Sasha Chanoff

Sasha Chanoff (born 1971) is an American humanitarian based in Somerville, Massachusetts[1] who has worked for two decades in refugee rescue, relief, and resettlement operations in Africa[3][4] and the United States.

Sasha Chanoff
Speaking at the World Economic Forum's Sustainable Development Summit 2021
Born (1971-01-13) January 13, 1971
Helsinki, Finland
CitizenshipFinland, United States
EducationWesleyan University
OccupationRefugee relief organizer
OrganizationRefugePoint
AwardsCharles Bronfman Prize, 2010[1]
Gleitsman Award, 2013[2]

Chanoff is the founder and executive director of RefugePoint,[5] a humanitarian organization that works to find lasting solutions for the world's most at-risk refugees and supports the humanitarian community to do the same. RefugePoint works to achieve this mission by transforming the field of refugee resettlement and expanding opportunities for refugees to achieve greater self-reliance in the countries to which they have fled. Prior to launching RefugePoint, Chanoff consulted with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kenya and worked with the International Organization for Migration throughout Africa, identifying refugees in danger, undertaking rescue missions, and working on refugee protection issues with the US, Canadian, Australian, and other governments.

Chanoff often enlists the help of the mass media to spread awareness about refugee issues. He has appeared on 60 Minutes[4] and has been a featured teller on the popular public radio storytelling program The Moth Radio Hour.[6] Chanoff has spoken in other national and international TV, radio, and print media outlets, and has lectured, presented, and given keynote speeches at universities, international conferences, and gala events.

Chanoff holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.A. in Humanitarian Assistance, from the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Friedman School of Nutrition, Science, and Policy. He has received fellowships from Ashoka, the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, and Echoing Green, and is a recipient of the Charles Bronfman Humanitarian Prize, the Harvard Center for Public Leadership Gleitsman International Activist Award, the Schwab Foundation / World Economic Forum Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the Obama White House Champion of Change award.

He is a Goodwill Ambassador for the million dollar Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. He is a board member of Network of Engaged International Donors (NEID) Global, and served as a human rights adviser to The Leir Charitable Foundations. He also recently served as an adviser to the Warner Bros. film The Good Lie starring Reese Witherspoon, and helped establish its charitable initiative, The Good Lie Fund, which he advised.

Chanoff believes resettlement is a vastly superior alternative to refugee camps, since re-settled refugees can support themselves and "get on with their own lives".[7] He views his role as a humanitarian relief organizer to "attempt to help everyone in need."[8]

In 2006, he founded the organization called Mapendo, which was renamed RefugePoint in 2011, to aid at-risk and obscure African refugee groups.[9] Mapendo helped to evacuate more than 10,000 refugees from Sudan, Kenya, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.[3] He explained:

Oftentimes, ethnic minorities, girls and widows are not safe in the refugee camps. Rape is fairly common, so a lot of women and their families flee the camps out of fear and end up homeless in urban centers with no access to services. Mapendo seeks to find these refugees and help them get the protection and services they need. The organization is named after Rose Mapendo, a Tutsi woman who spent 16 months in a Rwandan death camp with her husband and seven children, and whose experience we wanted to honor. Rose lost her husband in the camps but now lives in Arizona with her children. Mapendo is a Swahili word that means "great love."

— Chanoff, 2004, in interview on PBS[9]

Early life

Chanoff was born in Finland.[1] His great grandparents escaped from pogroms in Russia.[1] Many of his relatives were murdered in the Holocaust half a century later.[3] He explained:

Refugees are on their own, but not by choice. And a lot of people, Jews in particular, have faced this for centuries.

— Chanoff in the Boston Globe[3]

He moved to the United States and graduated from Wesleyan University.[1] Chanoff received a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University,[4] and a master's degree in Humanitarian Assistance through a joint degree program at the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.[1] Chanoff is a dual United States and Finnish citizen and speaks Finnish, German, French, and Swahili.

Awards and honors

Chanoff was awarded the Charles Bronfman Prize for his humanitarian efforts in 2010.[1] In 2013, he was awarded the Gleitsman International Activist Award, given to an activist who has "improved the quality of life for others."[2] It is an award given to a leader who works to challenge "injustices around the world and inspires others to do the same."[1] Past recipients of this award have included Ralph Nader and Nelson Mandela.[2] In addition, he received fellowships from Ashoka,[1][10] the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation,[1][11] and Echoing Green.[1][12] In 2006, he was named a Waldzell Institute "Architect of the Future."[13] He serves on the Steering Committee of New England International Donors.

Books
  • From Crisis to Calling, Barrett-Koehler Publishers, 2016[14]

References
  1. 2010, The Charles Bronfman Prize, Sasha Chanoff: Rescuing and Resettling At-Risk and Forgotten Refugees, Accessed July 6, 2014, "...Sasha Chanoff is the Founder and Executive Director of RefugePoint, a humanitarian organization..."
  2. DAVID J. KURLANDER, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, November 6, 2013, The Harvard Crimson, Sasha Chanoff Receives Gleitsman International Activist Award, Accessed July 6, 2014, "...Sasha Chanoff, co-founder and executive director of the refugee resettlement organization RefugePoint, received the 2013 Gleitsman International Activist Award..."
  3. Inspired by relatives, he’s doing a world of good for refugees, Accessed July 6, 2014, "...Sasha Chanoff spent the past decade rescuing recent victims of the world’s deadliest persecutions.
  4. Cynthia Rockwell, April 1, 2013, Wesleyan University, Chanoff '94 Garners National Attention for Sudanese Refugees, Accessed July 6, 2014, "...Sasha Chanoff ’94 and the organization he founded, RefugePoint,..."
  5. December 24, 2013, Doug Moore, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Daughter reunited with family in St. Louis after nearly a decade, Accessed July 6, 2014, "...On the train, Sasha Chanoff, founder and executive director of RefugePoint, ..."
  6. The Moth Radio Hour
  7. LARISA EPATKO, June 20, 2014, PBS Newshour, Meet ‘Claude,’ one of many displaced children seeking refuge in cities, Accessed July 6, 2014
  8. Ashoka, Forbes Magazine, 'The Moth' Teaches A Thing Or Two About Storytelling: Setting Up The Stakes, Accessed July 6, 2014, "...For example, Sasha Chanoff of RefugePoint ... recognized that his duty ... to help everyone in need..."
  9. September 28, 2004, PBS, Interviews: In Search of a Durable Solution, Accessed July 6, 2014, "...June 2007 UPDATE: Sasha Chanoff founded Mapendo International..."
  10. "Sasha Chanoff | Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker". www.ashoka.org.
  11. "Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation". Archived from the original on August 7, 2008.
  12. Echoing Green.
  13. "Waldzell Organization". Archived from the original on July 15, 2014.
  14. From Crisis to Calling, Barrett-Koehler Publishers, 2016
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