John Norris Named as Executive Director of the ENOUGH Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Contact: Paula Newbaker, (202) 481-8215
pnewbaker@enoughproject.org

Washington, D.C. July 9, 2008 – John Norris, former Chief of Political Affairs for the United Nations Mission in Nepal, and former Africa Program Executive for the International Crisis Group, has been appointed as the Executive Director of the ENOUGH Project. Mr. Norris takes over from Cory Smith, who served as the acting Executive Director during the search process and continues to be ENOUGH’s Advocacy Director.

Located in Washington, D.C., the ENOUGH Project was founded in 2007 to help end genocide and crimes against humanity. The ENOUGH Project proposes sustainable solutions and works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate and resolve crises, with a current focus on Sudan, Chad, northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Zimbabwe.

“This is a wonderful opportunity,” said Mr. Norris. “The ENOUGH Project is designed to create a permanent constituency of people from every walk of life who are unwilling to accept that genocide and crimes against humanity should still be taking place in this day and age. I simply don’t believe the public will tolerate inaction from their leaders on issues like Darfur any longer.” Mr. Norris added, “There is a terrific team here at ENOUGH and they are already demonstrating that none of these conflicts are intractable, and that we all have the power to create change.”

“John brings terrific leadership skills and a great combination of policy and field experience.” said ENOUGH co-chair Gayle Smith. Co-chair Smith adds, “From our new Congo campaign to efforts to develop innovative curricula to teach about these conflicts in schools, John and the rest of the team are dedicated to fundamentally changing how we think about these issues.”

ENOUGH co-chair John Prendergast also expressed thanks to Cory Smith for his role of acting Executive Director, “ENOUGH would not be where it is today without Cory. He kept us moving forward at a very important time.”

Earlier in his career, Mr. Norris was the Director of Communications for Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott. At the U.S. Agency for International Development, he served as both a speechwriter and a field disaster worker in Rwanda, Bosnia, Haiti, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. He has authored several books, including the Disaster Gypsies, a memoir of his work in the field of emergency relief, and Collision Course: NATO, Russia and Kosovo. He has published commentary in the Washington Post, LA Times, Wall Street Journal and elsewhere.

Mr. Norris has a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Vermont, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from St. Lawrence University. He lives with his wife in Washington, D.C., where they are expecting their first child.

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About the ENOUGH Project: ENOUGH is a project of the Center for
American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded
in 2007 with an initial focus on the crises in Sudan, Chad, eastern
Congo, northern Uganda, and Somalia, ENOUGH’s strategy papers and
briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy
recommendations based on a “3P” crisis response strategy: promoting
durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing
perpetrators of atrocities. ENOUGH works with concerned citizens,
advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these
crises. To learn more about ENOUGH and what you can do to help, go to
www.enoughproject.org.