Boston – Today Oxfam America announced that Abby Maxman has been named its President and CEO starting in June.
Maxman brings more than twenty five years of experience in international humanitarian relief and development to her new post. She currently serves as Deputy Secretary General of CARE International in Geneva providing leadership of the Secretariat and across the CARE confederation. Previously she served as Vice President of International Programs & Operations for CARE overseeing regional management units and their country offices in East & Central, West and Southern Africa; Latin America & the Caribbean; Asia; and the Middle East/Europe. Maxman joined CARE in 1995.
Prior to CARE, Maxman worked with the U.S. Peace Corps, German Agency for Technical Cooperation, UN World Food Programme, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Colorado College and a Master of International Administration from The School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Maxman will succeed Ray Offenheiser in her new role. Joe Loughrey, Chair of Oxfam America’s Board of Directors said, “Abby is known for her passion, strategic thinking and track record of achievement through her career in the development sector. This is a new chapter for Oxfam America, and I’m thrilled to have Abby leading the team into the future.” He added, “Ray has spent twenty years growing Oxfam America from the ground up, and we owe him a great debt for his commitment to the mission of fighting poverty and injustice around the world.”
Offenheiser said, “I have been so proud to represent Oxfam America for more than twenty years.” He continued, “We’ve gone from a small team working in an aged Boston office to an organization with strong field programs, a highly influential voice on a wide range of public policy issues in Washington, DC, a national constituency active at the Congressional district level, and an important role globally within the Oxfam International Confederation. I am delighted to have Abby, with her breadth of experience globally and substantively, as my successor and am keen to assist her in taking on the role of leading Oxfam America’s growth and development into the future.”
Maxman said, “My career has led me to work in some of the most challenging parts of the world, seeing first-hand the impact of poverty, injustice, war and disasters. Along the way, I’ve always been impressed by Oxfam’s commitment to facing tough challenges with high impact solutions. Today, the fight against global poverty and injustice is more relevant than ever in a changing social and political context; I’m therefore honored to lead the Oxfam America team through this next chapter”
In September, Offenheiser announced that he will move on from his role to join The University of Notre Dame as Distinguished Professor of the Practice and as the inaugural Director of the Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development in the Keough School of Global Affairs.
