Vafa Akhavan
In fall 2021, Vafa Akhavan decided it was time for a career change. After spending most of his career working in consulting, he left a corporate job to become CEO of the World Pediatric Project, a Richmond-based nonprofit that treats underprivileged children in the Caribbean and Central America, while working to strengthen local health care systems through education and advocacy programs. WPP provides a child with health care, and in a moment the world has changed for that child, their family and their community, which is exceptionally rewarding, Akhavan says. We recently chatted with him about his new role and about the work of the World Pediatric Project.
Richmond magazine: What work have you been diving into at WPP?
Akhavan: I would describe it as the “learning mode.” It’s meeting with the children, families, doctors, surgeons, health workers. I’m visiting the hospitals that are a part of our ecosystem. I have been to the Ronald McDonald House and other residential facilities for our children and families. Meeting with everyone on our staff. It’s really been the process of learning what we are doing, how we are doing it, who we are doing it with, what’s working, what we can improve on. It is an exciting part of any new journey, what you learn at the beginning.
RM: You made the move to a medical nonprofit in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. How has that impacted your time there so far, and how do you plan to navigate the ongoing pandemic?
Akhavan: One of the dimensions of WPP that I have been extremely impressed with is the resilience of the organization and of the entire ecosystem. It was hard. All organizations have faced slowdowns and reductions. Their resilience at navigating COVID has been stellar. It’s outstanding the way that we are continuing to be a viable service to our mandate.
RM: Why did you make the switch to WPP?
Akhavan: About three years ago, I started thinking about what I wanted to do next. I had been brought up in a family where it was very normal for us to give back to the community. It was just the way we were. We would go out with my father and help the underserved and underprivileged in the community. As I was reflecting, I decided I wanted to move into the nonprofit world. So I was elected to the board of Children Believing in Canada, a global nonprofit that works in the health and education of children. Then I wanted an operating position where I was actually involved in the day-to-day operations. So when I found this opportunity, it was very attractive to me.
RM: How does working at a nonprofit compare to your previous work?
Akhavan: When you’re in the commercial world, you measure impact, outcome, performance differently than you do in the nonprofit world. The big difference is that being purpose-driven at a nonprofit has far greater weight. In the commercial world, purpose does have weight, but there is equal or greater weight given to financial performance.
Vafa Akhavan with Kady, a 5-year old from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, who received treatments including open-heart surgery in St. Louis through the work of the World Pediatric Project
RM: How does your work at WPP impact not just your professional life, but you as a human? Has there been a moment that was exceptionally rewarding?
Akhavan: Oh, I can answer that right away. The best part is getting together with the children. Recently, I was in St. Louis, and we had six or seven children there with their families. I got to talk with Katie, an 8-year-old child who just a week before had open-heart surgery. And there I am, having a conversation with her. Or I met a child who was a severe burn victim. He had to get specialized treatment right away, and within two weeks, WPP got everything organized, the visa, transportation, hospital, housing. Those are the “wow” moments that remind me why I am here.
RM: What is your vision for WPP?
Akhavan: It’s a little too early to be definitive. And really, I don’t see it was my mandate to set the vision of the organization. I want to make sure that everyone is involved in that. But I can assure you, we all have a vision of doing more. We want to serve more children, which means we are going to need more people on the States’ side and in the countries that [WPP is currently] in. That means we are going to need more financials to fuel those activities. What that ends up being in a definitive plan is what we will sit together and figure out.
RM: Anything else to add?
Akhavan: I would encourage anybody who is reading this article to find their own path to serve and to give back to the community. Sooner or later, you just got to decide to do it.
