Doris Youngs: The road to chief of party

Doris Youngs started her career in a war zone. “It prepared me very well,” said Youngs, now a chief of party of the Rwanda Family Health Project for Chemonics International. Youngs managed a training for community health workers throughout Lebanon during their civil war, where each of the community health workers played more of a role than they might have otherwise due to isolation and security conditions. It was Youngs’ challenge to prepare them to respond to countless health needs despite limited access to specialized medical care. “I understood the importance of building on the trust and respect of the community,” she said. Afterwards, Youngs “wanted to know how USAID works,” so she took a position as deputy chief of the office of health, population and nutrition in Jordan, where she achieved just that. “I understood the challenges they live with...we forget that USAID has so many rules that guide what they do,” she said. Watch the video to learn what position Youngs started in before taking on her current role, as well as who she credits for her success. Check out more career advice stories online, and subscribe to Doing Good to receive top international development career and recruitment news.