Direct Relief International Announces Five New Board Members
SANTA BARBARA, CA (March 23, 2007) Direct Relief International announced today the names of five new members to its Board of Directors. Thomas Cusack, Richard Godfrey, Raye Haskell, Donald Lewis, and Ashley Parker Snider will be joining the board for a three-year term.
Thomas Cusack is a private investor and business advisor. He was formerly the Chairman, President and CEO of Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company, and Executive Vice President of Transamerica Corporation. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania Libraries. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in economics and finance and was named a George F. Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School where he earned his MBA.
Richard Godfrey, who served on the Direct Relief board including as chair from 1999 to 2005, was formerly Managing Director in charge of Private Client Services for Trust Company of the West, a global investment management firm. Prior to that, he was a senior officer with Western Asset Management Company and American Express Asset Management Company. He currently chairs the Direct Relief Investment Committee and is a Trustee of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
Raye Haskell has held a variety of executive roles with the California State Department of Health, State Department of Parks and Recreation, and the State Treasurer's Office. She also serves on the Santa Barbara Board of Community Arts and Music Association, on the Board of Directors for the Little Town Club, and in a supportive capacity with Family Services Agency.
Donald Lewis has enjoyed a 30-year career in commercial and industrial real estate investment and brokerage in the Pacific Northwest. He currently is a Partner with Westlake Associates and has held positions of Senior Broker with Coldwell Banker and Cushman & Wakefield. He has served on the board of the Northwest Children's Fund, the Broadmoor Homeowners Association, and the Broadmoor Golf Club.
Ashley Parker Snider is Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations for Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard. She was previously Assistant to the Director for Advance in the Department of Housing and Urban Development and has worked in the Office of Presidential Advance in the White House. She currently chairs the Development Committee for the board of the Rehabilitation Institute at Santa Barbara and serves as President of the Rodney James Shull Foundation. She is a former board member of the Santa Barbara County Alzheimer's Association and chaired the Santa Barbara County Vintners Foundation American Riviera Wine Auction to benefit Direct Relief in February 2002. She graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
The five new members will join current Direct Relief board members: Dorothy Adams, Bruce Anticouni, Rick Beckett, Frank Blue, Fred Burrows, Jon Clark, Ken Coates, Killick Datta, Ernie Drew, Gary Finefrock, Louise Gaylord, Dr. Bert Green, Brandt Handley, Stan Hatch, Dr. Priscilla Higgins, Brett Hodges, Tara Holbrook, Larry Koppelman, Dr. Dorothy Largay, Alixe Mattingly, Robert Nakasone, Natalie Orfalea, Nina Palomo, James Selbert, Dr. Ayesha Shaikh, Jim Shattuck, Dr. Richard Steckel, Paul Turpin, and Sherry Villanueva.
About Direct Relief International
Founded in 1948, Direct Relief International is a Santa Barbara, California-based non-profit organization focused on improving the quality of life by bringing critically needed medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers worldwide. In 2006, Direct Relief provided over $200 million in direct aid through medical material assistance and targeted cash grants to more than 300 healthcare facilities and organizations in 56 countries, serving 23.8 million people. Forbes recognized Direct Relief for the fifth consecutive year as one of only eight non-profit organizations in the United States that is 100 percent efficient in fundraising.
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