The board of directors of Project HOPE has named Rabih Torbay president and chief executive officer of Project HOPE and Tom Kenyon chief health officer, effective July 1. Torbay will have overall responsibility for advancing Project HOPE’s strategy and operations in global health and Health Affairs, the leading health policy journal published by Project HOPE. Kenyon will focus on technical delivery and innovation of Project HOPE’s global health activities in maternal, newborn and child health; HIV; tuberculosis; non-communicable diseases; and public health emergencies.
“We will benefit greatly from having Tom’s leadership and experience available as Rabih transitions into the CEO role. And focusing Tom’s passion and extensive public health expertise fully on our programs reaffirms our unwavering commitment to high quality and innovation,” says Reynold W. Mooney, chair of Project HOPE’s board of directors. “We are very fortunate to have the two of them continue at the helm of Project HOPE as we work to save lives and transform communities around the world.”
Torbay joined Project HOPE in 2017 as president and took on the role of chief operating officer in 2018. An internationally recognized expert in the management of complex disasters and emergencies, he was previously senior vice president of International Operations at International Medical Corps, where he led the organization’s global programs and a staff of more than 10,000 in 37 countries. Torbay has also advised members of Congress, the U.S. State Department and the United Nations on humanitarian and health policy for West Africa, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon. He has worked extensively in the field over the course of his career, responding to humanitarian crises in numerous countries, including Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Sudan (Darfur) and Syria.
“I am inspired by the commitment and hard work of our global Project HOPE team,” says Torbay. “I look forward to continue working with them, and with all our partners, to bring good health and hope to communities in need around the world.”
Kenyon joined Project HOPE as president and CEO in 2015 and became its chief medical officer in 2018. He has worked in global health for nearly four decades as a pediatrician, epidemiologist and innovator in program delivery. He served with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 21 years, most recently as director of the Center for Global Health, and previously as country director in Botswana, Namibia and Ethiopia, to advance local efforts to address tuberculosis and HIV epidemics. He also served as the principal deputy global AIDS coordinator and chief medical officer for PEPFAR (U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) in the Department of State from 2006 to 2008.
“I have always been inspired by the lasting impact you achieve when you transfer skills to local doctors, nurses and other health workers and local organizations, so I am extremely pleased to be able to focus full time on our global health programs,” Kenyon says. “For more than 60 years, Project HOPE has worked to address the world’s most urgent health challenges. I am excited to work with our team in this new capacity to drive new and innovative ways to make a meaningful and lasting difference in the health of millions of people around the world.”
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