This month EWH is bidding a fond farewell to President & CEO, Dr. Tojan Rahhal. We hope you will join us in thanking Tojan for her nearly four years of dedicated work in advancement of our mission and wishing her well in the next steps of her journey. Serving as Interim President is Megan Lavery, who has recently rejoined the EWH team as Director of Operations. Please see the full message from Tojan below.

Dear Friends of EWH,

As we welcome spring, I find myself reflecting on when I joined Engineering World Health nearly four years ago, just a few months after COVID 19 brought international travel to a halt and forced us all to adapt to a new, very different reality. Despite the challenges of the pandemic on both our organization and healthcare systems globally, I was - and still am - excited about the phenomenal impact of EWH’s programs on both engineering students from around the world and the communities we serve.

The last few years have been both challenging and rewarding as we have worked to rebuild EWH’s programs post-pandemic. In addition to bringing back the Institute programs - most recently operating full Winter program in Guatemala and Nepal - our team has expanded EWH’s global network of partners and established virtual programs and K-12 STEM outreach as key components of our work to make high-quality engineering education more accessible to more students.

I am immensely proud of the work we’ve done and excited about what the future holds for EWH, including trips we have planned this summer to Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Uganda. However, I am writing today to let you know that I will be stepping down from my role as CEO at the end of the month.

As for what comes next for EWH, I'm happy to share that Megan Lavery has rejoined the team as Director of Operations and will be serving as Interim President. Megan brings with her nearly a decade of experience within the organization and I am confident in her ability to lead the EWH staff and ensure the smooth continuation and success of our programs.

It has been an incredible journey working with all of you, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunities I've had to collaborate, learn, and grow with this organization. I am proud of the work we've accomplished together, and confident in the bright future that lies ahead for EWH.

 

Sincerely, 

Tojan Rahhal, PhD