ATLANTA, April 19, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- CARE USA announced today
that its Board of Directors has appointed Michelle Nunn as the global poverty-fighting
organization's new president and CEO.
Nunn, a social entrepreneur and public service pioneer, will
officially take the reins at CARE on July
1, replacing Helene D. Gayle,
who is stepping down after nearly a decade of service. Nunn
co-founded Hands on Atlanta and
grew its volunteer engagement model nationally. She then engineered
the group's merger with Points of Light — formed to promote the
spirit of volunteerism championed by former President George H. W. Bush — to create the world's
largest organization dedicated to volunteer service, with
affiliates across the globe.
"Michelle is an innovative, dynamic leader whose passion for
international social justice issues and ability to energize people
around a mission will help CARE connect more Americans to the
movement to end extreme poverty," said Paul
Jansen, chair of CARE USA's
board. "The members of CARE's CEO search committee seized on
Michelle as our top choice following a global search that, with the
help of Diversified Search, turned up many terrific
candidates."
Even prior to her 2014 race for U.S. Senate, which was one of
the country's most closely watched, Nunn was a nationally
recognized leader in the service and nonprofit sectors. As
CEO of Points of Light, she helped develop a portfolio that engaged
tens of thousands of nonprofits and corporations through a network
of 250 volunteer centers in the United
States and 29 other countries. Named to the Nonprofit Times
"Power and Influence Top 50" seven times, Nunn has served on the
President's Council on Service and Civic Engagement and as
co-convener of the Service Nation Coalition. She was a
leading advocate for the Serve America Act, enacted in 2009.
"As someone with a passion for citizen movements, I couldn't be
more excited to lead an organization that has the most critical and
compelling mission in the world today: alleviating poverty by
empowering women and girls," Nunn said. "I am eager to lead CARE's
innovative work helping communities lift themselves out of
poverty."
Nunn said she was particularly honored, given her work with
millions of volunteers, to join the organization that originated
the CARE Package®, a symbol of American generosity. "I look forward
to deepening and extending that tradition with the team at CARE and
harnessing the energy of supporters who won't accept a world where
more than 1 billion people live in extreme poverty."
Nunn, who lives in Atlanta with
her husband and two children, said she's thrilled to take the helm
of an organization based in her native Georgia. "CARE is among the groups writing the
next chapter in Atlanta's role as
a global leader in civil and human rights, and I'm so proud to be
part of that. There is a tremendous legacy of leadership at CARE
and an extraordinary team of the highest integrity, intellectual
vigor and passion— in Atlanta and
around the world."
Nunn replaces Dr. Gayle, who will continue as CARE's president
and CEO through the end of June. Dr. Gayle will lead McKinsey
Social Initiative as its inaugural CEO, starting in July. "I am
thrilled to be able to pass the leadership baton on to Michelle,"
Dr. Gayle said. "I have known her and admired her work and
commitment to public service and social justice for years. I will
leave CARE with a sense of great satisfaction knowing that she will
very capably continue to advance CARE's mission to end global
poverty and take the organization to the next level."
About CARE: Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE
Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting
global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor
girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they
have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of
poverty. A nonpartisan, nonreligious organization, CARE worked in
90 countries last year and reached more than 72 million people
around the world. To learn more, visit www.care.org.
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SOURCE CARE