Americares, the health-focused relief and development organization located in Stamford, has appointed Cora Nally as director of international emergency response, and Mariel Fonteyn has been promoted to director of U.S. emergency response. Both are new additions to the Emergency Programs team to support disaster response and recovery work.
“Cora and Mariel have been on the frontlines of dozens of emergencies both here in the U.S. and around the world, and the breadth of experience they bring will be instrumental in advancing and strengthening Americares comprehensive emergency programs portfolio,” said Americares President and CEO Christine Squires.
As director of international emergency response, Nally leads responses to earthquakes, floods, cyclones and other sudden-onset international crises. She is responsible for coordinating large-scale international deliveries of medicines and relief supplies, deploying and managing emergency response field teams and restoring health services for disaster-affected communities.
An international public health expert, Nally brings to Americares more than 15 years of experience in global health. Previously, Nally served as country director for Project HOPE”™s Hurricane Dorian response in the Bahamas.
Nally”™s global health work has also taken her to Russia, where she provided health education to immigrant communities, to Malawi and Sierra Leone, where she trained and equipped a community-based workforce during the height of the Ebola crisis while working with Partners in Health. She earned a master”™s degree in public health from AT Still University, a bachelor”™s degree in psychology from Washington State University and is a current Ph.D. candidate at Ghent University in Belgium, studying public health and health systems. Nally has lived and worked in eight countries on four continents, including seven years in Sub-Saharan Africa and four years in Eastern Europe. She currently resides in Washington, D.C.
As Americares director of U.S. emergency response, Fonteyn, leads responses to hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other sudden-onset disasters in the United States. In her new role, Fonteyn is responsible for coordinating large-scale deliveries of medicines and supplies to Americares partners across the country, deploying and managing emergency response field teams and restoring health services for disaster-affected communities. She currently resides in northern California.
Fonteyn began her work with Americares in 2018. Prior to joining Americares, Fonteyn served as a project coordinator for the nonprofit organization All Hands and Hearts in Texas, where she provided technical assistance on Hurricane Harvey cleanup sites. Prior to that, Fonteyn worked as an emergency planner for the state of Alaska”™s Department of Health and Social Services. She earned a master”™s degree in international development from the Brussels School of International Studies and holds a bachelor”™s degree in political science from the University of Alaska, Anchorage.
Americares has professional relief workers ready to respond to disasters at a moment”™s notice and stocks emergency medicine and supplies in its warehouses in the U.S., Europe and India that can be delivered quickly in times of crisis. Since its founding more than 40 years ago, Americares has provided more than $20 billion in aid to 164 countries, including the United States.
