At the end of September, Avril Benoît stepped down after six years at the helm of Médecins Sans Frontières in the United States. It was the natural course of things — the organization says it’s customary for its leaders to leave to make space for new leadership. Taking over the role is Tirana Hassan, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch.
Benoît had been with the organization since 2006, after leaving a career in Canadian journalism. She’s worked in various MSF leadership roles and assignments, including as a country director and director of communications and development at its Geneva operational center.
As chief executive officer of Doctors Without Borders USA, Benoît steered the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, hiring shifts, and increasingly complex humanitarian crises. Her tenure also saw unprecedented levels of fundraising.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
