STAN DOERR — NEW ECHO CEO
After 25 years of Dr. Martin Price’s excellent leadership and 2 years of planning for this event, the transfer of leadership from
Martin to me has taken effect. On June 19th the official change took place without any weeping or wailing and just a little gnashing
of teeth! In all seriousness, the succession was planned to take place over an extended period of time where Martin would gradually
turn over his responsibilities to me. This worked out beautifully and as we hoped, was actually a non-event. The staff and the Board
of Directors have learned who Stan Doerr is and have become comfortable with my involvement in the leadership of ECHO.
For those of you who don’t know me, I would like to give you a little background. I was born and raised in Jamestown, North Dakota, as
the son of a watchmaker. After high school, I headed to Kansas where I received a B.A. degree in Biology/Chemistry then went on to
Texas for a Master of Science degree in Zoology/Ecology.
During my years in the university, I developed an interest in international education and community development. Upon graduation, I
moved to Africa where I spent 15 years in education and training, working in different countries. It was in Bangwe, Malawi, where I
first learned about ECHO through a former intern named Beth Adams. I was so impressed with Beth after she developed our agricultural
program that I continued working with her on several projects before we both joined the Chapin Living Waters Foundation as
consultants. Together we spent 5 years consulting for various development and missions groups throughout the world and in 1997 we
married. In 2000, World Vision hired us to work in Mauritania, West Africa. In 2004 we returned to the States to care for my Mother
who was dying of cancer. While in the states, we received a call from Dr. Martin Price inviting me to consider a leadership position
at ECHO.
Having personal experience on the receiving end of ECHO’s resources, I knew the first hand importance of this organization’s
existence and impact. I remember clearly the desperation I felt as I looked for solutions to help alleviate the effects of abject
poverty. ECHO’s reputation in the quality of information they provided along with seeds, education and training served as a
foundation for us to work with.
Seeing the impact ECHO is making around the world, and being a part of it’s future is one of the most fulfilling things I have done
in my life. Over the next 10 years ECHO is going to focus on maximizing our effectiveness both geographically and linguistically.
Through a generous grant from the Tyndal House Foundation we have started to translate our technical resources into both French and
Spanish. This move alone will open up 26 French speaking African countries to the ECHO support network.
Plans are being developed for establishing Regional Offices for ECHO around the world to be more accessible by our network of
partner organizations for both training and technical support. This new step will enable a higher level of communication and
resource availability to those serving in the field.
ECHO still has a big job to do! I have spent most of the past 25 years working with the poor around the world and as long as
parents cannot provide adequate food for their children; as long as mothers, children or those with chronic illnesses suffer from
diseases that could be easily cured with proper nutrition; as long as there are community development workers that don’t know
where to turn when looking for solutions to the various problems they face in the communities they are working in; ECHO’s work
is not done.
The staff at ECHO have committed their lives to the fight against global hunger but to make this dream a reality will also require
the resources to expand ECHO’s influence. Your support of ECHO is essential for transforming this dream into a reality. I am
honored to have the opportunity to lead ECHO into the future. I am committed to helping you as our supporters see significant
improvements in both food security and nutrition in our lifetime.
Stan Doerr, Executive Director
ECHO, Inc.
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