VHW Brings on New Executive Director

New York, NY – Village Health Works, the NGO founded by Deo Niyizonkiza, subject of Tracy Kidder’s bestseller Strength in What Remains, has hired long-time advisor and former campaign operative David Cohen as Executive Director. Cohen has worked with VHW informally since 2008. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 19, 2011

Village Health Works Brings on New Executive Director

Former Obama campaign operative to lead Burundi health care NGO

New York, NY – Village Health Works, the NGO founded by Deo Niyizonkiza, subject of Tracy Kidder’s bestseller Strength in What Remains, has hired long-time advisor and former campaign operative David Cohen as Executive Director. Cohen has worked with VHW informally since 2008. 

“VHW is built on community engagement and compassion for others. David’s commitment to social justice and his long ties to the organization make him the right person to lead our efforts at this time of growth and development,” said founder Niyizonkiza. 

“I couldn’t be more excited to join Village Health Works at this moment,” Cohen said. “The organization is prospering, and with the addition of new facilities and programs this year – like our 50-bed Women’s Health Pavilion and gender-based violence counseling – VHW is fast becoming the premiere health facility in Burundi.”

Cohen has spent most of the past decade involved with political campaigns, having run multiple states during the Obama '08 campaign, as well as gubernatorial and House campaigns. 

Village Health Works’ is a community-driven partnership, responding to the input and needs of those it serves, and collaborates with supporters around the world to deliver health care and programs in a compassionate, dignified environment in one of the poorest countries in the world. 

In 2009, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder published Strength in What Remains, which became a New York Times bestseller. The book is the story of VHW’s founder, his escape from the war-torn east African nation of Burundi, and his incredible journey to the United States, where he thrives at Columbia University, Harvard University and Dartmouth college. 

VHW is a New York-based 501(c) 3 with operations in Burundi. VHW serves a catchment area of more than 200,000, providing community-driven health care, education and community development programs. VHW’s board includes Partners In Health founder Paul Farmer, author Tracy Kidder, and Kayak.com founder Paul English. 

For more information visit villagehealthworks.org.

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