Ken Isaacs (executive)

Ken Isaacs is an American humanitarian leader known for his long-standing work with the Christian organization Samaritan's Purse, where he has served in various senior roles, including his current, as Vice President of Programs and Government Relations. Isaacs has directed emergency relief operations in conflict and disaster zones around the world, including in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Japan. Isaacs has been involved in responses humanitarian emergencies, such as the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and famine food insecurity in Sudan and South Sudan.

He served as the director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance for the United States Agency for International Development from 2004 to 2005 during President George W. Bush's administration. In February 2018, Isaacs was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the US candidate to run for Director General of the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM). Isaacs’ bid was unsuccessful, after Portuguese candidate Antonio Vitorino defeated both Isaacs and runner up, Laura Thompson, then deputy-general of IOM.

Isaacs began working with Samaritan's Purse in 1988 after meeting the organization's President, Franklin Graham, in Boone, North Carolina.^[1] That year, he moved his family to Ethiopia where he helped build clean water wells for residents affected by the Ethiopian Civil War.^[2] Isaacs would later assist in and organize relief efforts in a variety of locations, including Rwanda,^[3] Somalia, El Salvador, Bosnia, Sudan, and Afghanistan.^[1] In Rwanda he coordinated aid activities, restored critical facilities such as Kigali's Central Hospital, and provided care for orphaned children.

In 2004, Isaacs was appointed to the position of director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), an organizational arm of the U.S. Agency for International Development. While at OFDA, Isaacs oversaw relief efforts for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. Isaacs left his position in 2005.^[1][4] Isaacs later returned to Samaritan's Purse as the Vice President of Programs and Government Relations.^[5]

In 2008-2009, Isaacs helped coordinate a historical feeding program in North Korea funded by the United States and carried out by 5 NGOs, including Samaritan’s Purse.^[6] The program targeted 550,000 vulnerable individuals and was the first U.S. feeding program in North Korea since 2000. Isaacs was a vocal advocate for an immediate and large-scale food response in the country.^[7]

In 2010, Isaacs lead the organization's disaster response to the Haiti earthquake. In 2011, he was the head of the organization's disaster response team for the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.^[8]

On February 1, 2018, the U.S. State Department announced Isaacs' nomination to the post of Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The 169 member states of the IOM rejected his candidacy on June 29, 2018, the first time since 1951 that the organization will not be led by an American.^[9]

Isaacs has been called as an expert witness before the Senate committee on Foreign Relations, House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Senate subcommittee on African affairs to discuss a wide range of humanitarian topics, including the humanitarian response to Hurricane Mitch in Central America, the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, and implementation of US policy on Sudan. Isaacs also testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on Sudan and North Korea.^[10]

Isaacs has been known for his active presence in disaster zones and was described as the “Indiana Jones of the Christian relief world.”^[11][12][13]

Isaacs often speaks at events, universities, and conferences^[14] and has authored op-eds, including a Wall Street Journal opinion piece entitled, ‘The Rwandan Genocide: 20 Years Later, but We're No Wiser’,^[15] and ‘Lessons learned from the Ebola Epidemic’.^[16]

Ken Isaacs was actively involved in Albania in 1999, where he played a key role in establishing a humanitarian camp for refugees fleeing the Kosovo conflict. He helped oversee the camp, which provided essential support to thousands of Kosovar prisoners who had been tortured by Serbian forces. During his time in Albania, Nobel peace prize winner Eli Weisel visited at the request of the United States president.^[17]

The purpose of the trip was to visit released prisoners of war that had been held in Serbia. Isaacs received Weisel, led him through the camp and accompanied him as he interviewed hundreds of released POWs, many claiming torture.^[18][19]

After Hurricane Mitch struck Central America in 1998, Ken Isaacs led Samaritan’s Purse’s relief operations as Director of Projects. In testimony before the U.S. Senate in 1999, he described the widespread devastation in Honduras and Nicaragua and outlined the organization’s $9 million plan to build 5,000 permanent homes using local labor and church partnerships. Isaacs also oversaw the delivery of 350 tons of emergency supplies and the deployment of mobile medical clinics.

He advocated for channeling reconstruction funds through NGOs and emphasized the importance of transparency, local ownership, and rapid implementation. Isaacs also compared the post-disaster environment in Honduras to a war zone and urged greater U.S. support for long-term recovery efforts.^[20]

Isaacs played a key role in the Samaritan's Purse humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan in 2002,  spearheading the establishment of a hospital in the northern region near Mazar-e-Sharif, a project undertaken in collaboration with local tribal elders and military commanders. The goal was to build a 12-bed hospital with two operating rooms in a region grappling with harsh winter weather and the ongoing conflict following the fall of the Taliban. Samaritan's Purse committed to a long-term aid program in the area, with Isaacs overseeing the initial stages of construction. He focused on providing critical medical care, shelter, and food to the thousands of displaced people living in dire conditions.^[21]  

In 2014, Isaacs testified before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, criticizing the government's response to and effort to combat the spread of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.^[22][23]

During the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Ken Isaacs served as vice president of programs and government relations at Samaritan’s Purse and played a leading role in coordinating the organization's response. As the epidemic escalated in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, Samaritan’s Purse mobilized medical teams and resources, supporting various hospitals. In Liberia, The group provided support to two clinics and launched public health education campaigns while also working in informal partnership with other international organizations.

In July 2014, two American aid workers from Samaritan’s Purse, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, contracted the virus while treating patients. The incident brought international attention to the outbreak and helped prompt increased involvement from U.S. and global authorities. Isaacs worked closely with U.S. agencies, including the CDC and NIH, to coordinate emergency evacuations and access to treatments such as ZMapp. He later recounted that learning two of their own Ebola team members had been infected was devastating for the organization.^[24]

In August 2014, Isaacs testified before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, where he strongly criticized the delayed international response, calling it "a failure."  He emphasized that despite early warnings issued by his organization as early as April 2014, calls for assistance were largely ignored by the international community. During the same hearing, Isaacs issued a dire prediction concerning the potential escalation of Ebola in Nigeria. He warned members of Congress that Ebola could "emerge with a fury" in Nigeria within approximately three weeks, following the case of a man who contracted Ebola in Liberia and subsequently traveled to Nigeria, where he later died. Isaacs' testimony underscored the urgency of improved international coordination and action to contain the rapidly spreading epidemic.^[25]

During a 2014 House Subcommittee hearing on the Ebola outbreak, Congressman Frank Wolf described Ken Isaacs—then vice president of program and government relations at Samaritan's Purse—as a key figure in prompting urgent action. Wolf credited Isaacs with helping alert U.S. officials to the severity of the crisis and drew attention to what he saw as an insufficient international response. He also praised Samaritan’s Purse, under Isaacs’ leadership, for its efforts to assist vulnerable communities, naming it alongside Doctors Without Borders as one of the most effective organizations providing aid to those most in need globally.^[26]

Health experts, such as Dr. Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota described organizations like Samaritan’s Purse as the "safety net for global health," emphasizing their consistent presence in areas affected by war, disease, and civil unrest.^[27]

In 2017, during a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on famine in East Africa, Ken Isaacs, Vice President of Programs and Government Relations at Samaritan's Purse, testified about the crisis in South Sudan. He highlighted that political instability and conflict had displaced approximately 1.85 million people, leading to severe food insecurity. Isaacs described the situation as a "manmade famine".^[28]

Ken Isaacs has been a key figure in providing medical assistance to Ukraine during the Russian invasion. In early March 2022, Isaacs reached out to his longtime colleague, Senator Bill Frist, after assessing the dire need for medical supplies in Ukraine. Despite the logistical challenges posed by the Russian full scale invasion, Isaacs worked to connect Ukrainian officials, international organizations, and Tennessee-based groups to deliver crucial medical resources. His efforts led to the rapid mobilization of medical supplies from hospitals across Tennessee, with over 85 pallets of essential medical items sent to Ukraine in just 19 days.^[29]

As the Samaritan’s Purse representative, Isaacs also led the organization’s humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. These included the building and operating of an emergency field hospital and outpatient clinic in Lviv, which treated thousands of patients in the early months of the conflict. By the end of 2022, the organization was supporting 30 medical facilities across the country and estimated that it had provided assistance to 5.5 million Ukrainians with medicine, food, and clean water.^[30]

At the time of Isaacs's nomination for the directorship at IOM, he was in Bangladesh, providing diphtheria treatments to Rohingya refugees as part of his work for Samaritan's Purse. Soon after the announcement, The Washington Post published and CNN in March 2018 reviewed retweets and other content on Isaacs' Twitter account said to contain "anti-Muslim sentiments."^[31][32] After the report, Isaacs told reporters to "judge my actions" (in reference to his humanitarian work with Samaritan's Purse) and also noted that "retweets are not endorsements."^[33] He also cited his work in majority Muslim nations.^[34]