Rebecca Distler is an impact-driven public health leader working at the nexus of AI, policy, and global health. She currently leads strategic health partnerships at OpenAI.
For over a decade, Distler has worked with companies, foundations, nonprofits, and governments to leverage digital technology and advance health equity in low resource communities, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. Prior to OpenAI, she built and led the AI and Digital Health portfolio at the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a philanthropy advancing AI and data solutions for public good, and served as director of Global Health Initiatives at Element, a deep learning company co-founded by Yann LeCun. Throughout her career, Distler has partnered with organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Global Fund, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and various ministries of health.
Distler holds a Master's in health policy and global health from the Yale School of Public Health and a BA in political science from Yale University. She is a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations, an alumni World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and was selected as an AI XPRIZE Semi-Finalist and Gavi INFUSE Pacesetter.
Featured Work
NOV 3, 2026 • Video
Carnegie Ethics Fellows Symposium 2026
Access expert panels on water ethics, AI in healthcare, economic and national security, and AI in humanitarian response, moderated by the Carnegie Ethics Fellows.
SEP 30, 2026 • Report
Redefining the Frontline: AI, Ethical Healthcare, and Non-State Power
This report from the second CEF cohort discusses new ethical frameworks for healthcare as AI transitions to general-purpose infrastructure. How should ethical considerations shift?