Heifer International Promotes Chad Avery to General Counsel

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Oct. 31, 2011) – Heifer International today announced that Chad Avery is the hunger organization's new general counsel. Avery, who joined Heifer mid-year 2009, previously served as its associate general counsel.

"I am delighted to share news of Chad's new role," said Pierre Ferrari, Heifer's president and CEO. "Chad's work on issues including immigration, contracts, property and asset management has been both insightful and beneficial to increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of our work."

As general counsel, Avery will continue to provide Heifer guidance on local and international issues, manage dispute resolutions, manage Heifer's worldwide legal expense budget, and locate and oversee international counsel, as well as support the CEO in minimizing organizational risk, among other tasks.

Avery said he is proud of the work Heifer does around the globe and looks forward to his new role.

"Heifer International is an Arkansas treasure," Avery said. "Its contributions to charitable work locally and internationally have been substantial, and I see that trend continuing.  It is a privilege to serve as general counsel for such an organization."

Avery, who joined Heifer full-time in 2009 as associate general counsel, had previously represented Heifer and other nonprofit organizations as a partner with the firm of Gill Elrod Ragon Owen & Sherman, P.A., in Little Rock.

Avery is a 1995 graduate of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway and was a member of Peace Corps, volunteering as a business development consultant in Uzbekistan for two years, where he learned to speak conversational Russian. In 2002 he earned a law degree with high honors from the William H. Bowen School of Law at Little Rock.  Avery is licensed to practice law in Arkansas, and is a member of the American Bar Association, Business Law Section.