February 26, 2010. Washington, D.C.
Rural Education and Development (READ) Global, recipient of the Bill and Melinda Gates "Access to Learning Award," today announced the appointment of Christina ("Tina") Sciabica as its new Executive Director. READ Global (
www.readglobal.org) is a non profit 501©3 organization headquartered in Washington, DC in the Pew Charitable Trust building. Since 1991, READ Global has been inspiring rural prosperity by building Community Library and Resource Centers and seeding businesses that fully sustain and support these centers in rural and remote areas of Nepal, India and Bhutan.
In announcing the appointment, Omer Rains, Chairman of the Board of READ Global, stated: "Tina Sciabica is an absolute jewel and everyone in the worldwide READ family is thrilled with this appointment. Having personally observed Tina's talents and abilities in her former capacity as Deputy Director of the Social Venture Network (SVN), I know that Tina will take READ Global to yet another level as we expand our work in Asia and thereafter also move into Latin America and Africa."
An attorney by training and profession, Tina volunteered her services from 2002 to 2007 as the Chicago Chapter Leader for another international non profit, Room To Read (RTR). While running her legal recruiting business, she volunteered countless hours organizing RTR fundraising events, building and managing a team of volunteers, cultivating relationships with donors, and raising awareness about RTR. In traveling to Cambodia, India, Nepal, and Vietnam to visit RTR projects overseas, Tina observed firsthand the devastating effects that industrialization and urban migration are having in the developing world.
It was shortly thereafter that Tina decided to make a full time move into the nonprofit sector, and accepted a position with the Social Venture Network (SVN), a peer to peer network of 500+ social venture entrepreneurs who are working together to build a more sustainable economy. In her role at SVN, Tina has worked with, among others, five members of the current READ Board. At SVN, she played a key role both as the Deputy Director and as the Acting Executive Director. During her time with SVN, Tina's network of change makers expanded exponentially, and she was able to observe daily the power of business to alleviate poverty both domestically and in the lesser developed world. As a result of the relationships she formed while at SVN, she now has access to a wide network of social entrepreneurs as well as a wealth of knowledge about business models that can help create a more just and sustainable world.
