Helen Keller International Appoints Kathy Spahn as President and Chief Executive Officer

New York, March 17, 2005 – The Board of Trustees at Helen Keller International (HKI) has appointed Kathy Spahn as President and Chief Executive Officer.  

Helen Keller wrote, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” “Kathy has clearly devoted herself to helping the needy overcome suffering and forge new lives,” said Dan Sisler, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for HKI.  “Kathy is ideally suited for this position and will readily apply her skills and experience to HKI’s tasks – the avoidance of blindness, the restoration of sight, the provision of assistance to the permanently blind and the prevention of malnutrition, hunger and related diseases,” he added.

Ms. Spahn has most recently been the President and Executive Director of ORBIS, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of blindness in the developing world, headquartered in New York.  In this capacity, she provided overall direction and management for the $30.7 million organization with 180 global staff in seven sites, 370 medical volunteers and four affiliates. 

Prior to her work with ORBIS, Ms. Spahn was Executive Director of God’s Love We Deliver, a nonprofit AIDS service organization.  At God’s Love We Deliver, Ms. Spahn handled a $9 million operating budget and 100-member staff, in addition to 2,500 volunteers.

Ms. Spahn is a Founding Board member of the North American International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), was a Vision 2020 Task Force member and Executive Committee member of the IAPB, and served as Chair of the Partnership Committee. She has also served on the boards of The Bernadotte Foundation for Children's Eyecare and the AIDS Nutrition Services Alliance, among numerous other board appointments in the areas of health, nutrition and the arts. She has been a frequent panelist in these areas.

Ms. Spahn will join Helen Keller International at the headquarters office in New York on March 28. Ms. Spahn replaces former President and Chief Executive Officer Nan Dale.

Helen Keller International (HKI) is a 90-year old, leading nonprofit organization that combats the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition through programs in 24 countries.  HKI’s mission is to save the sight and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged by establishing sustainable programs, based on evidence and research in vision, health and nutrition.