ACE Global board member Timothy De Young has dedicated his life to the improvement of the human condition, particularly in developing nations. Over the course of his career, he has gained extensive experience working with non-governmental organizations and has played a key role in developing, establishing and managing numerous programs to help underserved communities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Serving as Haiti Country Director for Medical Ministry International (MMI) between 2006 and 2013, Mr. De Young established a self-sustaining eye clinic in Croix-des-Bouquets, a northern suburb of Port-au-Prince. Working with a team of Haitian eye care professionals and training  local staff in eye care screening and project management, he was able to set the clinic on a path of success. This self-sustaining clinic is still in operation today, providing ongoing access to eye care for the local underserved population. During his time with MMI, Mr. De Young also developed a Blindness Prevention Program with local Haitian volunteers, and organized multiple mobile medical projects with North American volunteers. He also served as the Alcon Medical Missions Liaison, overseeing the distribution and usage of all Alcon humanitarian donations in Haiti and helping plan the country’s first National Eye Care Symposium in 2012.

In addition to his work with MMI, in 2008 and 2009, Mr. De Young served as Program Officer for the International Organization of Migration. In this capacity, he oversaw hurricane disaster response in Gonaives, Haiti, and managed the construction of twelve school buildings, thousands of meters of irrigation canals, roads, drainage and general city clean up. He also managed a team of fifteen IOM staff members, including a team of engineers, and had the opportunity to consult for the UN High Commission for Human Rights.

In 2013, Mr. De Young continued his mission of improving access to vision care in underserved communities by joining the Blindness Prevention program at Elias Santana Hospital in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Working closely with government program officials and project partners, he was able to establish new programs for greater surgical capacity and improve the efficiency of patient flow in the high-volume Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) clinic.

Over the years, Timothy De Young has served in a variety of capacities for numerous other NGOs and non-profits in the United States and abroad, always focused on helping people and doing good. He’s excited to be joining ACE Global’s board of directors to share his extensive experience and provide guidance and support for the organization’s mission of eradicating the global vision care crisis.