CINCINNATI, Ohio – The global vision care nonprofit, OneSight has announced that Dennis Norris has joined the organization as the new head of global programming. Norris brings over 25 years of programming and nonprofit experience and a passion for making a tangible difference in lives, the organization said, noting Norris’s unique background and deep experience "which will be critical in helping the organization scale its programming to the 1.1 billion people who need glasses, but have no way to get them."

Norris joins OneSight after serving the past decade in Afghanistan and Western Africa as Chief of Party and Senior Advisor for Central Asia Development Group and the United Nations. He supervised major redevelopment efforts from the UN, World Bank, USAID, AusAID, CIDA, and the US Military, and founded an air freight and passenger company in Bamako, Mali servicing UN military camp construction in the southern Sahara Desert. Prior to his work overseas, Dennis served as Executive Director of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (Indiana Chapter) and the Walther Cancer Foundation.

“We are thrilled to have Dennis join OneSight as he brings deep global strategy and programming development experience,” said K-T Overbey, OneSight president and executive director. “Dennis will lead our efforts to scale our programming and innovate to identify new solutions to reach those in need, faster.”

Norris' initial career began as a US Coast Guard patrol boat captain and San Francisco police officer, and later switched to nonprofit and grant-supported program management. He is an honors graduate and Chancellor’s Scholar of the University of California at Berkeley, where he currently serves on the Alumni Leadership Scholarship Committee. Dennis is a national trainer and author on the topics of grant-supported program management and resource development.

“I am deeply honored to join such an incredible and capable team at OneSight,” Norris said. “The mission of OneSight brings so much power and inspiration because it is truly tangible, not only from the passionate act of providing clear sight, but because the problem is solvable. I am thrilled to help OneSight solve the issue of lack of access to vision care in the most rapid and cost effective manner possible.”