InterAction Promotes Carolyn Aeby As New Vice President of Membership and Public Engagement

WASHINGTON — On June 1, InterAction announced the promotion of Carolyn Aeby as a new vice president of membership and public engagement. Building on her previous experience as InterAction’s senior director for membership and standards, Aeby will lead a newly formed team comprised of the former Membership and Standards, Communications and NGO Futures teams.

All team efforts will continue to focus on how InterAction engages with its members and the public. Aeby will also work closely with InterAction CEO Sam Worthington, alongside fellow vice presidents Patricia McIlreavy, Peter Hendy, and Noam Unger to serve on the InterAction executive team.

Aeby has more than 20 years of nonprofit experience with expertise in strategic planning, partner and staff development, meetings management, membership recruitment and retention, and working with international organizations. She has been a consultant to numerous entities, identifying ways to partner with outside sources for enhanced programs and member benefits, creating organizational strategic plans encompassing short and long-term objectives, and recommending operational changes resulting in both reduced expenses and top line growth.

“Carolyn has shown a tremendous dedication over the past two years at InterAction to help the organization and our members improve,” said Worthington. “Her work on reforming InterAction’s standards as well as overhauling our annual InterAction Forum, serve as excellent examples of her leadership. I look forward to continuing my work with Carolyn and her team to position InterAction and our members for continued success.”

First Person: A Quick Q&A with Carolyn Aeby

How have you seen InterAction and its members evolve during your time with the organization?

In the last two years, I have seen many changes affecting our sector including the election of a new presidential administration, shrinking budgets and new actors engaging in the humanitarian and global development space. Through it all, our members have been resilient. They have supported one another, learned from each other and stood side by side. Being new to the sector, I am incredibly inspired by the values and encouragement of the InterAction community.

What are your priorities in this new role at InterAction?

Priority number one is continuing to ensure our community is the leading voice on humanitarian and global development issues. In addition to bringing the community together to address immediate issues, we have several new initiatives that strengthen the sector’s transparency and accountability messaging. For example, our work on the CEO Pledge on Preventing Sexual Abuse, Exploitation, and Harassment by and of NGO Staff, updating the InterAction Standards to include outcomes measurement, duty of care, methodologies around pharmaceutical gifts-in-kind valuation, and the protection of civilians in conflict.

What opportunities do you see for InterAction to advance in the coming years?

InterAction has an opportunity to strengthen its global partnerships and bring in new members with additional perspectives. In the last four years, we have opened membership to academic organizations and foundations and we have seen great results collaborating and sharing knowledge among members on pressing issues. Moving forward, we can help the sector by increasing the range of voices speaking together.