A Falmouth-based nonprofit that has been working for more than two decades to improve health care systems in Haiti has hired a new executive director.
Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership announced this week that Perry Newman will take over from interim Executive Director Tezita Negussie, who had stepped in when Rupal Shah stepped down last year. Shah had led the organization since 2020.
A young girl uses a handwashing station provided by Konbit Sante to a school in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. Konbit Sante donated more than 600 buckets, along with clean water and chlorine, for distribution as part of its COVID-19 response. Courtesy/Konbit Sante
“I am thrilled to welcome Perry to the organization,” said Dr. Eva Lathrop, Konbit Sante’s board of directors president. “In addition to his deep experience in nonprofit leadership, he is empathetic, has a genuine passion for the work, and believes in people’s abilities to come together around a common mission to solve hard problems.”
Newman previously served as president of the Maine International Trade Center and for more than a decade led a Portland-based international business development and policy research firm called Atlantica Group. More recently, he has served on the board for Amjambo Africa and the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine.
Negussie will move back to her role as country director in Haiti.
“It is an understatement that I am thrilled to have Perry join our team,” she said. “My Haitian colleagues and I spent a week with Perry in Cap-Haitien and were impressed by his curiosity, empathy and communication skills, soft skills that are often undervalued but critical to building trust and relationships.”
Konbit Sante formed in 2001 and has focused on building and strengthening health systems in northern Haiti, working closely with the four locals health facilities: Justinien University Hospital, Haitian Baptist Convention Hospital, Fort Saint Michel Health Center, and Unite de Lutte pour la Sante Health Center. The nonprofit did extensive work in Haiti following a catastrophic earthquake in 2010 that leveled the island nation.
Its most recent annual operating budget was about $875,000, according to tax filings.
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