Soros’ Open Society Institute Names Gara LaMarche as Vice President; Nancy Youman Joins as Associate Director of U.S. Programs
NEW YORK—The Open Society Institute today announced the appointment of Gara LaMarche as Vice President of OSI, where he will continue to serve as Director of U.S. Programs. Nancy Youman, new to the organization, was appointed Associate Director of U.S. Programs.
In his expanded role as vice president, LaMarche will work to integrate OSI’s global and domestic programs. In his six years as Director of U.S. Programs, LaMarche has supervised the foundation’s U.S. giving and developed diverse and innovative programs to promote open society, including efforts to reform the justice system, engage inner-city youth with debate, media and after-school programs, and promote campaign finance reform, care of the dying and reproductive rights.
Before coming to OSI in 1996, LaMarche served as Associate Director of Human Rights Watch. He has also held a variety of positions with the American Civil Liberties Union, including Executive Director of the Texas affiliate. LaMarche is the author of more than 75 articles on civil liberties and human rights topics which have appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times, among others.
Nancy Youman comes to OSI after eight years as Deputy Advocate for Special Projects in the office of Mark Green, who was New York City's Public Advocate during that time. She was previously Special Assistant to Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, coming there after five years in journalism. She is co-author of Mark Green's Guide to Coping in New York City and The Consumer Bible.
The Open Society Institute, a private operating and grantmaking foundation, is part of the network of foundations, created and funded by George Soros, active in more than 50 countries around the world.
OSI's U.S. Programs seek to strengthen democracy in the United States by addressing barriers to opportunity and justice, broadening public discussion about such barriers, and assisting marginalized groups to participate equally in civil society and to make their voices heard. OSI U.S. Programs challenges over-reliance on the market by advocating appropriate government responsibility for human needs and promoting public interest and service values in law, medicine, and the media, by supporting initiatives in a range of areas.
These areas include access to justice for low and moderate income people; judicial independence; ending the death penalty; reducing gun violence and over-reliance on incarceration; drug policy reform; inner-city education and youth programs; fair treatment of immigrants; reproductive health and choice; campaign finance reform; and improved care of the dying.