COLUMBIA, SC (December 22, 2015) – Inez Tenenbaum has been named to the board of Safe Kids Worldwide, an international nonprofit working to prevent childhood injury, the number-one cause of death for children in the United States.
Tenenbaum was the ninth Chairman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, serving from June 2009 through November 2013. During her tenure at the CPSC, she worked to transform CPSC into one of the leading product safety agencies in the world. She established a leadership philosophy aimed at making the agency more accessible and transparent; making education and advocacy a priority; and being firm, but fair, in enforcing safety laws and working to keep unsafe products out of the hands of consumers.
Throughout her career, Tenenbaum has been an energetic and determined advocate for children and families and has extensive experience in administrative and regulatory matters, including having served as South Carolina’s state superintendent of education for eight years.
She is one of five new members named to the board this month. The other four are:
Mike Boyd, the head of enterprise brand for Nationwide. Boyd has thirty years of brand, advertising and sponsorship experience as well as extensive knowledge of the insurance and financial services industry. Most recently, he was head of brand and sponsorship at Farmers Insurance. Previously, Boyd worked at 21st Century (formerly AIG) and The Martin Agency (IPG), where he led advertising and strategic branding efforts for Geico.
Saul Billingsley is the director general of the FIA Foundation, a nonprofit based in the United Kingdom which supports an international program of activities promoting road safety, the environment and sustainable mobility, as well as funding motor sport safety research. He is also co-chair of the Road Safety Fund and served as the organization’s founding director from 2010-2014. Billingsley serves as a trustee of two UK charities, the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) which encourages safer road design in middle- and low-income countries, and Make Roads Safe, which promotes global road traffic injury prevention.
Sara T. Machir is a principal in Cebra Consulting, LLC, in Bethesda, MD. A former member of the CNMC Board of Directors and former chairman of the board of Children’s Hospital, Machir also served on the CNMC Professional Affairs Committee, where she was chair for four years. Machir chaired the Steering Committee of the Counseling Center at St. Columba’s Church from 2000 to 2006, and is a member of the board of the Ivymount Corporation in Maryland and the Campaign Council of the CNMC Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
Sanjiv Mehta is the chairman & managing director for the East India Company Ltd. and serves as trustee of Safe Kids Foundation India. Sanjiv has worked to position The East India Company as a global luxury brand. Based on The Company’s rich legacy and heritage, he has sought to build a brand identity and a core team to re-launch The Company for the modern world. In addition to his work, Sanjiv and his family have been active members of The Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust for over 15 years. The charity supports underprivileged children; provides them with education and also supplies prosthetics to the handicapped in India.
“These impressive leaders join an already dedicated board deeply committed to the importance of our mission to prevent childhood injuries and our imperative to save lives both here in the U.S. and around the world,” said Kate Carr, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide.
Safe Kids was founded by Children’s National Hospital System in 1988, and works with more than 400 Safe Kids coalitions around the U.S. and member organizations in more than 25 countries around the world to reduce preventable injuries, a leading killer of children.
“The impact of this nonprofit is evident in thousands of lives saved,” said Kurt Newman, MD, president and CEO of Children’s National Hospital System, “but there is still much to be done. The strength and broad backgrounds of our new board members will help us achieve our goals and expand our impact.”
Tenenbaum served two terms as South Carolina’s state superintendent of education, and served from 2009-2013 as chairman of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission under President Barack Obama. She serves on the Advisory Board for South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics and Science, the National Advisory Board for the International African American Museum, and is a member of the Southern Regional Education Board’s Early Childhood Commission. Tenenbaum is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, and earned both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Education degree from the University of Georgia.
About Safe Kids Worldwide
Safe Kids Worldwide is a nonprofit organization working to prevent childhood injury, the number one cause of death for children in the United States. Throughout the world, almost one million children die of an injury each year, and almost every one of these tragedies is preventable. Safe Kids works with an extensive network of more than 400 coalitions in the U.S. and with partners in more than 25 countries to reduce traffic injuries, drownings, falls, burns, poisonings and more. Since 1988, Safe Kids has helped reduce the U.S. childhood death rate from unintentional injury by 60 percent. Find out more at safekids.org.
About Wyche
Wyche is a full-service law firm that has practiced law and served the community for 95 years. In that time, Wyche has participated in landmark litigation, served as counsel on cutting-edge transactions, and provided community leadership that has helped shape and drive our region’s growth and success. With offices in Greenville and Columbia, Wyche is the South Carolina member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms.
