WASHINGTON DC — International development and relief organization Oxfam America announced that Ambassador Wendy Sherman, Vice Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group and a member of the Investment Committee of Albright Capital Management, and Darius Teter, Deputy Vice President for Compact Operations at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) have joined Oxfam’s leadership ranks as Board Chair and Vice President of Programs, respectively.
This month, Ms. Sherman will follow current Chair, Janet McKinley, who has stepped down after five years of service. Barry D. Gaberman, a longtime Ford Foundation executive, also begins his term as Vice Chair.
Mr. Teter will join Oxfam America in January as Vice President of Programs based in Boston, MA. He will oversee a body of work including Oxfam’s global development programs, humanitarian response department and monitoring and evaluation department.
“Oxfam is very fortunate to have such talented and experienced leaders working with us to end poverty, hunger, and injustice,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. "During difficult economic times Oxfam’s Board has worked to ensure our continued stability, allowing us to provide continuous service to those who need it most.”
“In addition, Sherman and Teter’s experience in US government will help Oxfam navigate a new political climate on a host of poverty and development issues."
Ambassador Sherman served as Counselor and chief troubleshooter for the State Department, as well as Special Advisor to President Clinton and Policy Coordinator on North Korea. From 1993 to 1996, under Secretary of State Warren Christopher, she was Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs. Previously, she was a partner in the political and media consulting firm of Doak, Shrum, Harris and Sherman, and also served as director of EMILY’s List.
Ambassador Sherman began her career as a social worker and community organizer, working in community development and child welfare. She was recently named to the US Department of Defense’s Defense Policy Board. In 2008, she was appointed by Congressional leadership to serve on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. She is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Aspen Strategy Group and the US-India Strategic Dialogue.
Newly-hired Darius Teter served as Deputy Vice President in the Department of Compact Operations at the MCC, overseeing a $3 billion portfolio of development projects in 11 countries. Before assuming this role, he served as the Acting Vice President for Compact Development, responsible for the design of investment programs in Jordan, Malawi, Moldova, Namibia, Philippines and Senegal.
From 1998 to 2007, he was with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a number of operational roles, including as a task manager designing and implementing forestry, agriculture and flood control projects and technical assistance grants in Bangladesh, India, and Cambodia; Deputy Country Director in Mongolia; and senior advisor to the Vice President for Operations covering China and Central Asia, the ASEAN region and the Pacific. Prior to ADB, Mr. Teter served as an advisor to the Indonesian Ministry of Finance with the Harvard Institute for International Development and as a consultant for the World Bank, USAID, and private contractors.
Vice Chair Barry Gaberman retired from the Ford Foundation in 2006 after more than three decades of service there. During his tenure, Mr. Gaberman served in positions ranging from Assistant Program Office to Deputy Vice President for the U.S. to Senior Vice President of the organization. In addition, he has served on ten philanthropic boards. Since retiring, Mr. Gaberman has advised the Foundation Center and been a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Gerhart Center on Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at American University in Cairo teaching a course he helped design on the role of philanthropy in society.