James Nardella

Motivated by a passion for building resilient health systems and leaders, James Nardella serves as Chief Program Officer for Last Mile Health. Through partnership with governments, Last Mile Health expands access to high-quality community-based primary healthcare for millions of people living in remote and rural communities. James guides programs that strengthen community health systems, upskill the health workforce, and deliver community-based care and treatment in Liberia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Uganda and Sierra Leone. He also oversees Last Mile Health’s global advocacy to ensure government, philanthropy, and aid organizations prioritize investments and plans to supervise, salary, supply, and upskilll community and frontline health workers.

Prior to joining Last Mile Health, James served as Principal on the Portfolio & Investments Team at the Skoll Foundation. He led the Foundation’s relationship with a $40M portfolio of current Skoll Awardees and managed a team responsible for tracking the pipeline of candidates and monitoring the performance of past Skoll Awardees.

Prior to Skoll, James led the Lwala Community Alliance, a Kenyan health and development organization known for its community approach to increasing child survival, skilled delivery rates, and access to HIV care.

James holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts from Boston University and a M.Ed. in International Education Policy and Leadership from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.