John M. Barrows, President & CEO, has over 33 years of international development experience in blindness prevention programming worldwide. He has held successive positions as the Child Survival/ Vitamin A Coordinator (1990-1993), Director of Programs (1993-2013), and Vice President of Programs (2013-2020), and was appointed to his current position in 2020.

Mr. Barrows oversees IEF’s strategic development, fundraising, and operations and works closely on blindness prevention programs, including Onchocerciasis control, Hospital sustainability training, and Childhood blindness. He strongly advocates for changing how eye health programs build capacity to strengthen leadership, management, and sustainability through IEF’s SightReach® Management program to build systems for improved efficiency, quality, and revenue generation.

Mr. Barrows is a Senior Technical Advisor to the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Child Blindness Program, is the Chair of the VISION2020/USA, and is active in the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness working groups. He received a Human Rights Award from the United Nations Association/National Capital Area in 2001 and the IAPB North America Regional Award in 2012. He earned a Master of Public Health from Boston University in 1989 and resides in Washington, D.C.