Nuru International Honored By West Virginia House of Delegates and Senate

On Wednesday, January 21, 2015, Nuru International was given a double honor in the home state of Nuru’s CEO and founder Jake Harriman. Nuru board members John Hancox and Andy Cogar as well as staff member Billy Williams joined Jake in Charleston, West Virginia to stand before the West Virginia House of Delegates to receive a citation. The citation honors Nuru for its work to fight extreme poverty and celebrates the strong role West Virginians have played in moving Nuru’s mission forward since its inception—whether by working directly for Nuru, volunteering, or donating money. These efforts have helped Nuru grow from an idea in 2008 to an organization changing over 60,000 lives in Kenya and Ethiopia.

As soon as the House of Delegates finished presenting its citation, the Nuru delegates were ushered to the other end of the West Virginia State Capitol where the Senate passed a similar resolution and honored the work of Nuru.

The Honorable Corey Palumbo sponsored the resolution in the Senate, and The Honorable Stephen Skinner submitted and sponsored the resolution in the House of Delegates. Nuru feels deeply honored that both houses of the West Virginia Legislature took time to recognize the work of the many West Virginians and WVU alumni who have helped drive Nuru’s mission forward. The resolution mentioned Nuru staff and board members by name.

Nuru is grateful for the support of West Virginians and looks forward to continuing to work together to end extreme poverty in remote rural areas.

About Billy Williams

Strategic Partnerships Director — As passionate about ending extreme poverty as he is about his home state of West Virginia, Billy developed a hunger for listening to and telling good stories at a young age. He received a BA in Chemistry and English as well as an MA in English from West Virginia University as well as an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. As Nuru’s lead advocate and storyteller, Billy has been invited to share at events around the globe. If you are seated next to him on a plane, or trapped with him in an elevator, he’ll be sure to invite you to join our efforts, too.