Longtime Portland nonprofit leader to retire from organization she founded
File photo / Tim Greenway
Elizabeth McLellan, founder and CEO of Partners for World Health, was honored as a Mainebiz Woman to Watch in 2020. The Portland-baed nonprofit redistributes medical supplies to individuals, communities and health care facilities around the world.
Sixteen years after founding Partners for World Health to collect and redistribute discarded medical supplies to individuals, communities and health care facilities in need, Elizabeth McLellan has announced her retirement.
McLellan, honored as a Mainebiz Woman to Watch in 2020, plans to step down as CEO of the Portland-based nonprofit by the end of this year.
“The time is ripe for me to turn the reins over to a new leader that can take the organization through this exciting next chapter,” she said in an emailed announcement.
Certain that she can make the transition because the organization is financially strong, McLellan said she has “utmost confidence” in her current team.
“There isn’t a doubt in my mind that equipment and supply collection, container and shipment programs … the medical supply purchase program and medical service trips will endure, expand and flourish for years to come,” she continued.
McLellan, a registered nurse, told Mainebiz in a 2020 "On the Record" interview that she runs the nonprofit like a business.
"We have a big annual appeal and write for small grant funding, but a lot of our income is generated through innovative business strategies," she said at the time.
Last year alone, Partners for World Health collected 540,000 pounds of discarded medical equipment and supplies to communities in need, with volunteers making service trips to Bangladesh, Uganda and Senegal. 2024 was also a record-breaking year for its medical supply purchase program.
This year, staff and volunteers have already sent two shipments of medical equipments and supplies to Sudan, with two shipments planned for Ukraine in coming weeks.
The organization has also secured a venue, a director and a design committee for this year's Blue Wrap Project Runway event Show scheduled for May 15 and 16 at the Good Theater at Stevens Square in Portland. The annual fundraiser, launched in 2011, showcases one-of-a-kind fashions made from surgical blue wrap.
McLellan said she will continue to lead the organization until she and the board are confident and happy that it the right successor has been found.
To aid in the search, the nonprofit has hired Koya Partners, an executive search firm based in Boston under the Diversified Search Group umbrella.
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