CRS president receives 2nd presidential appointment

Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services President Ken Hackett was named in October to the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Hackett, a St. Louis, Clarksville parishioner, was confirmed by the Senate Oct. 26 and later appointed by President George W. Bush to assume the duties of an MCC Board member. This is Mr. Hackett’s second term on the MCC Board.

The MCC Board is comprised of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the U.S. Trade Representative, the USAID Administrator, the MCC CEO, and four non-governmental representatives.

These private sector board members are appointed by the President from lists submitted by the minority and majority leaders of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate and confirmed by the Senate.

“I am very pleased that, for the first time, MCC has a full nine-member board,” said MCC CEO John Danilovich. “Mr. Hackett (brings) valuable expertise and knowledge to the Board and we enthusiastically welcome (his) appointment.”

Mr. Hackett is president of CRS, the international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community. He oversees operations in more than 100 countries, with a global staff of nearly 5,000.

Mr. Hackett joined CRS in 1972, starting his career in Sierra Leone. He has served CRS in posts throughout Africa and Asia, as well as in a variety of positions at the CRS headquarters. He was the Regional Director for Africa, guiding CRS’ response to the Ethiopian famine of 1984-1985. He supervised operations in East Africa during the crisis in Somalia in the early 1990s. Mr. Hackett has led CRS since 1993.

“I am honored to be selected to a second term as an MCC Board member,” Mr. Hackett said. “Over the past three years I have witnessed this new agency evolve into a world-class institution that is helping millions of people pull themselves out of poverty. I am proud to have been part of this early success and look forward to more accomplishments in the future.”