July 10, 2019 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs George Ingram, Lester Munson, and Tessie San Martin.
The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network is pleased to announce that Conor Savoy will be joining the coalition as Executive Director. Mr. Savoy is currently the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Global Innovation Fund (GIF). GIF is a hybrid investment fund supporting social projects in more than 30 countries and a member of MFAN.
“MFAN is very fortunate to gain Conor’s skills, knowledge, and leadership,” said Tessie San Martin, MFAN Co-Chair and President and CEO of Plan International USA. “His expertise in global development and strong policy and management track-record will help the coalition continue its decade-long legacy of aid reform impact.”
“Conor is joining MFAN at an exciting time,” said Lester Munson, MFAN Co-Chair and Principal at BGR Group. “The coalition has strengthened its organizational structure and is poised to tackle new policy priorities as the network looks to the fall and toward 2020.”
“It is exciting to see Conor move from participating at the MFAN table to leading it. He has an impressive handle on a range of aid reform issues, and the coalition will be in fantastic hands moving forward,” said George Ingram, MFAN Co-Chair and Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution.
Prior to his role at GIF, Mr. Savoy served as Deputy Director of the Project on Prosperity and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Previously, he was a researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations, concentrating on U.S. foreign and national security policy. He has an MA in International Relations from Boston University and a BA in History from George Washington University.
“I am excited to join MFAN as its new Executive Director,” said Mr. Savoy. “MFAN has over 10 years of success driving a reform agenda in Washington, and I look forward to building on that policy impact in this next chapter for the coalition.”
MFAN was fortunate to rely on interim leadership since the beginning of 2019 and thanks Larry Nowels for his invaluable term in this role. The coalition looks forward to his continued involvement as a member of MFAN’s Executive Committee. Conor Savoy will begin his role as Executive Director on July 22.
