Prof. Were was born in 1940. She is an outstanding example of a brilliant scientist with determination and consistency within a compassionate and flexible frame of mind. This is exemplified by the fact that she only had biology at high school but taught herself high school chemistry and physics when enrolled at William Penn College, Oskaloosa Iowa in 1961. On graduating in 1964 with a composite major in natural sciences with a focus on biology, chemistry and physics; she was listed among who is who among Students Graduating from American universities and Colleges for outstanding grades. While her focus was on medicine, she enrolled into the Diploma in Education program at Makerere in 1965 when the Ministry of Education asked her to prepare to teach sciences in high school. She completed the year’s course in 1966 and got married to Humphreys R. Were. Prof. Were successfully transmitted scientific knowledge and physical education to high school minds as some subsequently took up science-based careers. But moved by the lack of African doctors, while a wife and mother, she enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine in Nairobi in 1968. On graduation in 1973, she was cited as the best overall student in the graduating class and honored with prizes such as the Kenya Medical Association Prize. Subsequently, she distinguished herself as a medical officer in the Ministry of Health, Division of Communicable Disease Control in 1973-1974. She was recruited into the Faculty of Medicine in 1974 to teach in the Department of Community Health. While in the Department, she obtained both the Master (1976) and Doctor of Public Health (1981) degrees from the Johns Hopkins University, USA where, in 1981, she was admitted into the Public Health Honor Society and also received the George Tolbert Award for outstanding contribution to International Public Health. Miriam became Head of the Department of Community Health in 1982 and coordinated the establishment of the first Master of Public Health program in Kenya. During the time in the Department of Community Health, she implemented a major research project-Organization and Management of Community-Based Health Care, which was published by UNICEF in 1982. From 1985, Miriam started on a distinguished international career as Chief of Health and Nutrition in UNICEF, Ethiopia (1985-1990), Representative of the World Health Organization in Ethiopia (1990-1993) and Director in UNFPA heading a team that provided technical services in Population and Reproductive Health in East, Central and Anglophone West Africa. In 1992, W.H.O published her work - Accelerated Child Health Development (ACHD) in health systems research series. Since retiring from the UN in 2000, Prof. Miriam Were has been honored through senior positions, including Chair of the National AIDS Control Council and the African Medical and Research Foundation (2003-2009) plus membership in key boards such as the Global Health Workforce Alliance and Champions for an HIV-Free Generation with former Heads of State. She has been called upon to give keynote addresses across the world.