Making way for a new generation of B2P leadership.
Dearest friends of B2P,
Last week I shared our FY20 Annual Report that highlighted advances in our mission, including the creation of a bold five-year Strategic Plan.
The plan, inspired and informed by what we have envisioned and created together over two decades of bridge building, calls for bold steps forward in the pursuit of our shared mission and vision. Critical to the success of the strategy includes an organization ‘led and driven by our team members with the greatest proximity to the communities most in need’.
I believe so strongly in this tenet of proximal and representative leadership that I am beyond excited to publicly announce the exciting news of my transition out of the CEO role, to make way for a new generation of leadership at B2P.
Our Board of Directors is leading a comprehensive transition process that includes the hire of Brandy Bertram, our VP of Development and Talent, into the role of Interim CEO, and a renowned global search firm to lead our recruitment efforts. (You can learn more about the search through our website, here.) I am confident, based on the progress made so far, that before long we will announce the hire of an exceptional leader, one deeply connected to East Africa, to lead us forward in our next chapter. Until then, know that Brandy and the rest of our team remain firmly in place, focused on the work at-hand, and ready to support your continued engagement.
As I transition from my role as Chief Executive Officer, I cannot help but pause to reflect on how far we have come together. And, I am deeply impacted by what I see.
B2P is an established and influential organization that is transforming the conversation around first and last mile access around the world, having developed strategic partnerships with innovative governments, global corporations, and international development leaders including ELMA Growth Fund, the Mulago Foundation, and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. And, we have been bestowed prestigious honors including the Rockefeller Foundation’s Next Century Innovators Award, Keeling Curve Climate Prize and USAID’s Million Lives Club among others.
Most importantly, we have built bridges to better lives for nearly 1.3 million people in rural communities.
None of this could have been accomplished without the unwavering support of a generous community, a talented and courageous team, and an outstanding Board. You can do anything with the right group of people, and I have long been standing on the shoulders of giants.
From the first moment I joined Bridges to Prosperity as a volunteer in 2006, what I believed then I still believe today.
Safe access is transformative.
Our bridges connect children to schools, mothers to healthcare, farmers to markets, and entire communities to opportunities. Our mission has filled my heart with a great sense of purpose and I am so looking forward to this next chapter in our collective fight for a world free from poverty caused by rural isolation.
Yours – always – in safe access,
Thank you.
Avery Louise Bang
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