James Nardella

Chief Program Officer @lastmilehealth. Partnering with govts to design, scale, and sustain community health systems. In love with @JenaLeeNardella. Views=my own

[James Nardella @jamesnardella]

Huge congrats to our friends @join_chic and the other remarkable organizations that will be recognized by the @SkollFoundation Skoll Awards next week. Grateful to be part of this community of social innovators.

[Skoll Foundation @SkollFoundation]

Each year, the Skoll Foundation recognizes a select group of social innovators who are driving transformative change on urgent societal challenges. The five recipients of the 2025 Skoll Awards for Social Innovation are a remarkable group of bold organizations that have designed groundbreaking solutions to improve the lives of millions of people around the world.

What unites our 2025 Awardees is their commitment to harnessing collective action to create a brighter future. This year, we are thrilled to recognize the contributions of:

@ApisHeritage is restoring the American Dream by helping low- and middle-income employees become owners of their businesses when sellers are ready to retire.

@join_chic is a global movement working to make professional the norm in community health—ensuring community health workers are salaried, skilled, supervised, and supplied to deliver quality care.

@EarthEnable​ improves the health and living conditions of rural African families by developing more affordable, sustainable housing materials.

Healthy Learners trains teachers as school health workers, increasing access to health services, reducing absenteeism, and enabling students to learn and thrive.

@PactoDemocracia (Pact for Democracy) is coordinating the pro-democracy movement in Brazil, facilitating a broad coalition that bridges ideologies and interests to counter autocratic forces.

These leaders are proving that we go further when we go together.

Learn more about the Skoll Awards and this year’s Awardees here: https://t.co/KkqJlCyZcK
#SkollAwardee

[Skoll Foundation @SkollFoundation]

🌱 Journey to Transformation Series: New Evaluation Approaches That Fuel Collective Action

The Pro-CHW movement globally, and the constellation of organizations that contribute to it, is a testament to what is possible when evaluation frameworks shift towards collective action. Learn more about the power of this emerging method:

https://t.co/l02a0DxJxo

[Last Mile Health @lastmilehealth]

📢Out now: Last Mile Health & @integrateglobal's gender equity Framework for Action, with 16 recommendations for governments & partners to build a gender-responsive community health workforce where women #CHWs are safe, supported, & fairly paid.

Join us: https://t.co/LkHSjTBe5C

[Skoll Foundation @SkollFoundation]

“A design flaw in the current set of big bets is that makers and takers of big bets tend to see the world through a capital market lens. There is a desire among us, and pressure from the social investors, to reach the “Social Unicorn” status.” 🦄📈💸

#SkollAwardees | @LastMileHealth and @EducateGirls collaborated on a thought leadership piece about how to improve Big Bet Philanthropy.

🔗 in comments

[Last Mile Health @lastmilehealth]

“It’s unacceptable in 2024 that we’re not paying community health workers…. We need strong community health systems led by #proCHWs to meet the burden of disease created by climate change.” - Dr. Vanessa Kerry of @Seed_Global #UNGA79

[Last Mile Health @lastmilehealth]

In a new @SSIReview article, LMH's @JamesNardella & Maharshi Vaishnav of @Educate_Girls reflect that big bets can lead to real growth in impact -- but to enable the systematic change we want to see in the world, our best bet is a long bet. More: https://t.co/QUG7sbOkNm

[James Nardella @jamesnardella]

Sometimes you just need a good analogy to get an idea across.

High growth social ventures are like:
🚗 —> electric cars with a boost of philanthropic energy,
🔋 —> trying to reach and sustain their impact ambitions,
🪫 —> on a chargerless frontier.

Read on SSIR and share.

[Stanford Social Innovation Review @SSIReview]

“Patient capital and long-term backing is the boldest bet because it will lead to sustained change.” Perspectives on big bet #philanthropy from two doers on the front lines: @jamesnardella (@lastmilehealth) & Maharshi Vaishnav @educate_girls
https://t.co/x71ES3GSki

[Last Mile Health @lastmilehealth]

Our Chief Program Officer @jamesnardella: "A community health system is only held in place by the consistency & quality of its delivery. Long-term partnership is our superpower." More from a panel with @educate_girls at #SkollWF: https://t.co/qZrmi9Z7xx

[Last Mile Health @lastmilehealth]

This #WorldMalariaDay, we celebrate the launch of Liberia's 1st national malaria vaccine campaign alongside partners at @GSK & Liberia's Ministry of Health. For the first time, families will have access to immunization against the country's leading cause of death in children <5.

[James Nardella @jamesnardella]

🚀Promising early results for training Ethiopian CHWs on non-communicable diseases, like screening for hypertension, diabetes, and cancer.

📱Using a combination of in-person and digital education, ⁦@lastmilehealth⁩ has equipped CHWs with new knowledge & skills.

[Lisha McCormick @Lisha1McCormick]

It's an honor for @lastmilehealth and @SkollFoundation's partnership to be included in the 2024 @gatesfoundation annual letter authored by @MSuzman -- and a testament to the impact of professionalized CHWs around the world. 🌍
#proCHWs @rajpanjabi @jeffskoll

[James Nardella @jamesnardella]

Everyday you work hard to show up and faithfully take actions in pursuit of a challenging mission of ensuring quality healthcare reaches families at the last mile. It is meaningful, at the end of the year, to see the efforts all summed up brilliantly in a report like this one.

[Last Mile Health @lastmilehealth]

‼️JUST PUBLISHED: Last Mile Health's 2023 Impact Narrative‼️

Mile by mile, community health workers bring care within reach. Through our work with our partners, #proCHWs serve 14 million+ people in remote communities. Here's what we've done, together: https://t.co/KvkGJntwzb

[Last Mile Health @lastmilehealth]

This week, Last Mile Health leaders @Lisha1McCormick & @jamesnardella, and Mallika Raghavan joined our Malawi team to celebrate the country's new community health framework and our ongoing partnership with the Ministry of Health.

[James Nardella @jamesnardella]

A full circle moment personally- sitting down with an amazing filmmaker (and friend), @gabrieldiamond at @SkollFoundation, and reflecting on lessons from my artistic past that propel our work in social impact at @lastmilehealth.

[Last Mile Health @lastmilehealth]

"At LMH, every day we're wondering, is it possible to catalyze a critical mass of countries that become exemplars in community health?" asks LMH's @jamesnardella. "What happens if we get there & what happens if we don't?" More from @SkollFoundation: https://t.co/qUzUkq8blw

[Last Mile Health @lastmilehealth]

"We're at #UNGA78 to raise political will around the need to professionalize community health workers. To ensure #proCHWs are salaried, supplied, skilled & supervised, & there is financial support for CHW programs."
-@jamesnardella for @TheAudaciousPrj: https://t.co/JI5qc20Ajd

[New York Times World @nytimesworld]

Community health workers – the great majority of them women – put in long hours to protect people in developing countries from diseases such as malaria and H.I.V. But most are compensated minimally, or not paid at all. Now, they’re organizing for change. https://t.co/k3CMz2bagv

[James Nardella @jamesnardella]

We @lastmilehealth are here to raise the political will around the need to professionalize CHWs. If we are going to achieve universal health coverage, the health workers, who are closest to the community, those that serve their neighbors everyday, must be on the agenda.

#ProCHWs

[The Audacious Project @TheAudaciousPrj]

Last week we attended the @lastmilehealth x @Jhpiego event at #UNGA78 🌏

We had a chat with James Nardella, the Chief Program Officer at LMH on the purpose of the event & bigger impact they want to create. Watch now:

https://t.co/f1ybm3oNLN

[Community Health Impact Coalition @join_chic]

"Experience shows us that when we invest in CHWs, and when they are salaried, skilled, supervised and supplied, they can improve health outcomes with equity."
@jamesnardella calling us all to action, inspired by the work of CHWs.

[James Nardella @jamesnardella]

See @ChelseaClinton highlight @lastmilehealth and @integrateglobal commitment “to improving primary care for millions of people... their programs to support and strengthen gender-responsive community healthcare will promote better health outcomes and reduce preventable deaths”.