Former Congressman To Head Feed The Children
Feed the Children has named J.C. Watts, a former congressman from Oklahoma, as its new president and CEO. Watts, a Republican and Baptist minister, served Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional District from 1995 to 2003. He will succeed Kevin Hagan, who recently became the CEO of the American Diabetes Association. In this role, he will expand the organization’s existing programs and develop key initiatives and partnerships, the Nonprofit Times reports. Watts will remain chairman of his lobbying and consulting firm, J.C. Watts Companies, which he founded after retiring from Congress.
Medical Teams International President and CEO Jeff Pinneo Steps Down After 4 Years
As of March 1, 2016, Jeff Pinneo will no longer be CEO of Medical Teams International (MTI), according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. The leader put in his resignation at the end of 2015 and has said he feels “this timing is right” and he plans to spend time with family. MTI is a Portland-based nonprofit Christian global health organization that provides relief and development programs to people in need. Under Pinneo’s leadership, which began in July 2012, the organization has grown from fewer than 500 paid staff to more than 920 paid staff. Prior to MTI, Pinneo was the head of Horizon Air.
Joni and Friends Launching First Short Film in February
Joni and Friends International Disability Center, a California-based nonprofit that serves the disabled around the globe, is releasing a new short film titled Ebenezer that will highlight the story of one boy who received the 100,000th wheelchair the organization has provided for those in need. The chair was refurbished, then delivered to a boy in Ghana who was born with twisted ankles, One News Now reports. It is set to debut at the Global Access Conference in mid-February 2016, and Marc Stein, the organization’s Vice President and the film’s producer, says it will serve as a catalyst for the nonprofit’s new goal: to distribute the next 100,000 wheelchairs by 2020.
Arguments Set for Religious Challenge to Obamacare
The U.S. Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments March 23 in appeals from several faith-based nonprofits, from Catholic nuns to the Southern Baptist Convention, who say Affordable Care Act regulations requiring employers to cover contraceptive does not adequately protect their religious freedom. The court will hear arguments in seven cases, including some plaintiffs who oppose all artificial birth control, and some who only oppose birth control methods that take effect after the moment of conception. Despite the Department of Health and Human Services’ solution to allow faith-based organizations to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage in their own plans and shift responsibility to a third party provider, many claim this still acts in violation of their religious beliefs and does not advance a compelling interest by the least restrictive means, which is required by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.
