St. Paul-based Center for Victims of Torture names new CEO

The St. Paul-based Center for Victims of Torture named a new CEO on Wednesday, appointing Simon Adams to lead the international nonprofit.

Adams, executive director of the New York-based Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, which aims to prevent mass atrocity crimes, starts the job Oct. 11. The author of five books on human rights and international conflict, he will succeed Curt Goering, who resigned July 1 after nine years.

The Center for Victims of Torture provides research, training and treatment to torture victims, working with up to 30,000 survivors and family members a year. The nonprofit, which began in 1985, has more than 300 employees and a $26 million annual budget and has grown into the largest organization of its kind in the world.

Carleen Rhodes, who heads the nonprofit's board, said in a statement that the leadership change comes at an important time "when appreciation for the need for mental health care, for social justice, and for global humanitarian efforts is growing."

Kelly Smith