Kathy Spahn

Biography

Kathy Spahn is President and Chief Executive Officer of Helen Keller International (HKI), a global development organization working in 21 countries to save and improve the sight and lives of the world’s vulnerable by combating the causes and consequences of blindness, poor health and malnutrition. Prior to joining HKI, she was President and Executive Director of Orbis International, a non-profit dedicated to the prevention and treatment of blindness in developing countries. Before that, she served as Executive Director of God’s Love We Deliver, an organization committed to combating malnutrition and hunger among people living with HIV/AIDS and other disabling illnesses.

Ms. Spahn is a member of the boards of directors of the Access to Nutrition Foundation, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and InterAction, the last of which she chaired from 2010 - 2013. She also serves on the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) Leadership Council Compact of 2025. Previously, she served on the boards of directors of the AIDS Service Center NYC (now the Alliance for Positive Change), Association of Nutrition Services Agencies, and Bernadotte Foundation for Children’s Eyecare, as well as on advisory bodies for GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition), 1,000 Days and the Global Network for NTD Control. She has been a frequent panelist and guest speaker on global health, nutrition and blindness at such venues as the Global Philanthropy Forum, the Clinton Global Initiative and at key side meetings of the UN General Assembly.