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Executive Management Team

Kathy Spahn
President and Chief Executive Officer

Kathy Spahn works closely with the Board of Trustees, global leaders in public health, staff members throughout Helen Keller Intl,…

Shawn K. Baker, MPH 
Chief Program Officer 

Shawn Baker leads Helen Keller’s efforts to support our world’s most vulnerable communities through strengthening food and health systems using…

Jim Cox
Chief Operating Officer

Jim Cox has 25 years of senior management experience in the field and in the US offices of international development…

Maura Fitzgerald
Chief People and Culture Officer

Maura Fitzgerald leads Helen Keller Intl’s People and Culture team, overseeing organizational design; learning and development; people operations; and talent…

Susan Kotcher
Chief External Relations Officer

Susan Kotcher is a seasoned senior leader, creative fundraising strategist, and external relations expert who has built, restructured, and led…

Patricia Manyari
Chief Financial Officer

Patricia Manyari oversees all fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities of the organization. In her role, she ensures that Helen Keller Intl…

Senior Management

Volkan Cakir
Regional Director, Eastern, Southern and Central Africa

Volkan Cakir serves as Regional Director of Eastern, Southern, and Central Africa, providing management and program oversight to Helen Keller’s…

John Uniack Davis
Regional Director, West Africa

John Uniack Davis has been Helen Keller’s Regional Director for West Africa, based in Dakar, Senegal, since 2016. He supervises…

Rolf Klemm
Vice President, Nutrition

Rolf Klemm has more than 25 years of professional experience in international public health nutrition with expertise that spans nutrition…

Nicholas Kourgialis
Vice President, Eye Health

Nicholas Kourgialis oversees Helen Keller Intl’s eye health work worldwide, including Asia, Africa, and the United States. Helen Keller seeks…

Alix de Nicolay
Managing Director, Helen Keller Europe

Alix de Nicolay opened the independent, affiliated Helen Keller Europe Paris office in 1998 with the two-fold mission of raising…

Satish Raj Pandey
Regional Director, Asia

Satish Raj Pandey joined Helen Keller Intl in 2022 as Regional Director of Asia, supporting work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar,…

Ric Plaisance
Vice President, Information and Operations Systems

Ric Plaisance has worked with Helen Keller Intl since 2004. He is responsible for the development and management of systems…

Sobana Prasad, CPA 
Vice President, Finance and Accounting

Sobana Prasad manages Helen Keller Int’s day-to-day finance and accounting operations for all locations in the United States, Africa, and…

Dr. Angela Weaver
Vice President, Neglected Tropical Diseases

Dr. Angela Weaver is a public health professional with over 20 years of experience supporting, developing, and leading domestic and…

Country Leadership

Hasina Akhter
Country Director, Bangladesh

Sarmento Júlio Armando 
Country Director, Mozambique

Alex K. Brown
Country Director, Mali

Deogratias Damas
Country Director, Tanzania

Georges Dimithe
Country Director, Burkina Faso

Sugandh Juneja
Country Director, Sierra Leone

Aimerance Kabena
Program Director, Democratic Republic of Congo

Hou Krouen
Country Director, Cambodia

Anil Neupane
Country Director, Nepal

Solomon O. Omariba
Country Director, Kenya

Philomena O. Orji
Country Director, Nigeria

Maria Fatima Dolly R. Reario
Country Representative, Philippines

Moussa Sarr
Country Director, Senegal

Mohamed Lamine Yattara
Country Director, Niger

Dr Hubert Zirimwabagabo
Country Director, Côte d’Ivoire

Christophe Zoungrana
Country Director, Guinea