Alyse Nelson Bloom Named President & COO of Vital Voices Global Partnership

WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international women's leadership organization, announced the promotion of Alyse Nelson Bloom to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080312/DC16533 )

Ms. Bloom had been Vice President and Senior Program Director since 2005, responsible for designing training and mentoring programs that have served a total of 5,000 emerging women leaders in 150 countries, and overseeing a network of 1,000 pro bono mentors, including senior government, corporate, and NGO executives.

Melanne Verveer, Chair of the Board of Directors, and Mary Yerrick, Vice Chair, will remain as co-Chief Executive Officers of Vital Voices Global Partnership. In addition, Wenchi Yu Perkins was promoted to the position of Vice President, Human Rights Programs; she had been Human Rights Program Director. Ms. Perkins also serves as Vital Voices' New York Office Representative. Also joining the executive team is Wendell Norton, as Vice President - Director of Finance and Administration. Mr. Norton is a financial manager with 30 years experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

Ms. Bloom, 34, has been with Vital Voices Global Partnership during the organization's entire ten-year history, since it was created as a government program in 1997. From then until 2000, she served as Deputy Director of the Vital Voices Global Democracy Initiative at the U.S. Department of State. She was one of the co-founders of the organization when it was incorporated as a separate nonprofit, nongovernmental organization (NGO) in 1999. Ms. Bloom became Vital Voices' first employee, serving as Program Director, a post in which she designed and operated training programs to empower women from emerging countries to operate NGOS, create and operate businesses, and run for political office.

Ms. Bloom holds an undergraduate degree from Emerson College and completed her graduate degree work at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Ms. Bloom is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Board of Directors of Running Start, a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC, that helps young American women get involved in politics. Last year, she was honored by Emerson College with its Distinguished Leader Award. In 2006, she was named one of "Ten Women to Watch" by Washingtonian magazine.

"As we began our recent search to fill this leadership position, we considered many qualified candidates, but the board unanimously agreed at its October meeting in London that Alyse Bloom was the ideal choice to lead the organization forward," said Ms. Verveer in announcing the promotion. "She has been with us since our birth ten years ago and has played a significant role in advancing the organization from its infancy to its current position as a leading international organization advancing women as leaders in developing countries around the world. She is a true visionary and has been an inspirational leader for our young, very talented and growing staff," she added.

Vital Voices Global Partnership is the preeminent non-governmental organization (NGO) that identifies, trains, and empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe, enabling them to create a better world for us all. We provide these women with the capacity, connections, and credibility they need to unlock their leadership potential.

-- We are at the forefront of international coalitions to combat human trafficking, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and all forms of violence against women and girls.

-- We enable women to become change agents in their governments, advocates for social justice, and supporters of democracy and the rule of law.

-- We equip women with management, business development, marketing, and communications skills to expand their enterprises, help to provide for their families, and create jobs in their communities.

Our international staff and team of over 1,000 partners, pro bono experts and leaders, including senior government, corporate and NGO executives, have trained and mentored more than 5,000 emerging women leaders from over 150 countries in Asia, Africa, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East since 1997. These women have returned home to train and mentor more than 100,000 additional women and girls in their communities. They are the Vital Voices of our time. For more information, please contact: Eileen White Read, Media Relations, phone 202-861-2625; eileenread@vitalvoices.org.