Program Director

Lindsey Rose Melby Poly serves as the Program Director for the Nursing and Midwifery Development Foundation, where she combines creativity, compassion, and strategic leadership to strengthen healthcare education across the globe. With a background that bridges clinical care, community engagement, art, psychology, and nonprofit leadership, Lindsey approaches every project with both precision and empathy.

She holds an Honors Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Utah, with minors in Ceramics and Honors Global Health. Her interdisciplinary training has shaped her belief that health and healing extend beyond the physical—to include mental, emotional, and environmental well-being.

Lindsey’s passion for global health and human rights began early. Her academic journey has taken her from conducting research at the Washington University in St. Louis, to fieldwork in Utah, Uganda, Cambodia, Iraq, and the Dominican Republic, where she has experienced firsthand how culture and access shape healthcare outcomes.

Her first experience in Iraq—helping in early stages of the NMDC development and teaching English at a local hospital—sparked a lasting commitment to supporting frontline health workers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Today, Lindsey leads NMDF’s efforts to expand access to quality care by empowering nurses, midwives, and educators through training, collaboration, and cross-cultural exchange.