Executive Director Abby Smardon Announces Departure from UNRWA USA after 11 Years of Service
PRESS RELEASE
October 21, 2019
CONTACT:
Laila Mokhiber, Director of Communications
laila@unrwausa.org
WASHINGTON — After 11 years of dedicated service to the organization, UNRWA USA Executive Director Abby Smardon has announced her departure from the organization effective early November 2019. In a statement to supporters, Ms. Smardon shared: “Although closing this chapter of my life with UNRWA USA is bittersweet for me, I am confident that I am leaving the organization in capable hands.”
UNRWA USA board member, Ambassador (ret.) Maura Connelly will step in as the acting Executive Director upon Ms. Smardon’s departure. Ambassador Connelly was chosen with unanimous support from the board and will ensure continuity and growth of UNRWA USA’s work until a new permanent Executive Director is selected. She brings with her decades of experience in leadership, diplomacy, and a unique understanding of UNRWA’s long-standing humanitarian work in the Middle East.
Ms. Smardon pledged: “I will forever do my part to help champion this organization's critical mission to better the lives of Palestine refugees until there is a just and durable solution to their plight.”
She added: “When I began my tenure at UNRWA USA, I was fresh out of graduate school and the only staff member at an organization with an unclear future. Maybe because of my young and hungry spirit, I was resolute in the belief that thousands of my fellow Americans would support this cause — if they only knew about it. After over a decade of hard work, with grave challenges and extraordinary triumphs along the way, our supporters have proved me right multiple times over.”
Today, with over tens of thousands of supporters representing every US state, UNRWA USA supporters demonstrate that diverse American communities from all walks of life are dedicated to ensuring that Palestine refugees have access to the same human rights and services that all human beings across the globe deserve.
During Ms. Smardon’s tenure, UNRWA USA has been able to raise millions of dollars to address the emergency needs of Palestine refugees, as well as their long-term human development needs. With the support of the organization’s donors, UNRWA USA has been able to build strong partnerships and unique initiatives, including the Gaza 5K, the UNRWA Alumni Association (USA), its most recent Relay Run for Refugees, and its first-ever Advocacy Day.
Ms. Smardon remarked: “Leading this organization has been one of the greatest honors of my life and I’d like to extend my most profound gratitude to my exceptional staff, our dedicated board, volunteers, donors and partners, and my UNRWA colleagues, for their contributions and continued commitment to Palestine refugees. It has been an absolute honor walking with you on this path, and it is my sincere hope that our paths cross again. May justice prevail for Palestine refugees and all who face oppression in the US and across the globe.”
UNRWA USA board chair Ghassan Salameh thanked departing Executive Director Abby Smardon for her service: "On behalf of the board, we extend our deepest gratitude to Abby for her tremendous dedication, passion, and contributions over the past 11 years. We look forward to following the continued success of her career and are hopeful for the next chapter of UNRWA USA thanks to the solid foundation Abby and her team have set. We look forward to continuing our positive momentum with Maura at the helm."
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About Ambassador Maura Connelly
Ambassador (ret.) Maura Connelly’s career as a Foreign Service Officer spanned 30 years and saw service on four continents. Ambassador Connelly spent much of her career in the Levant, starting her first assignment at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem in 1993, the year the Declaration of Principles was signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. For three years, she reported on the changes wrought by the Peace Process; her work was recognized with the Director General’s Award for Reporting in 1996.
In 1997, Ambassador Connelly became the U.S. State Department’s first full-time refugee coordinator for the area, based in Amman, Jordan, monitoring U.S. assistance to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). She worked closely with UNRWA officials and visited UNRWA facilities in all five fields of the agency’s operations (Jerusalem/West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria). She continued to work with UNRWA during her subsequent assignments in the region, including as the U.S. Consulate General’s Deputy Principal Officer (2003-05), Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus (2008-09) and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon (2010-13).
Ambassador Connelly joined the board of UNRWA USA in 2018.
Ambassador Connelly is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (BSFS) and the U.S. Naval War College (Masters in National Security Studies). A native of Jersey City, NJ, she began her U.S. government service in 1975 as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives.
About UNRWA USA
UNRWA USA is an independent nonprofit organization that provides support for the humanitarian work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). UNRWA USA aims to educate the general American public about the situation of Palestine refugees and generate support for UNRWA’s programs. US taxpayers are eligible for tax deductions for donations made through UNRWA USA.
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