low-literacy populations to medical doctors.
Dr. Sharer has authored several peer-review publications, case studies, and training manuals, is an academic editor for the PLOS One journal, and has made several oral presentations at international and national conferences. Dr. Sharer's active research and practice agenda focuses on refugee/immigrant mental health; substance use prevention and treatment; foster and juvenile justice strategies; child protection; gun violence prevention; and community based mental health.
Melissa has a PhD in Social Work from the School of Social Service at The Catholic University of America, a Masters in Social Work and a Masters in Public Health from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently resides in Geneseo, Illinois. See her LinkedIn profile and her Google Scholar profile for a comprehensive description of her professional experience and skills.