Prof. Sheila Tlou is Co-Chair of the Global HIV Prevention Coalition, Special Ambassador for the African Leaders Malaria Alliance, Champion of the Nursing Now Challenge, Trustee to the Board of the Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF), and Advisory Board member for the Harvard Global Nursing Leadership Program.

She is former UNAIDS Regional Director and former Minister of Health of Botswana, where she led a comprehensive HIV/AIDS program that is still a model in Africa. She is Professor Emerita of the University of Botswana and former Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Development in Primary Health Care.

As UNAIDS Regional Director, Prof. Tlou provided leadership and Political Advocacy for a sustainable AIDS response in 21 African countries. She holds a PhD in Nursing Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago., a Masters in Nursing Education from Columbia University, and a Master of Science in Nursing from the Catholic University of America. She has many publications on Human Rights and HIV/AIDS, and has received over 30 international awards for Leadership in Global Health, among them Botswana Presidential Order of Honor, Princess Srinagarindra award from Thailand, Christianne Reimann award from International Council of Nurses, and Princess Muna Al Hussein award from American Nurses Credentialing Centre. She is United Nations Eminent Person for Women, Girls, and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.