John Spears

Chief Operating Officer

John Spears is ONE’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). Prior to serving as COO, John was ONE’s Chief of Staff, serving as the principal advisor to the President and CEO, the Board Liaison and driving strategic initiatives throughout the organization.

Before joining the ONE team, John held numerous roles in the US Government, national political campaigns and international non-governmental organizations. While serving in the Obama Administration, he was the Senior Advisor to the Administrator and Deputy Administrator at the US Agency for International Development where he advised and led projects related to management and operations for the 10,000+ person agency, the Asia region and LGBTI issues.

John is a professional certified coach credentialed through the International Coaching Federation. He is passionate about challenging others to live the lives they’ve always dreamed of. When he’s not COOing or coaching, you can find him skiing (poorly), hiking, practicing yoga and eating copious amounts of ice cream. During his childhood, he studied dance and in high school he won 7th best speaker at the Stanford Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament.

He lives in Washington DC with his two pre-teen kids (please send help!).

More Members of the Leadership Team

Adam Mayaki

Chief Financial Officer

Annie Schouw

Chief Development Officer

Colleen Connors

Chief Talent Officer

David McNair

Executive Director for Global Policy

Désiré Assogbavi

Francophone Africa Director

Dorine Nininahazwe

AU and East Africa Director

Elise Legault

Canada Director

Emily Wigens

EU Director

Gayle E. Smith

CEO of ONE *

Jennifer Lotito

President and Chief Operating Officer, (RED)

Kate Critchley

Executive Director, Communications and Content

Serah Makka

Directrice Afrique

Stanley Achonu

Nigeria Director

Stephan Exo-Kreischer

Germany Director

Suzanne Granville

North America Executive Director

Tamika Cummings

General Counsel

Tom Hart

President of ONE