Annemarie Hill serves as the Vice President, Global Health Operations with Special Olympics International. In this role she is responsible for the overall management of health programming across Special Olympics’ 7 regions and over 150 implementing Programs, including the liaison and integration between various programmatic elements, research and evaluation, financial and grant management, IT and data management and personnel. In addition, Annemarie is responsible for cultivating and leveraging partnerships with INGOs, aid agencies, foundations, governments and development stakeholders that promote the inclusion of individuals with intellectual disabilities in health systems and the broader community.
Prior to joining Special Olympics International in 2013, Annemarie served as the CEO of Special Olympics South Africa during which time the Program grew by over 25% and played host to two International events including the inaugural African Unified Football Cup in 2012. Prior to taking on this role, Annemarie served with Special Olympics International for 4 years where she was responsible for the roll out of the Healthy Athletes Program in 22 African states as well as the fostering of international relationships with organizations.
Annemarie is a keen sportsperson having represented her province in South Africa in 3 different sporting codes and used this experience when she spent 3 years using sport to break down racial barriers in post Apartheid. Annemarie holds a BSc (Physiotherapy) qualification from the University of Cape Town and a Masters degree in Public Health from the University of the Witwatersrand where she focused her dissertation on the training of health care professionals on the subject of intellectual disability.