Erin Thornton, Christy Turlington Burns co-found ‘Every Mother Counts’

As global policy director for ONE, Erin Thornton led advocacy campaigns on a variety of development issues. This month, she became the executive director of Every Mother Counts, an organization she started with supermodel and activist Christy Turlington Burns, to decrease maternal mortality around the world .

“It’s an issue that hits every community,” said Thornton, a mother of two with a background in health issues. “At ONE, I’ve had the chance to be part of the dialogue about other complex, critical issues such as fighting HIV/AIDS. We need to apply that same ingenuity to breaking down the issue of maternal and child health and making the issue – and the solutions – more accessible to people.”

Thornton’s main responsibility will be to raise awareness about maternal mortality and let people know how they can get engaged.

“I am really excited about digging in and figuring out how to make an impact right now,” she said. “It’s one issue where we should be further along by now.”

Creating constituencies is a skill Thornton has honed during her eight years at ONE. She recalls a cross-country bus tour she took with the organization in 2002, stopping at “town halls and truck stops” to build support for combating HIV/AIDS. And while much of her work has focused on translating policy jargon into information policymakers and communicators can easily digest, she also tries to work with ONE’s teams to make sure the general public, as an audience, is front and center.

“My test audience is always my hometown. I come from a small place in rural Pennsylvania,” Thornton said of her native Danville. “So, if we can explain the importance of the work we’re doing there, then I’m on the right track.”

Thornton, who will stay on as an adviser to ONE, remains focused on some of the organization’s major initiatives. As part of her work on the Data Report, a project started in 2005, she is assessing the best measures — beyond just dollars spent – to quantify donors’ progress on their commitments.

Read the announcement of Devex’s 40-under-40 honorees.