Tirana Hassan, a social worker, lawyer, and nonprofit executive with over 20 years of experience advocating for and with people affected by conflict and crisis around the globe, has been appointed the incoming Chief Executive Officer of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières in the United States (MSF USA).
“As the new CEO of Doctors Without Borders in the US, Tirana takes the helm at a time of devastating humanitarian crises and amid the catastrophic gutting of international assistance,” said Dr. Rasha Khoury, MSF USA Board President. “Throughout her career, Tirana has worked with people facing humanitarian crises and with policy makers to secure principled, lifesaving responses. She has also worked closely with civil society allies and donors to protect operational independence and build sustainable program funding. Tirana brings the wide breadth of operational and executive experience needed to lead us through the immense challenges we are confronting across the humanitarian sector.”
Tirana Hassan
Hassan, who began her career as a social worker, brings decades of experience across the humanitarian and human rights fields. She first worked with Doctors Without Borders in Somalia in 2007, where she served as a humanitarian affairs officer.
“Doctors Without Borders has been a moral and professional touchstone for me since I began my career in humanitarian action,” said Hassan. “In the years since I first worked for the organization, I have carried many of its principles with me, including a commitment to impartial care, the courage to speak out, and the humility to center the dignity of those we serve. It is a privilege to return to Doctors Without Borders at this critical moment in the world. I am inspired by the dedication of the staff, the deep commitment of the donor community, and the courage of teams delivering care under some of the toughest conditions on earth.”
In her most recent role, from 2022 to 2025, Hassan served as executive director of Human Rights Watch, where she led one of the world’s most visible international organizations with more than 500 staff in over 90 countries. She previously served as the organization's chief programs officer, where she oversaw core advocacy, communications, legal, and program departments. From 2010 to 2015, as a senior researcher in the emergencies division, Hassan led dozens of international assignments documenting war crimes and attacks on civilians, including attacks on humanitarian workers and medical infrastructure.
She also led Amnesty International’s crisis response program and has worked as an independent consultant and advisor for organizations such as UNICEF and Save the Children, among others, across East and West Africa and South and Southeast Asia.
Early in her career, Hassan was a founding member of a refugee legal service for asylum seekers in mandatory detention in Australia. As a social worker, Hassan worked with children in therapeutic residential care and in child and adolescent psychiatric settings.
Hassan graduated with honors degrees in both social work and law in Australia and holds a master’s in international human rights law from Oxford University.
Hassan succeeds Avril Benoît, who has served as MSF USA CEO since 2019, leading the organization through a period of remarkable growth and change. During Avril's tenure, donor support to MSF USA increased from less than $400 million to over $750 million. Benoît has spent 19 years working with MSF across various leadership roles in headquarters and in project assignments around the world.
“Our organization, and the entire MSF movement, is stronger thanks to Avril and the team she has built,” said Dr. Khoury. “During Avril’s tenure, we faced the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial reckoning in the US and in the aid sector, and extraordinary emergencies such as the war in Sudan and genocide in Gaza. We are immensely grateful to Avril for successfully steering the organization through these turbulent times.”
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Hassan will take up her position as CEO on January 5, 2026. Dr. Carrie Teicher, currently chief programs officer, will serve as interim executive leader when Benoît steps down at the end of this month.
The US section of MSF was established in 1990 and now raises one-third of all funding for MSF worldwide. There are roughly 250 people working in offices in New York, Washington, DC, and Oakland carrying out fundraising, communications, advocacy, policy, and recruitment activities for MSF’s medical humanitarian programs worldwide.
MSF is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and human-made disasters, and exclusion from health care in more than 70 countries. MSF’s decision to intervene in any country or crisis is based solely on an independent assessment of people’s needs. MSF offers assistance to people based on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender, or political affiliation.
