Jhpiego Faces Leadership Shake-Up, Strain Amid Federal Funding Cuts

Allyson Bear, a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumna and accomplished public health executive, was appointed the next president and CEO of Jhpiego, the Johns Hopkins-affiliated global health organization dedicated to improving the health and lives of women and families worldwide. The announcement, made March 17, dropped just days before the Baltimore Business Journal reported on deepening organizational strain at the Fells Point-based nonprofit, where mass layoffs and restructuring have reshaped the institution over the past year.

Bear will assume the role on April 1, succeeding Leslie Mancuso, who has led Jhpiego for more than two decades. She was selected following a global search and brings more than 25 years of experience leading complex, mission-driven health organizations.

Bear joins Jhpiego from VennHealth, a Baltimore-based public health consultancy she founded, where she holds a doctoral degree and master's in international health from the Bloomberg School and has worked in more than 45 countries, including 11 years of residence across Africa and Asia. At VennHealth, her work included leading a strategic realignment and identifying new funding sources for a large multinational development organization significantly affected by the downsizing of USAID in the first six months of 2025.

That experience matters enormously given what Jhpiego is walking into. Jhpiego, the Center for Communication Programs and the Hopkins School of Medicine announced layoffs of 1,975 people in 44 countries, the largest job cut in university history, with an additional 247 positions eliminated in the United States, mostly in Baltimore. Jhpiego alone experienced 130 employee layoffs in Baltimore.

The termination of more than $800 million in USAID grants at the university forced Johns Hopkins to wind down much of its USAID grant-related activities in Baltimore and internationally. Jhpiego and its partners had relied on USAID funding to help protect the lives of mothers and families, prevent the spread of deadly diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, and build resilient health care solutions in low-resource communities.

In 2023, 69 percent of Jhpiego's $421.2 million in revenue came from federal sources, amounting to almost $320 million, compared to $52 million from corporations and foundations. That dependency left the organization acutely exposed when USAID was effectively gutted.

For more than 50 years, Jhpiego, a nonprofit global health affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, has worked to advance U.S. interests while improving health outcomes and saving lives around the globe. It has been supported by USAID since its founding in 1973 as the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics.

The layoffs, while not unexpected, were still a blow to the affected individuals, the university and to the Baltimore region, which has a disproportionate number of global aid groups and thousands of employees among them. Catholic Relief Services, the biggest recipient of USAID funding, and Global Relief, which received other foreign aid for immigration and refugee services, also began laying off staff in Baltimore and globally.

Executive Vice Provost Stephen Gange, who chaired the 15-member search committee, said Bear "brings an insider's understanding of the university's mission and culture, combined with the external perspective gained through 25 years of global health leadership," adding that colleagues were impressed by her "strategic vision, business acumen, and authentic leadership style" and her understanding of challenges such as diversifying funding and integrating technology in low- and middle-income countries.

At VennHealth, Bear's work specifically included leading a strategic realignment and identifying new funding sources for a large multinational development organization significantly affected by the downsizing of USAID. For an organization now grappling with what JHU President Ron Daniels called "a profoundly difficult day" that marked "a significant loss of exceptional people," the hire signals that Jhpiego's leadership is betting its recovery on someone who has already navigated this particular storm once before.