Pact Institute appoints new executive director

Pact is pleased to announce that it has appointed Natasha Sakolsky to the role of executive director of Pact Institute, a Pact subsidiary that serves poor and marginalized communities across the world.

Sakolsky brings more than two decades of experience in international development and public health, with expertise in strategic planning, organizational design, operations and change management, resource mobilization and partnership development. She has worked extensively abroad, especially in Africa, in areas including HIV/AIDS, reproductive health and youth programming.

She joins Pact from Abt Associates, where she served as program director for a global chronic disease program funded by Medtronic Philanthropy. Previously, she was director of operations performance and capacity at FHI 360, where she also served in other director roles. Her experience also includes time as a regional director and country director for international organizations.

“Natasha has a proven track record of effective leadership and bringing new ideas and partnerships to life,” said Mark Viso, Pact’s president and CEO. “I know her experience and energy will go a long way in this important role.”

Pact Institute was established in 1998 to pursue strategic objectives that benefit Pact and the people it serves, namely through innovation, the exploration of new approaches and partnerships, and funding diversification. Like Pact, Pact Institute implements development programs around the world that are improving people’s lives in meaningful, lasting ways.

“I am honored to join an organization with such integrity and heart,” Sakolsky said. “With our partners, Pact Institute will continue to deliver on its promise of a better future in local communities around the world.”

Sakolsky succeeds John Whalen, who recently became president of Pact Ventures, a new Pact division that focuses on social impact investing and social enterprises.

Sakolsky begins in her new role Feb. 29.

About Pact – Pact, an international nongovernmental organization, is a promise of a better tomorrow for all those who are poor and marginalized. Working in partnership to develop local solutions that enable people to own their own future, Pact helps people and communities build their capacity to generate income, improve access to quality health services, and gain lasting benefit from the sustainable use of the natural resources around them. At work in more than 30 countries, Pact is building local promise with an integrated, adaptive approach that is shaping the future of international development.

Pact is a top 10 implementing partner of U.S. Agency for International Development and serves several other national aid agencies, as well as The Global Fund, private funders such as the Gates Foundation and The Coca-Cola Foundation, and corporations including Chevron. www.pactworld.org