Our Team
Transparency, accountability and collaboration are the foundation of the way we work – from our programs and solutions to how we make decisions. These values are our organizational compass and guide how we operate.
Mellany Murgor at “Redefining UHC – the Opportunity for NCDs,” in Naivasha, Kenya (2019)

WHO WE ARE
The Access Accelerated Steering Committee is the primary strategic decision-making body and consists of one representative from each member company. Through consensus, the Steering Committee guides the overall vision and direction of Access Accelerated with guidance from member company CEOs.
Based in Geneva, the Access Accelerated Secretariat serves as the managing body implementing programs and activities. Executing on operational decisions and driving workstreams, the Secretariat plays a crucial role in bringing the initiative's vision to life.
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Martin Bernhardt
Interim Director
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Mara Nakagawa-Harwood
Associate Director of Implementation & Partnerships
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Nicholas Misso
Associate Director of Operations
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Minji Kwak
Project Manager
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Gwendoline Navarro
Administrative Officer
Martin Bernhardt
Interim Director
Martin Bernhardt is Interim Director of Access Accelerated where he leads overall strategy and implementation for this multi-year initiative.
Martin is also a lecturer at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Geneva University, teaching Health Economics and Politics. He is an Economic and Social Scientist by training, with specialization in Pharmacoeconomics. Martin has a 20+ year experience in the pharmaceutical industry, where he held different responsibilities in market access and public affairs. He was until 2021 Head of Public Affairs Global Health in a major biopharmaceutical company, leading the relations with the World Health Organisation, the Global Fund, and other global institutions. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, he led research in Health System Science at the Laboratory of Applied Economics, Geneva University.
Engaged for the global access to quality healthcare, Martin is a member of the Drug for Neglected Diseases initiative - DNDi Access Committee and a member of the Geneva University Global Pharmacy Commission. He has a long track record of engagement in the field of non-communicable diseases – he was until 2021 co-chair of the NCD Alliance Supporters Group -, neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis and the fight against falsified medicines.
Mara Nakagawa-Harwood
Associate Director of Implementation & Partnerships
Mara Nakagawa-Harwood is the Associate Director of Implementation and Partnerships. Mara brings a wealth of international working experience with multi-stakeholder partnerships across sectors, HIV policy and advocacy and civil society engagement.
Prior to joining Access Accelerated, Mara served as Grant Coordinator for a multi-agency initiative with WHO, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UN WOMEN and the World Bank, at UNAIDS and as Liaison for the Fast Track Cities Initiative for the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC). Mara served in multiple capacities at the International AIDS Society (IAS), worked as an editor in the UK, as a journalist in Japan and as a trader for export-import companies in Brazil.
Mara studied Letters (B.Litt.) at Faculty Ibero-Americana in Brazil and Master of Public Health with specialization in International Public Health (MPH) at University of Liverpool.
Nicholas Misso
Associate Director of Operations
Nicholas Misso is the Associate Director of Operations of Access Accelerated. Nicholas has more than ten years of operations experience, gained within international organizations, public-private partnerships, and the private sector.
Prior to joining Access Accelerated, Nicholas spent eight years in global public health, initially with the Rollback Malaria Partnership and later with the World Health Organization (WHO), both headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. At WHO Nicholas worked across a variety of programs including Antimicrobial Resistance, Quality Universal Health Coverage, Infection Prevention, Primary Health Care and Ebola.
Nicholas worked in both West Africa and Geneva during the first Ebola outbreak where he was the operations interface between WHO Headquarters, and the Ebola phase 3 vaccine trials managed by WHO in West Africa.
Prior to moving into global public health Nicholas was in the private equity sector in Switzerland, and in the Netherlands where he worked for a division of the Carlyle Group.
Nicholas holds a Master’s Degree in Finance and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management.
Minji Kwak
Project Manager
Minji Kwak is the Project Manager of Access Accelerated. Minji is responsible for coordinating Access Accelerated partners collaboration and planning activities within the initiative and between the project governing bodies and the other stakeholders.
Minji previously worked at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as an Account Assistant and has built her professional experience working for NGOs, international organizations and private companies in Japan and Switzerland.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Languages and Cultures at Chiba University, Japan.
Gwendoline Navarro
Administrative Officer
Gwendoline Navarro is the Administrative Officer of Access Accelerated. She assists in administrative functions and support for the all team.
Gwendoline previously worked in a Fiduciary in Geneva as an Administrative Assistant and has built her professional experience working for international organizations in Switzerland.
She holds a Swiss diploma in administration (CFC) and a Swiss maturity in languages.