Global humanitarian agency board appoints McCullough to third term as CWS head
December 18, 2007
NEW YORK -- Directors of Church World Service have re-elected John L. McCullough to a third four-year term as CEO and Executive Director.
Rev. McCullough has led the global humanitarian agency since 2000.
A highlight of his last term at the helm of the agency was implementation of the Church World Service Africa Initiative, an intensive focus on Africa and on the critical role Africans and the faith community must play in efforts to resolve some of the underlying causes of poverty on the continent.
As part of that initiative, McCullough and the agency convened a Washington, D.C., summit meeting of African leaders and U.S. religious and government leaders. The summit gave American policymakers an unprecedented opportunity to listen to voices from across Africa and collaborate with them on solutions to some of the continent's toughest issues.
In addition to Africa, Church World Service delivers relief, development and assistance to the displaced in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. Its refugee resettlement work is some of the oldest within the U.S.
During his tenure with the agency, McCullough has led delegations to North Korea; to West Africa's Mano River Union countries; and to Colombia to investigate the plight of that country's displaced and abused people. A delegation to the Thai-Burma border is planned for January.
In fall of 2006 McCullough, ordained in the United Methodist Church, led a precedent-setting delegation of faith leaders representing the historic African American churches to Israel and Palestine.
Shortly before the invasion of Iraq by the U.S., McCullough participated in a human rights delegation to Iraq to assess the status and probable impacts of war on a vulnerable Iraqi population already suffering from a decade of sanctions.
This September, McCullough was named Religious Leader of the Year by Malaria Foundation International (MFI), which annually honors "extraordinary individuals and organizations," including world leaders and unsung heroes who are making important contributions in the fight against malaria. McCullough was cited for his 2006 commentary "In the Fight to End Malaria, Broken Promises Create Suffering Children."
Under his leadership, in 2007 the agency earned the highest rating--four out of four stars--from Charity Navigator, the independent organization that evaluates the financial health of America's largest charities to help donors make informed decisions about contributing to a particular organization. Church World Service also earned a spot on GiveSpot.com's recently released list of the Top 100 Highly Rated Charities.
Church World Service is a humanitarian agency supported by public donations, grants, and by 35 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches and communions in the United States.
Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net