Michelle Nunn to lead humanitarian group

Former Georgia Senate candidate Michelle Nunn is slated to take over at the helm of the Atlanta-based international humanitarian organization CARE USA as president and CEO, the group said Sunday.

Nunn announced via Twitter:

Very excited for my next chapter. Effective July 1, I’ll be the new CEO of @CARE, the poverty-fighting organization.

— Michelle Nunn (@MichelleNunnGA) April 19, 2015

“I had long admired CARE’s work as a student of philanthropy and of organizations that are making a difference,” Nunn told The Atlanta Journal Constitution, adding she was “really thrilled and excited by this chapter.”

The daughter of former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) impressed the group’s board members with her coalition-building skills, of interest as it expands its partnerships around the world, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Nunn replaces Helene Gayle, who announced last year she’d step down after leading the humanitarian organization since 2006. Gayle is expected to head up a new nonprofit arm for consulting giant McKinsey and Co.

Nunn previously co-founded another Atlanta-based organization focused on volunteerism that later merged with the Points of Light Foundation, founded by former President George H.W. Bush, which she led until 2013.

Nunn has kept a low profile since losing in her battle against Republican businessman David Perdue for an open U.S. Senate seat last year, which was part of the Democrats’ attempt to thwart a Republican takeover of the Senate. She was seen as a strong fundraiser in that bid.