Lifebox Names Natalie Meyers as Global CEO to Advance Safe Surgery Worldwide

Lifebox, a global nonprofit dedicated to making surgery and anesthesia safer, has appointed Natalie Meyers as its new Global CEO. This move comes as the organization embarks on the next phase of its 2025-2030 strategy to strengthen surgical systems, scale patient-safety programs, and improve outcomes for millions of surgical patients worldwide.

Meyers brings nearly two decades of experience in global surgery, public health, international development, government, philanthropy, and social impact innovation. She joins Lifebox from ReSurge International, where she served as Executive Vice President of Programs and Partnerships. At ReSurge, Meyers led teams across 17 countries and built ReSurge’s eight-country Africa portfolio from the ground up, working closely with local leaders and institutions. Her efforts helped secure resources to grow the organization’s programs and impact.

Before her role at ReSurge, Meyers was a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she managed over US$55 million in Ebola preparedness funding across nine African countries. She also helped set up the agency’s Ebola Task Force during the 2014 West Africa outbreak. Additionally, she worked on the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania.

Earlier in her career, Meyers worked with the Gates Foundation and Global Impact Advisors on a project that expanded contraceptive access for more than 40 million women over six years. She also supported organizations in scaling social impact as an innovation strategist in the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, managing Civic Bridge, a program that connects private-sector experts with government teams to tackle important city challenges.

Meyers is also a published thought leader on global surgery, with commentary appearing in Stanford Social Innovation Review, Devex, The Hill, and Think Global Health. She believes that safe surgery is often an afterthought in global health, yet it is the cornerstone of every strong health system.

Lifebox, co-founded in 2011 by Dr. Atul Gawande, has worked in 116 countries and trained more than 14,400 healthcare workers, helping make more than 248 million surgeries safe. The organization’s work focuses on three core areas: anesthesia safety, surgical teamwork, and reducing surgical infection. As Lifebox celebrates 15 years of making surgery and anesthesia safer, Meyers’ appointment marks a new chapter for the organization.