Professional Experience:
Dr. Patricia B. Watson has over 20 years of professional experience spanning global health policy, gender-based violence (GBV), HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), and monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL). Her career reflects progressive responsibility across civil society leadership, national policy development, academic research, and senior technical consultancy with United Nations agencies and government partners.
Most recently, Dr. Watson served as Director of Research and Development at SisterReach Inc. in the United States, where she led organization-wide research, evaluation, and grant compliance across multiple programmatic pillars, including policy and advocacy, harm reduction, culture change, and community-based services. In this role, she designed and implemented comprehensive M&E frameworks, strengthened indicator systems, and produced high-level analyses to inform executive decision-making, donor reporting, and major funding proposals. She also supervised research staff and supported partnerships with academic institutions to advance community-based participatory research.
Dr. Watson has held numerous senior consultancy roles with UN agencies, including UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, UNAIDS, and the Jamaica Country Coordinating Mechanism. Her consultancy portfolio includes leading national GBV systems assessments, coordinating inter-agency results monitoring under the EU–UN Spotlight Initiative, and developing sustainability plans and roadmaps to support long-term systems strengthening. She has authored technical briefs, monitoring reports, and analytical assessments that informed government planning, donor investment decisions, and follow-on funding proposals.
In the area of HIV and SRH policy, Dr. Watson has played a central role in shaping Jamaica’s national response. She contributed to the development of the National HIV Policy and spearheaded the National Integrated Strategic Plan for Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV, frameworks that guide national programming and service delivery. She also supported the development of a US$16.7 million Global Fund proposal and authored the US$10.9 million UN Spotlight Initiative proposal, contributing to legislative reform, national protocols, and expanded multi-sectoral responses to family violence.
Her academic and research experience includes serving as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Memphis, where she supported proposal development, quality assurance for community research programmes, and authored scholarly work on gender, sexual violence, and family studies. Earlier in her career, Dr. Watson held roles as a research analyst and research assistant, contributing to qualitative and quantitative analyses for development and policy reform initiatives.
Dr. Watson also brings substantial executive leadership experience from her tenure as Executive Director of EVE for Life in Jamaica. In this role, she led organizational strategy, governance, and donor engagement, secured over US$1 million in funding, and expanded programme reach by more than 80 percent. She championed survivor-centered advocacy for women and girls affected by HIV and sexual violence and strengthened service delivery and community outreach nationwide.
Across all roles, Dr. Watson has consistently operated in complex, multi-sectoral environments, delivering evidence-informed, decision-ready outputs that bridge research, policy, and practice.