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Jane Hagemann (she, her, hers), MPH, has worked in international development with a focus on global health for 15 years. With professional and personal experience in 30 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, she is no stranger to understanding the complexities of program implementation, donor engagement, funding opportunities, and operational research.
Jane holds a Master of Public Health in International and Community Health from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She holds two certificates from Shipley Associates: Managing Strategic Proposals and Capturing New Business. In the realm of global health, her technical proficiency covers maternal and child health, infectious diseases, neglected tropical diseases, health systems strengthening, and social and behavior change.
As the driving force behind Zusammen Global, Jane infuses her client interactions with a relationship-centered approach and revels in engaging with others to understand their unique needs. Weaving this together with her practical experience in project management, business development, and technical support, she provides high-quality services. Over the course of her career, Jane has managed complex multimillion-dollar, multicountry public health programs for nonprofits, for-profit organizations, universities, and been part of research teams with publications in Malaria Journal and Heliyon.
Whether it was program start-up work in Burundi, mobile innovations in Mali, or training facilitation in northern Tanzania, Jane has rolled up her sleeves and worked with excitement and drive. She has led business development efforts for large USAID-funded implementing partners in the U.S. and Germany. Most recently, Jane has been working on donor mapping, landscape analysis, and engagement strategies for clients looking to diversify their funding portfolios.
Jane has a blend of expertise and is a people person. As a project manager by nature and with a strong technical background, she adds value to any business development team. She thrives working in teams, mentoring staff, and bringing empathy and passion to her work.
A Q&A Round with Jane
A Q&A Round with Jane
1. When did you decide to make public health your passion and career?
1. When did you decide to make public health your passion and career?
During college, I volunteered at an orphanage nestled on the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti for children who had lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. One day, a young boy took my hand and guided me toward a large almond tree in an open field. With unwavering determination, he laboriously cracked open a large shell to yield one single almond and placed it in the palm of my hand for me to eat. I witnessed a profound lesson in selflessness, innocence, and community on that day.
Following that experience, I pursued other opportunities to serve, explore, learn, and immerse myself in cultures beyond my own. I joined the Peace Corps a year after college. I served as a health volunteer in Togo, West Africa. Situated along a dusty road, ten hours from the capital, I found myself living in the rural village of Tchifama. There, I taught health classes to women and kids at the local high school and supported the health clinic staff during antenatal days. The clinic housed a pharmacy, yet most often, the room stood almost empty with paracetamol as the universal remedy drug.
One day at the clinic, the midwife urgently called for my assistance. A woman from the village went into labor on the tiled table in one of the barren clinic rooms. Without medical supplies, sterilized equipment, or the presence of the woman’s husband, the midwife and I helped this woman bring a child into the world. The striking scarcity of equipment, services, and access to adequate care left a lasting impression on me and reinforced my commitment to support reducing global health inequities.
After the Peace Corps, I pursued work in Washington, DC, New York, and later in Germany with the same vision I have always had: to make a difference in the world. To work with technical working groups advocating for change, to work with governments to create systems that provide life-saving drugs to rural communities, to work across borders to ensure families have access to health services, and to work with communities to ensure women give birth in safe and fully equipped clinics.
2. Why did you form Zusammen Global Consulting, LLC?
2. Why did you form Zusammen Global Consulting, LLC?
Within an eight-week timeframe, I welcomed my second child into the world and provided comfort to my mother as she passed away after a two-year battle with cancer. Navigating grief, postpartum, and a full-time job in tandem wielded a profound transformation within me. The voyage of motherhood had already changed me, but the loss of my mother catalyzed even deeper changes, influencing not only my perspective on life but also my career trajectory. I wanted to continue my work in global health, working together with organizations and across cultures, but with a flexible schedule and not as a full-time employee. I wanted to take everything I had learned over the years and support those also seeking a world with better health outcomes, but in a different capacity: as a business owner and consultant. I also wanted to find the time to be together with my family and enjoy life’s journey.
And so, I formed Zusammen Global in 2023.
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