US Board of Directors

CBM is recognised by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit charitable organisation described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is managed by the US-specific Board of Directors.

Sheila West, Ph.D. – Chair

Sheila joined the board of CBM US in 2020. She is the El-Maghraby Professor of Preventive Ophthalmology and Vice Chair for Research at the Wilmer Eye Institute. She has a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research interests include trachoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and vision and function in older persons. Her research has informed all aspects of the present World Health Organization guidelines for trachoma control, and she has served on the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for NTDS at the World Health Organization. She is the 2017 recipient of the American Academy of Ophthalmology International Blindness Prevention award and the 2018 recipient of the Kuwait Federation for the Advancement of Science Health Sciences prize for her work in Africa.

Dr. Peter Schießl – Board Member

Peter joined the board in 2018. He is from Bavaria, Germany, and has a PhD in economics. He has held various executive positions in finance and the chemical industry. Before joining CBM in 2012, his career led him to Ecuador for 8 years, Switzerland for 3 years and Turkey for 3 years. As part of CBM Germany's executive board, he is responsible for Finance and Fundraising. He is married and has two adult children. Peter is Catholic and practices the spiritual exercises of the St. Ignatius tradition. He enjoys hiking and the outdoors.

Dr. M. Babar Qureshi – Secretary

Babar joined the board in 2020 and is designated as secretary of CBM US while also serving as the Director of the Inclusive Health Initiative with CBM International. He was born in Pakistan and did most of his schooling and professional training in Nigeria. He implemented and supervised key projects like the Comprehensive Eye Care Programme in Federally Administered Area Pakistan (European Union) and the Neglected Tropical Disease Elimination Programme in 5 countries (Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust). The passionate ophthalmologist is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and has been honoured inter alia by the Saudi Ophthalmological Society for his outstanding contributions to the prevention of blindness and global research (2016). He loves reading and spending time with his family.

Thorsten Schmidt – Treasurer

Thorsten joined the board in 2020 and is acting as treasurer of CBM US. He has an MBA in Banking and Finance and an MBA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He has held various positions as finance and risk management director in the financial services industry and was a partner in a mid-sized consulting company specialising in banking and process management before joining CBM Germany as Director of Finance and Controlling in 2014. Since 2020, he has been Director of Finance and Operations Development for CBM. He and his wife live close to Frankfurt/Main; they love fitness, reading and travelling with their soccer-crazy son.

Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, M.D. – Board Member

Mary joined the board of CBM US in 2024. She is a Professor of Retina Science and Disease and Ophthalmology at Stanford University. Her research focuses on paediatric retina, retinopathy of prematurity, and age-related macular degeneration. She has held numerous academic positions, including Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Utah. Mary's work has been recognised with awards, including the Mildred Weisenfeld Award from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. She is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of ophthalmologists and researchers. She has been involved in various leadership roles, including serving on the Telehealth Steering Committee at the University of Utah. Mary lives in Palo Alto, California, and enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with her family.