NEWS: KANAVA Named to Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid

KANAVA Chief Operating Officer Carol J. Yee

May 3, 2018—KANAVA International is excited to announce that our Chief Operating Officer, Carol J. Yee, has been named to the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA). Established by U.S. Presidential directive after World War II, the committee serves “as a link between the U.S. Government and private voluntary organizations (PVOs) active in humanitarian assistance and development work overseas,” according to its description on the website of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

ACVFA members, who number up to 30 at any given time, are private citizens representing a spectrum of international development players—from USAID implementing partners, to corporate social responsibility programs, to academic institutions and advocacy groups. KANAVA is the only for-profit USAID implementing partner among the current members.

“KANAVA has the people, tools, and experience to enrich existing USAID programs and help design new ones,” said KANAVA Chief Executive Officer Susan M. Puska. “We are grateful to USAID for including us on the advisory committee and for recognizing the important role small, nimble organizations like ours are playing in the development space.”  

According to its charter, the ACVFA reports to the USAID Administrator and “plays a vital and dynamic role in the formulation and execution of foreign assistance programs.” The committee was formed by President Harry S. Truman on May 14, 1946.

“I am honored to be representing the small business community on this high-level committee, which has the ear of key decision-makers forging policy on foreign assistance,” said Carol. “KANAVA has always aimed to play a transformative role in development—both domestically and internationally—and we look forward to working with our colleagues from other organizations toward this end.”

KANAVA's work was recently recognized as part of the USAID Global Development Lab's Global Innovation Week. The firm was the only small business among the 21 honorees, chosen for its pledge to digitize its Impact Strengthening Development (ISD) capacity-building tool and make it available to local organizations around the world. Carol was also recently selected to participate in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) Program.

For examples of KANAVA’s work and its impact, please visit Our Stories at kanavainternational.com.