Bill Simmons to Conclude Sixteen Years Leading Hope Rises International, Formerly American Leprosy Missions

(Greenville, S.C., August 26, 2026) ⸺ The Board of Directors of Hope Rises International, formerly American Leprosy Missions, announced today that Bill Simmons will conclude sixteen years as President and Chief Executive Officer on February 12, 2027.

Simmons informed the Board of Directors of his decision earlier this month, giving the Board time to conduct a full search and complete a deliberate handover before he departs. He remains fully in the role until his departure and is committed to the onboarding of his successor.

“I could not have asked for a better place to spend these years in kingdom work,” said Simmons. “What comes next for this ministry matters more than what has already happened, and my job between now and February is to help the board and my successor
step into it well.”

After his departure, Simmons will turn to work at the intersection of artificial intelligence and ministry, helping mission-driven organizations grow their impact through technology.

Simmons has led Hope Rises International through a period of real growth and change. The ministry, founded in 1906, marked its 120th year in 2026 and took the name Hope Rises International in March 2025 — a name that reflects work reaching well beyond leprosy to other neglected tropical diseases such as Buruli ulcer and lymphatic filariasis.

Under his leadership the ministry developed an approach that places the local church at the center of the work rather than at its margin. Churches invite their communities, surface cases that would otherwise stay hidden, walk with patients through treatment, and confront the stigma that keeps people from seeking care. That conviction now shapes programs across 11 countries.

The Board of Directors expressed its gratitude for Simmons’ sixteen years of service, and particularly for the care he has shown the ministry’s staff and partners in the United States, Ghana, India, and the countries where Hope Rises International works. “Bill has given this ministry sixteen years of steady and faithful leadership,” said Neal Joseph, Chair of the Board of Directors. “He has built a dynamic team across the world
and greatly improved both the effectiveness and efficiency of our work, and for that, we will be forever grateful. He will be missed.”

All of the ministry’s programs, partnerships, and grant commitments will continue to
move forward as planned as HRI’s team continues their work with Christian partners
around the world, following the strategic plan adopted by the Board that runs through
FY27. Additional details regarding the search for the next CEO will be announced soon.

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About Hope Rises International
Hope Rises International, formerly American Leprosy Missions, is a global parachurch ministry
that exists to live and proclaim the gospel to people with neglected tropical diseases like
leprosy. Working with and through the church, Hope Rises International helps provide physical
healing and enduring hope for people suffering from the pain and stigma caused by these
diseases. Founded in 1906, the organization has spent more than a century training, supporting,
and equipping Christian partners worldwide to provide compassionate care to marginalized
people and restore them to lives of dignity, fullness, and community. Hope Rises International
also works to increase the effectiveness of early detection and treatments, bridge the gap in
research, and invest in tools and technologies that expand access to healing — all while
faithfully living out the gospel and inviting others to join Jesus in His redemptive work. Learn
more about Hope Rises International at hoperises.org.

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Media contact: Kelly Parks, Executive Operations Manager, kparks@hoperises.org

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