Tag: 3BL

International Olympic Committee news

Thirty-six athletes from 11 different countries, hosted by 15 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and competing across 12 sports were named today as members of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024. The announcement was made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Thomas Bach, during a live-streamed ceremony from Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland. Appearing at the Olympic Games for the third time, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will represent the more than 100 million displaced people around the world.

“We welcome all of you with open arms. You are an enrichment to our Olympic Community, and to our societies. With your participation in the Olympic Games, you will demonstrate the human potential of resilience and excellence. This will send a message of hope to the more than 100 million displaced people around the world.”

Thomas Bach IOC President

“At the same time, you will make billions of people around the world aware of the magnitude of the refugee crisis. Therefore, I encourage everyone, around the world, to join us in cheering for you – the IOC Refugee Olympic Team,” IOC President Thomas Bach said, when addressing all of the team members, who had joined the meeting virtually.

The composition of the team was approved by the IOC Executive Board (EB) and was based on a number of criteria including, first and foremost, each athlete’s sporting performance and their refugee status as verified by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Beyond that, the team represents the more than 100 million displaced people around the world. Consideration has also been given to a balanced representation of sport and gender, as well as the spread of countries of origin. The full list of athletes is available here.

Chef de Mission for the Refugee Olympic Team Masomah Ali Zada, who competed for the Refugee Olympic Team at Tokyo 2020, and was present today during the ceremony, welcomed the athletes: “All of you had a dream, and today your dream to compete at the Olympic Games is closer than ever. With all the challenges that you have faced, you now have a chance to inspire a new generation, represent something bigger than yourselves and show the world what refugees are capable of.”

“I want to tell you: this will be your moment in Paris, enjoy it. I am looking forward to working with all of you to make this the experience of a lifetime.”

Masomah Ali Zada Chef de Mission for the Refugee Olympic Team

The vast majority of the athletes were selected from among the refugee athletes supported by the IOC through the Refugee Athletes Scholarship Programme, funded by the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme and managed by the Olympic Refuge Foundation. The 36 selected athletes are hosted by the National Olympic Committees of Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and USA. They will compete in athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoeing, cycling, judo, sport shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said: “The Refugee Olympic Team should remind us of the resilience, courage and hopes of all those uprooted by war and persecution. These athletes represent what human beings can do, even in the face of extreme adversity.”

“The team also reminds us that sport can be transformative for people whose lives have been disrupted in often harrowing circumstances. Transformative not just for Olympians, but for everyone. Sport can offer respite, an escape from daily worries, a sense of safety, a moment of enjoyment. It can give people the chance to heal physically and mentally, and become part of a community again.”

Filippo Grandi UN High Commissioner for Refugees

An emblem for the 100 million

For the first time, the Refugee Olympic Team will compete under its own team emblem – a unifying symbol bringing together diverse athletes and giving the team its own unique identity.

Hailing from different corners of the world, each team member is an individual with their own story. Like the 100 million they stand for, they also have the shared, lived, experience of their journeys – the emblem aims to convey this through its way marker arrow design.

At the centre of the emblem there is a heart, originating from the Olympic Refuge Foundation logo, to represent the belonging the team hopes to inspire and that athletes and displaced people around the world have found through sport.

Ms Ali Zada said: “This emblem brings us all together. We are all unified by our experience – though all different, we have all had a journey to get to where we are. The athletes are not representing a specific country, they are representing the Refugee Olympic Team – having our own emblem creates a sense of belonging and empowers us to also stand for the population of more than 100 million people who share this same experience. I cannot wait to wear it proudly!”

From the Olympic Games to supporting displaced people at all levels

Supporting refugees and displaced populations remains a key priority for the IOC, and is part of Recommendation 11 of Olympic Agenda 2020+5. The Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) was established in 2017 to build on this commitment. The Foundation functions in lieu of a traditional National Olympic Committee, managing the Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holders and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024.

In addition to supporting elite athletes in their participation in the Olympic Games, the ORF works to provide access to safe sport for people affected by displacement worldwide. Through partnerships or its programmes across the globe, the ORF aims to build a movement where displaced people can enjoy the benefit of sports, wherever they may be, and through which sports can be adopted at all levels as a tool for supporting for refugees.

Since its inception in 2017, the work of the ORF has resulted in almost 400,000 young people being able to access safe sport. More than 1,600 coaches have been trained in delivering safe sport sessions, and its programmes have supported young people in 11 countries across all five continents.

Refugee Olympic Team Media Kit and Factsheet

Follow their journey on social media

As the 36 athletes prepare to compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, their progress can be followed on social media:

Refugee Olympic Team – XRefugee Olympic Team – InstagramRefugee Olympic Team – FacebookOlympic Refuge Foundation – LinkedIn

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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit, civil, non-governmental, international organisation made up of volunteers which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 4.2 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

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For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000, email: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.ioc.org.

Broadcast quality footage

The IOC Newsroom: https://newsroom.olympics.com/

Videos

YouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia

Photos

For an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr.

To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org.

Social media

For up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on X and YouTube.

Everybody knows someone, at least that’s what the statistics reveal. Currently, there are nearly 49 million Americans living with a substance use disorder in the U.S. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals there were more than 107,543 U.S. drug-related deaths last year. Additionally, according to a study by RAND Corp, more than 40 percent of Americans know someone who died from an overdose.

However, these are not just numbers. These numbers represent lives – our children, siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, coworkers, and neighbors. And, a substance use disorder, a treatable chronic disease, knows no boundaries. It is impacting all sectors of society.

There is strong evidence that investing in drug prevention and addiction treatment makes good financial sense. The ongoing existence of addiction is more expensive than the cost of treating it. Not only would investments in treatment result in the rehabilitation of millions of people with substance use disorders, but it would also save the American people billions of dollars through improved workplace productivity, reduced criminal justice costs, and reduced medical costs. According to a recent study from Fors Marsh, a certified B Corp that conducts and implements research to solve complex challenges for public and private sector clients, substance use results in $740 billion in total costs nationally each year. If there was a greater investment, society would start to see the numbers reduce.

Most importantly, people need to understand that people with substance use disorders should not be defined by their disease and that with the right treatment, people can and do recover every single day.

For families needing support for someone who has a substance use disorder, here are a few recommendations to keep in mind:

Step #1: How to determine the right treatment 
Is the person willing to receive help? If so, there is often a short window of willingness and so one needs to move fast to get them the help they need while they are still willing to receive help.

A person can take an assessment to find out what level of care is needed for themselves or a loved one. Not everyone needs 28-day in-patient care. It is also necessary for many people to go to detox first —detoxing on one’s own from alcohol or benzodiazepines can be fatal.

Step #2: Find and compare treatment centers 
Once a person knows the suggested level of care, they can continue with Shatterproof Treatment Atlas to provide options and start making phone calls to secure a bed or a space in an intensive outpatient program. Treatment Atlas is a confidential and free nonprofit platform that helps someone find treatment facilities that provide appropriate, high-quality addiction treatment. The platform also helps determine the necessary treatment based on:

Location of the program,Facility protocol to follow best practices,Known information on insurance and alternate methods of payment selected,What groups are served and,The types of treatment services offered.

Step #3: Review insurance plan benefits and coverage 
Insurance coverage for addiction treatment varies by a person’s plan and where they live. It’s complicated but it’s doable. A person can find most of these online through their insurance portal’s website. They are called “certificates of coverage.” An insurance provider can answer any questions and that number can be found on the back of an insurance card.

Conclusion 
While investing in care, there are several ways to address substance use, reduce its costs to society, improve public health, and help individuals achieve stable, long-term recovery and become productive members of society.

By ensuring loved ones have access to resources, we can change how communities support and treat people impacted by substance use disorders.

Addiction can and should be treated with science and compassion – the way we do with any other chronic illness – and we hope that you can invest your time and resources in the same way.

Gary Mendell is the founder and CEO of Shatterproof, a national nonprofit that guides society, especially families, through the complexities of a substance use disorder; informs the public on prevention, treatment and recovery from addiction; and educates the public to reduce the stigma of addiction and ensure that everyone who uses substances or has a substance use disorder can have a full and successful life in recovery.

After losing his son Brian to addiction, Mendell founded Shatterproof to spare other families the pain his had experienced.

Mendell is a frequent speaker on how our society can end the stigma unjustly associated with addiction, including testifying in front of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis and before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on Treating Substance Misuse in America. He has also been honored numerous times for his leadership related to reversing the course of the opioid epidemic. He has been a guest several times on CNBC and MSNBC to provide his perspective on commonsense solutions to the opioid epidemic, and his opinions are frequently reflected in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

Logitech Blog

It’s June, that time of year when many of us don our rainbow flag t-shirts, stake out prime spots at local Pride parades, and select the perfect tracks for our Pride party playlists. It’s also a time to remember that Pride is much more than parties and rainbows. It’s a celebration of hard-won queer joy and visibility, and a protest against the forces still working to dehumanize the LGBTQ community and deny them fundamental human rights.

For me, as the proud mom of a trans daughter, Pride month is a reminder to take stock of my role as an ally and ask whether I am truly doing all I can to create a world where my daughter and other trans kids can grow up with the same rights that the rest of us take for granted. And one thing I know for sure is that to be an ally requires more than the occasional social media “like” and a rainbow flag. To be an ally is to take action; to vote, to volunteer and perhaps most importantly to speak up–especially when it’s uncomfortable, when your voice wavers and your knees shake (mine sometimes still do).

This principle of active allyship holds true both for people and the companies where many of us work. In 2022, Logitech launched a partnership with GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization. Logitech’s partnership with GLAAD focuses on the intersection of LGBTQ representation and technology. Recently, I joined many of my Logitech colleagues and Blair Durkee, Associate Director of GLAAD Gaming as she shared the groundbreaking results of GLAAD’s inaugural Gaming Report, which Logitech sponsored.

The groundbreaking report revealed that LGBTQ people are a large and enthusiastic part of the gaming community (1 in 5 active gamers is LGBTQ) and yet, are all but absent from gaming content (less than 2% of gaming content includes LGBTQ stories). While these stats don’t surprise me – the mom of an LGBTQ gamer who joyfully shares each rare instance of LGBTQ and gender expansive content she comes across – the report sent shockwaves through the industry. By taking action, in partnership with GLAAD, we are mobilizing some of the largest players in gaming. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s smart business to create content relevant to people who make up 20% (and quickly growing) of your audience.

Blazing the trail for representation in gaming is just one example of Logitech’s active allyship. We spoke up to support marriage equality in Switzerland. In the US, we joined 300+ companies like Microsoft, Sony and General Motors to publicly oppose the onslaught of state laws undermining the rights of LGBTQ people, and in 2023 we joined a coalition of businesses condemning extremist threats against companies celebrating Pride. At Logitech, we actively live our value of equality by standing vocally and consistently with LGBTQ people everywhere.

As we celebrate Pride 2024, the human rights of the LGBTQ community are under attack. Over 65 countries criminalize LGBTQ relationships between consenting adults, and last year in the US over 500 laws targeting LGBTQ people were proposed and nearly 100 were signed into law. I’ll be honest, I lose sleep over these numbers. I also know that action is far more effective than worry, and I am energized and proud to be part of a company that is an active ally 365 days a year. We have the power as people and as members of the corporate community to write the history that we want to be part of. Let’s celebrate Pride 2024 with action.

Originally published on Rayonier.com

We believe that having the right mix of capabilities now, as well as building a strong and diverse pipeline of talent for the future, is vital to our continued success. We have initiated a variety of outreach and educational programs designed to raise awareness about our company, as well as the broader forestry sector, among students of all ages.

Internship Program

We take great pride in offering annual college internship opportunities within both our U.S. and New Zealand operations. Through our internships, we have the privilege of mentoring and supporting the development of the next generation of leaders, while also cultivating a robust pipeline of talent for future roles. Our internships provide students with a comprehensive introduction to our company, its operations, and its unique culture. Interns gain valuable insights into the wide range of roles and career opportunities available to them, helping them to make informed decisions as they plan for their future.

In 2022, we had a total of 11 students participating in our internship program, with nine based in the U.S. and two in New Zealand. These interns included three underrepresented ethnic and gender-diverse students. Interns held positions within our forestry operations, business development, GIS, technology, portfolio management, silviculture research, and accounting departments. Our interns are provided competitive pay and a number of benefits such as holiday pay, a housing allowance, and phone stipends. Annually, in the U.S., we fund two forestry scholarships through Alabama A&M University, a historically black university, and the University of Florida. These scholarships center on fostering greater inclusion and diversity. In addition, each of our New Zealand interns received a scholarship to support their future studies. We view this program as an important component of our broader efforts to both attract the best candidates and promote diversity in the forestry sector. 

Educational Initiatives

Our educational initiatives, which also serve as a resource for recruiting talented and diverse candidates include: 

Funding forestry awareness programs Participation in youth educational programs throughout our communities Supporting and funding forestry undergraduate and graduate students and programs 

For more information on responsible stewardship at Rayonier, visit our website. To view our current Sustainability Report in full, click here.

Originally published on Rayonier.com

We believe that having the right mix of capabilities now, as well as building a strong and diverse pipeline of talent for the future, is vital to our continued success. We have initiated a variety of outreach and educational programs designed to raise awareness about our company, as well as the broader forestry sector, among students of all ages.

Internship Program

We take great pride in offering annual college internship opportunities within both our U.S. and New Zealand operations. Through our internships, we have the privilege of mentoring and supporting the development of the next generation of leaders, while also cultivating a robust pipeline of talent for future roles. Our internships provide students with a comprehensive introduction to our company, its operations, and its unique culture. Interns gain valuable insights into the wide range of roles and career opportunities available to them, helping them to make informed decisions as they plan for their future.

In 2022, we had a total of 11 students participating in our internship program, with nine based in the U.S. and two in New Zealand. These interns included three underrepresented ethnic and gender-diverse students. Interns held positions within our forestry operations, business development, GIS, technology, portfolio management, silviculture research, and accounting departments. Our interns are provided competitive pay and a number of benefits such as holiday pay, a housing allowance, and phone stipends. Annually, in the U.S., we fund two forestry scholarships through Alabama A&M University, a historically black university, and the University of Florida. These scholarships center on fostering greater inclusion and diversity. In addition, each of our New Zealand interns received a scholarship to support their future studies. We view this program as an important component of our broader efforts to both attract the best candidates and promote diversity in the forestry sector. 

Educational Initiatives

Our educational initiatives, which also serve as a resource for recruiting talented and diverse candidates include: 

Funding forestry awareness programs Participation in youth educational programs throughout our communities Supporting and funding forestry undergraduate and graduate students and programs 

For more information on responsible stewardship at Rayonier, visit our website. To view our current Sustainability Report in full, click here.

Across North America, women at Saint-Gobain take the lead in Making The World A Better Home. They are manufacturers, innovators, scientists, engineers, and executives, all playing a vital role in shaping our industry.

EHS Manager Cindy Madsen from our CertainTeed Roofing location in Shakopee, MN finds motivation in being an example to her kids as a woman in manufacturing, showing them that they can aspire to be whatever they want. 

Discover your career at Saint-Gobain North America here

Watch the Saint-Gobain video series empowHERed here

About Saint-Gobain

Worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Its integrated solutions for the renovation of public and private buildings, light construction and the decarbonization of construction and industry are developed through a continuous innovation process and provide sustainability and performance. The Group’s commitment is guided by its purpose, “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME”.

€47.9 billion in sales in 2023
160,000 employees, locations in 76 countries 
Committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 

Across North America, women at Saint-Gobain take the lead in Making The World A Better Home. They are manufacturers, innovators, scientists, engineers, and executives, all playing a vital role in shaping our industry.

EHS Manager Cindy Madsen from our CertainTeed Roofing location in Shakopee, MN finds motivation in being an example to her kids as a woman in manufacturing, showing them that they can aspire to be whatever they want. 

Discover your career at Saint-Gobain North America here

Watch the Saint-Gobain video series empowHERed here

About Saint-Gobain

Worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Its integrated solutions for the renovation of public and private buildings, light construction and the decarbonization of construction and industry are developed through a continuous innovation process and provide sustainability and performance. The Group’s commitment is guided by its purpose, “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME”.

€47.9 billion in sales in 2023
160,000 employees, locations in 76 countries 
Committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 

All year long, Comcast NBCUniversal champions the stories, organizations, and cultures that live within LGBTQ+ communities. This Pride Month, we’re celebrating how Universal Truths both bring and keep us together through our best-in-class content destinations and partnerships with LGBTQ- led and serving nonprofits who are advancing digital equity for all.

Xfinity

Xfinity’s LGBTQ+ Film & TV destination on X1, Flex, and Xumo Stream Box is available year-round, and connects LGBTQ+ viewers and their allies to a growing collection of entertainment from across hundreds of networks and streaming services in one simple, curated experience.

During Pride Month, we shine a spotlight on this destination by premiering new features and content collections that highlight all the great community-friendly content available across our entertainment platforms. Our theme this year, “Universal Truths Don’t Change. Love Unites.” will be centered around the universal truths that govern our daily lives like “actions speak louder than words,” “show respect, get respect,” and “we all deserve to be loved,” and the programming that brings these mantras to life.

Other new features and collections premiering during Pride Month include curated collections of shows and movies by identity, giving viewers an easy way to find programming with characters, actors, or themes specific to one community. They can also make their viewing experience unique with the ability to “theme” their X1 experience with colors from one of the six community flags. Each theme changes the blue highlight bar used to orient customers as they browse through the experience, as well as the icon in the progress bar to mark a viewer’s place in a show or movie they are watching to the colors of the selected flag.

Queens from this season’s RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars will serve as guest editors in this year’s Pride destination, offering viewers a peek at some of their favorite LGBTQ+ shows and movies. In addition, we are bringing back other popular Pride experiences, including an updated, interactive timeline of LGBTQ+ representation in entertainment, and weekly unlocks of premium LGBTQ+ networks and streaming services including Here TV (June 3-9), Revry (June 10-16), OUTtv (June 17-23), and Dekkoo (June 24-30).

Customers can find all these great collections, features, and more by simply saying “Pride” into their voice remote.

Comcast Newsmakers

Throughout the month, Comcast Newsmakers is spotlighting leaders who are committed to championing the LGBTQ+ community, with new interviews focused on LGBTQ+ allyship, representation in the media, and intersectionality. Featured guests include social justice advocate Eboné Bell, along with Monica Trasandes of GLAAD. Interviews will be available at ComcastNewsmakers.com, and Xfinity customers can say “Comcast Newsmakers” into their Voice Remote to watch.

NBCUniversal

NBCUniversal is celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month to recognize this incredible and diverse community. NBCUniversal’s “Pride Is Universal” campaign honors the expansiveness of our truths and the importance of embracing our identities.

Digital Equity & Social Impact

Comcast NBCUniversal proudly supports organizations across the country working to collectively empower LGBTQ+ communities. In a committed effort to advance digital equity for all through Project UP, we’ve partnered with LGBT Tech to launch a Digital Navigator Program that serves the community nationally. More locally, we work alongside the Ruth Ellis Center to provide LGBTQ+ young adults with digital career resources in Highland Park, MI. We’re also supporting Transhealth to increase access to digital healthcare services in Northampton, MA, as well as Lift Zone partner, The Center on Colfax, to provide mental health services and workplace training on LGBTQ+ issues in Denver, CO.

Our Employees

Comcast employees are celebrating the LGBTQ+ community across the country at Pride parades and employee-led events, including our second national Pride Summit. This hybrid event brought together employees from the LGBTQ+ community and their allies for conversations around allyship and authenticity. In partnership with our OUT LGBTQ+ & Ally Alliance employee resource group and as part of our DE&I Speaker Series, we will broadcast a special interview featuring two-time WNBA MVP and Olympic Gold Medalist Elena Delle Donne about the importance of allyship, her experience as an LGBTQ+ professional athlete, Olympian, and more.

International Olympic Committee news

Pride House Paris 2024 will be a place full of life and celebration during the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer at the Péniche Rosa Bonheur on the Seine.

As part of its ongoing efforts to promote fairness, inclusion and respect for diversity, Pride House Paris 2024 presented its entire legacy for more inclusive sport and a better way of “living together” to mark International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on Friday (17 May).

“At the Olympic Games we are all equal. There is no discrimination,” International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said in a statement.

“This is the fundamental spirit of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Village, where athletes from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team live together in harmony under one roof.

“We welcome that the Paris 2024 Organising Committee has made sure that diversity and inclusion are central to the Olympic project and we wish Pride House Paris 2024 every success as part of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.”

Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet added: “Inclusion, openness and respect for everyone are at the heart of the values of sport, and of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“As the organiser of the world’s biggest sporting event, Paris 2024 is committed to making our society more inclusive and advancing the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender in France and around the world.

“We are proud to have this Pride House · Paris 2024, which will be a place full of life, celebration and awareness-raising.”

The first step in building its legacy was the launch of its research laboratory last January. Comprising three working groups, the aim of this “Lab” is to propose operational solutions that can easily be put in place by sports associations wishing to work on their inclusion. Each working group focuses on a specific theme, in conjunction with Pride House partners and with guest speakers who provide a real opportunity to share experience from the field. The results of this work will be shared at a special event in July.

As a legacy project of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the Organising Committee and Fier-Play are committed to working together to harness the momentum of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to drive lasting social and cultural change in the French and global sporting landscape.

This objective is all the more present with the involvement of the IOC in Pride House. The result is an historic partnership that has made Pride House Paris 2024 the first Pride House to obtain such support. This unprecedented collaboration opens up new prospects for promoting LGBTI+ inclusion in sport worldwide.

WHAT IS A PRIDE HOUSE?

Under the aegis of Pride House International, a Pride House is a benevolent and inclusive venue at major sporting events. Its aim is to combat discrimination and make LGBTI+ people more visible in sport. It offers a festive, cultural, sporting and educational programme to raise awareness among as many people as possible and make sport universal, accessible to all without discrimination.

WHERE WILL THE PRIDE HOUSE FOR PARIS 2024 BE LOCATED?

The Pride House Paris 2024 will be located on the Péniche Rosa Bonheur of the Seine. A mobile Pride House will visit various Olympic sites during the Games, in and around Paris, and a digital Pride House will make the project accessible to everyone.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., June 21, 2024 /3BL/ – Direct Relief today announced the appointment of three new members to the organization’s Board of Directors, each bringing extensive business and nonprofit expertise to support the organization’s growing humanitarian efforts. Henrietta Holsman Fore, Heitham Hassoun, MD, and Perry Siatis will be joining Direct Relief’s board at a time of significant growth for the organization’s global humanitarian response efforts, which last fiscal year included provision of essential medications, a broad range of medical supplies, and financial support in response to requests from healthcare providers and other local organizations across 88 countries and 55 U.S. states and territories.

A leader in providing medical humanitarian aid to those in need, Direct Relief is ranked fifth on the Forbes List of Top 100 Charities and earned a renewed four-star rating from Charity Navigator in 2024, America’s largest independent charity evaluator, for the 13th consecutive year.

“Direct Relief is excited to welcome these accomplished individuals to its board,” said Mark Linehan, Direct Relief’s Board Chair. “The expertise that each brings will strengthen and further the organization’s mission of mobilizing essential medical and other resources across the U.S. and around the world.”

The new directors are:

Henrietta Holsman Fore recently served as the seventh Executive Director of UNICEF. Prior to taking up this appointment, she served as both the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance in the U.S. State Department. From 2005 to 2007, Ms. Fore served as Under Secretary of State for Management, the Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. Department of State. Prior to that, she was the 37th Director of the United States Mint, a position she held from 2001 to 2005. Currently Ms. Fore serves as the Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Holsman International, a manufacturing and investment company.

Heitham Hassoun, MD, serves as the Chief Executive of International at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, California. In this role, he leads the institution’s international patient services as well as global strategy and operations. He joined Cedars-Sinai in 2018 as vice president and medical director of International. He is a highly regarded clinician and healthcare leader with a wealth of experience in global partnerships, international patient services, health system development and academic medicine. Dr. Hassoun shepherded Cedars-Sinai’s first global affiliation as well as several academic and strategic collaborations in China, Ecuador, Indonesia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. He also has overseen the expansion of Cedars-Sinai’s regional offices in multiple countries, including China, Mexico and Singapore. In addition to leading International, Dr. Hassoun is a professor of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai and maintains a clinical practice in vascular and endovascular surgery. Prior to Cedars-Sinai, Dr. Hassoun served as global medical director at Johns Hopkins Medicine and as an associate professor in the Department of Surgery at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Perry Siatis is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, where he is responsible for Legal and the Office of Ethics and Compliance. He is credited with negotiating highly successful global business deals, navigating complex government policy, and providing strategic legal guidance for multiple billion-dollar brands. Mr. Siatis began his career by practicing commercial and intellectual property (IP) litigation at DLA Piper LLP. He joined Abbott in 2005 as Counsel and progressed to Division Counsel, IP Litigation, and later became Divisional Vice President and Section Head, IP Strategy. In January 2013, Mr. Siatis joined AbbVie where he served as Vice President, Biologic Strategic Development and Legal Regulatory. He also served as the Senior Vice President of Legal Transactions and R&D/Alliance Management and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. In 2020, he led the legal strategy for the acquisition of Allergan, one of the largest acquisitions in pharmaceutical history.

The Direct Relief Board of Directors may serve up to three three-year terms.

A full list of Direct Relief’s Board and leadership is available here.