David Russell has been appointed as the new Director of Survivors Fund (SURF), a charity dedicated to aiding and assisting survivors of the Rwandan genocide. The charity’s founder, Mary Blewitt OBE, wrote to supporters saying:
“David brings to the role an understanding of our work, awareness of the issues, and most importantly a passion for the cause.... He has my full support, and confidence, and I am certain that he will be a great asset to SURF.”
For the previous 18 months, David has been studying not-for-profit management at the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University as a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. He therefore comes to SURF with training that will be vital for the job, in financial and strategic management, fundraising, capacity building and programme evaluation.
David set up The PR Office, where he supported the work of a number of charities, including the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. He was a founding board member of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and in 2007 he established The Social Enterprise, extending his consultancy work to charities including HelpAge International.
David will assume his new post in January 2009, a year that will mark the 15th Anniversary of the genocide.