Tod Preston and Suzanne Ehlers Promoted to Vice President At Population Action International
January 17, 2008Washington, DC… To build on the success Population Action International (PAI) has experienced in reaching out to national elected officials and to international policymakers and advocates, its Public Policy/Strategic Initiatives department has been split into two distinctive divisions. Tod Preston has been promoted to Vice President for U.S. Government Relations and Suzanne Ehlers has been promoted to Vice President for International Advocacy. The creation of two distinct departments will help achieve a more intense focus and more robust knowledge base in both the domestic and global arenas, at a time of increasing interdependency and collaboration.
The new Department of U.S. Government Relations oversees PAI’s advocacy and outreach to Congress and the Executive Branch, as well as to other policymakers and partner organizations in support of increasing U.S. assistance for international family planning and reproductive health programs. The International Advocacy Department partners with international NGOs in their efforts to improve policy and to increase funding for family planning and sexual and reproductive health both in country and at the regional and global levels. “It is a particular honor for an organization to be able to promote from within because the best professional for the job already works there,” explained PAI President Amy Coen. “For the last several years, PAI has greatly benefited from the talent, dedication and passion of Suzanne Ehlers and Tod Preston. I know their leadership will be invaluable to the progress of PAI’s work and for those we strive to serve.”
Before joining PAI in 2004, Tod
Preston worked for more than a decade in the government relations/public policy
arena. He was a legislative aide on Capitol Hill for seven years where he worked
for Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and former Reps. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) and Gerry
Studds (D-MA). Before the recent promotion, Tod Preston was PAI’s Senior Advisor
for Congressional Relations and Strategic Outreach. “So much more work remains
to be done to address the needs of millions of women in poor nations who lack
access to basic family planning and related health care. Addressing their needs
will pay far-reaching dividends, not only for their individual futures but also
for critical global development challenges such as poverty alleviation and
climate change,” said
Suzanne Ehlers came to PAI in 2003 after helping lead the Wallace Global Fund’s environmental grantmaking portfolio for five years. Previously, she worked as an independent strategic consultant, working with a variety of NGOs and foundations. “I am honored to help lead the important work PAI undertakes around the world, in particular the advocacy we have started on the integration of sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. As a new mother, I am more mindful than ever of the challenges women face in accessing critical services, care and information,” said Ehlers. Prior to her promotion, she was PAI’s Senior Associate – International Advocacy.
For the past nine years the domestic and international advocacy work was led by Terri Bartlett. In December she left PAI to begin a new venture focusing on supporting projects and organizations globally to achieve and strengthen their advocacy objectives. On the appointment of Suzanne and Tod to Vice President Terri commented, "One of the things about leaving a job, even when it is about new opportunities, is wondering what will happen to the work you care so much about. Simply stated, it is an honor to have Suzanne and Tod take the helms of leading this important work. Having hired them and worked with them closely over the past few years, I know that Amy made the best decision for PAI and for the issues we all care so much about.”
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Population Action International works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.
