Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tawana Jacobs, 202‐552‐6534 (Office), 202‐297‐1696 (Cell), tjacobs@interaction.org
Cynthia Carson, 202‐552‐6525 (Office), ccarson@interaction.org
INTERACTION APPOINTS JOEL R. CHARNY VICE PRESIDENT, HUMANITARIAN POLICY AND
PRACTICE
Washington, D.C. (October 6, 2010) — InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.‐based international
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), has chosen Joel R. Charny as its new Vice President,
Humanitarian Policy and Practice. Charny will officially start on October 12 and will be responsible for
helping to shape humanitarian policy and overall strategy in this crucial area.
“Joel brings tremendous leadership skills and a deep understanding of complex humanitarian crises,”
said InterAction president and CEO, Samuel A. Worthington. “His new role includes facilitating the
coordination of NGOs and helping the InterAction community work closely with, and if needed, analyze
the UN and U.S. government’s response to crises.”
Prior to InterAction, Charny served as Vice President for Policy at Refugees International, where he
directed the program on issues of displacement and humanitarian response. While serving in this role,
he advocated directly for improvements in the international response to humanitarian crises with the
U.S. government, international agencies and other institutions.
Charny brings 30 years of experience in international relief and development with a significant focus on
Asian countries. While with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), he led a five‐year, $67
million project in decentralized planning, governance and local development in Cambodia. He also
served in various capacities at OXFAM, including as Asia Regional Director; Southeast Asia Projects
Officer; and Administrative Officer for a 27‐agency Consortium Field Team in Cambodia.
Charny earned an MA degree in Education from Harvard University, and a BA degree in European
History from Brown University. From 2003‐2004, he was a Foreign Politics, International Relations, and
the National Interest Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for International Studies.
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InterAction is the largest alliance US‐based nongovernmental international humanitarian relief and
development organizations with 200 members. Our members operate in every developing country,
working with local communities to overcome poverty and suffering by helping to improve their quality of
life.