Sasha Chanoff

{{promotion|date=November 2023}}{{short description|American aid organizer}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}

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| image = Sasha Chanoff (born 1971) at Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2021.png

| caption = Speaking at the World Economic Forum's Sustainable Development Summit 2021

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1971|01|13}}

| birth_place = Helsinki, Finland

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| citizenship = Finland, United States

| education = Wesleyan University

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| occupation = Refugee relief organizer

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| organization = RefugePoint

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| awards = Charles Bronfman Prize, 2010
Gleitsman Award, 2013

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Sasha Chanoff (born 1971) is an American humanitarian based in Somerville, Massachusetts who has worked for two decades in refugee rescue, relief, and resettlement operations in Africa[http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/06/07/inspired_by_relatives_hes_doing_a_world_of_good_for_refugees/ Inspired by relatives, he’s doing a world of good for refugees], Accessed July 6, 2014, "...Sasha Chanoff spent the past decade rescuing recent victims of the world’s deadliest persecutions.Cynthia Rockwell, April 1, 2013, Wesleyan University, [http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2013/04/01/lostgirls/ Chanoff '94 Garners National Attention for Sudanese Refugees], Accessed July 6, 2014, "...Sasha Chanoff ’94 and the organization he founded, RefugePoint,..." and the United States.

Chanoff is the founder and executive director of RefugePoint,December 24, 2013, Doug Moore, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, [http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/daughter-reunited-with-family-in-st-louis-after-nearly-a/article_5479b0e7-391c-5b96-bc23-f7c48cb3ba00.html Daughter reunited with family in St. Louis after nearly a decade], Accessed July 6, 2014, "...On the train, Sasha Chanoff, founder and executive director of RefugePoint, ..." an organization that aids refugees and supports the humanitarian community to do the same. Prior to launching RefugePoint, he consulted with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kenya and worked with the International Organization for Migration throughout Africa, identifying refugees in danger, undertaking rescue missions, and working on refugee protection issues with the US, Canadian, Australian, and other governments.

He often enlists the help of the mass media to spread awareness about refugee issues, and has appeared on 60 Minutes. He has also been a featured teller on the popular public radio storytelling program The Moth Radio Hour.[https://themoth.org/storytellers/sasha-chanoff The Moth Radio Hour]

Sasha Chanoff holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.A. in Humanitarian Assistance, from the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Friedman School of Nutrition, Science, and Policy. He has received fellowships from Ashoka, the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, and Echoing Green, and is a recipient of the Charles Bronfman Humanitarian Prize, the Harvard Center for Public Leadership Gleitsman International Activist Award, the Schwab Foundation / World Economic Forum Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the Obama White House Champion of Change award.

He is a Goodwill Ambassador for the million dollar Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. He is a board member of Network of Engaged International Donors (NEID) Global, and served as a human rights adviser to The Leir Charitable Foundations. He also recently served as an adviser to the film The Good Lie, starring Reese Witherspoon, and helped to establish its charitable initiative, The Good Lie Fund, which he advised.

Mr. Chanoff believes resettlement is a vastly superior alternative to refugee camps, since re-settled refugees can support themselves and "get on with their own lives".LARISA EPATKO, June 20, 2014, PBS Newshour, [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/claude-displaced-child-seeking-refuge-cities Meet ‘Claude,’ one of many displaced children seeking refuge in cities], Accessed July 6, 2014 He views his role as a humanitarian relief organizer to "attempt to help everyone in need."Ashoka, Forbes Magazine, [https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2013/11/25/the-moth-teaches-ashoka-a-thing-or-two-about-storytelling-setting-up-the-stakes/ 'The Moth' Teaches A Thing Or Two About Storytelling: Setting Up The Stakes], Accessed July 6, 2014, "...For example, Sasha Chanoff of RefugePoint ... recognized that his duty ... to help everyone in need..."

In 2006, he founded the organization called Mapendo, which was renamed RefugePoint in 2011. RefugePoint provides aid to at-risk and obscure African refugee groups.September 28, 2004, PBS, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110121002112/http://www.pbs.org/pov/lostboysofsudan/special_interviews_sc_new.php Interviews: In Search of a Durable Solution], Accessed July 6, 2014, "...June 2007 UPDATE: Sasha Chanoff founded Mapendo International..." Mapendo helped to evacuate more than 10,000 refugees from Sudan, Kenya, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He explained:

{{Blockquote|Oftentimes, ethnic minorities, girls and widows are not safe in the refugee camps. Rape is fairly common, so a lot of women and their families flee the camps out of fear and end up homeless in urban centers with no access to services. Mapendo seeks to find these refugees and help them get the protection and services they need. The organization is named after Rose Mapendo, a Tutsi woman who spent 16 months in a Rwandan death camp with her husband and seven children, and whose experience we wanted to honor. Rose lost her husband in the camps but now lives in Arizona with her children. Mapendo is a Swahili word that means "great love."|Chanoff, 2004, in interview on PBS}}