OXFAM-AMERICA INC

Ray is the president of Oxfam America. Since Ray joined Oxfam America in 1995, the organization has grown more than fivefold in size and has positioned itself as a leader on international development, humanitarian relief and global trade. Before joining Oxfam, he served for five years as the Ford Foundation Representative in Bangladesh and, prior to that for five years, in the Andean and Southern Cone regions of South America. He has also directed programs for the Inter-American Foundation in both Brazil and Colombia and worked for Save the Children Federation in Mexico. Ray is currently a member of the board of Oxfam International and BRAC USA and for ten years he has served on the board and executive committee of InterAction. He is currently the Honorary President of Wetlands International. He has also served and is serving on numerous advisory councils for such groups as the Clinton Global Initiative, the World Economic Forum, the World Agricultural Forum, the World Fish Center, the Aspen Institute, the Asia Society, the Global Philanthropy Forum, the Council for Economic Development, the Kennedy School of Government, the Harvard Business School, Stanford University’s Center for Global Business, and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at Notre Dame. He was a founding member of the ONE Campaign and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ray is a frequent commentator in the media and has appeared in programs on CNN, PBS, ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, and the BBC, and has been a quoted source in the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, the Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun and other major American and international news outlets. Ray received a master’s degree in development sociology from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.

We've spent four decades working to change the world one village at a time. Through enduring partnerships with local organizations, we have helped millions of people to not only survive the devastation of wars, famines, and natural disasters, but to rebuild their lives. We trust local people to develop the best answers to local problems.

But we have learned that, even with intense grassroots efforts, no amount of village-by-village work will ever be enough on its own. Why? Because millions of the world’s poor people are economically paralyzed by systemic barriers they cannot dismantle on their own. All too often, a superstructure of laws, policies, and customs conspire—sometimes unintentionally—to trap people in poverty forever.

More and more, we have come to see the local problems of the world's poor as inextricably linked to global, national, and corporate practices and policies. And we have the political expertise and international leverage to make a difference.

At Oxfam America, we are committed to continuing—in fact, to deepening and expanding—our local work. But we are also committed to blazing a new trail, one we believe will make our local efforts dramatically more effective and could begin to change the way development work is done around the world.

It's an ambitious proposition, certainly. But it wouldn't be the first time Oxfam America has helped lead the way to creative change. From here, the future looks very interesting indeed.