*01/29/16 PDG Ann Lee Hussey - Rotary Foundation

Ann Lee Hussey of South Berwick, Maine has made the eradication of polio and the alleviation of suffering by polio survivors her life’s work. Over the past several years she has actively participated in 26 volunteer NID (National Immunization Days) teams organizing and leading the last 23 teams herself, choosing to take those NIDs to places that do not often see westerners – Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Niger, Nigeria, Madagascar, as well as less “touristy” destinations in Egypt and India – where the need is greatest and where the publicity and goodwill surrounding the trip are as critical as the immunizations themselves to help communicate the need for eradication. 

She has shared her story and passion hundreds of times at numerous Zone Institutes, District Conferences, PETS and Foundation events, carrying the message of PolioPlus around the Rotary world and beyond, raising money and creating new converts to the fight. She is determined that no child will needlessly have to suffer what she herself, a polio survivor, has been through. Her concern for polio survivors includes working to ensure mobility and dignity for those who survived the disease, but did not have access to the kinds of surgeries and treatments that she was able to receive. And has led many RI grants to this end.

Ann Lee has put a face on the subject of polio eradication, winning hearts and minds and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. Being a polio survivo, the story Ann Lee tells is personal, and so is her fight to eradicate polio. 

But for all the immunizations Ann Lee has herself made possible through NIDs, she considers fundraising and public awareness her most critical accomplishments. Ann Lee’s work has earned her the International Service Award for a Polio-Free World and the Rotary Service Above Self Award and most recently was honored as a White House Champion of Change for her humanitarianism and contributions to public service, aimed at improving people’s lives and making a better future around the globe. She was also honored at the Maine State Senate chamber for her remarkable achievements.

Outside Rotary, Ann Lee currently serves as a trustee of York Hospital for a third term and previously on the board of Port Resources, an organization that supports developmentally challenged adults in Portland, Maine. 

Ann Lee is a member of the Rotary Club of Portland Sunrise in Maine and served District 7780 as Governor in 2010-2011. Previously she served on the Reach Out to Africa Initiative, as Zone 32 Coordinator for Health and Hunger and as a member of the RI Rotarian Action Groups Committee. Ann Lee has also served as Presidents’ Representative at several district conferences.

Ann Lee currently serves as Adviser to the International PolioPlus Committee for 2015-2016 and Chairs the Polio Survivors Rotarian Action Group. For 2015-2016 she also serves as her district’s Major Gifts officer and remains a member of the District Visioning Team, having introduced the Visioning program to her district during her governor year. 

Ann Lee and her husband are Rotary Foundation Major Donors. She is a Veterinary Technician who with her Rotarian husband, Michael Nazemetz, DVM, own Village Veterinary Clinic in Rollinsford, NH. They reside in South Berwick, Maine.