OLD LYME, CT — The Alliance for American Leadership (A4AL) joined Andrea Fenton, formerly of USAID and the Peace Corps, and Mark Miller, a nurse practitioner and public health advocate, to honor former Congressman Sam Gejdenson with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades of service to the United States and the world.

The award ceremony, hosted in Old Lyme, marked the official Connecticut launch of the Alliance and drew more than seventy supporters committed to restoring America’s global leadership through effective international assistance. The event raised over $7,000 to support A4AL’s programs aimed at renewing, restoring, and reimagining U.S. foreign aid.

While the launch introduced A4AL to the state, its central purpose was to recognize Congressman Gejdenson’s lasting impact. Born in a displaced persons camp in Allied-occupied Germany, Gejdenson represented Connecticut’s 2nd District from 1981 to 2001. During his tenure, he championed causes that strengthened America’s global reach and moral standing — restoring funding to the United Nations Population Fund, advancing anti-trafficking legislation, and initiating U.S. support for UNAIDS, a program that has helped save more than 26 million lives worldwide.

Speakers throughout the evening reflected on leadership, American values, and the power of compassion-driven service.

“Leadership is about trust,” said Mark Miller, a nurse practitioner and health advocate. “In healthcare, trust isn’t a slogan — it’s the difference between chaos and coordination, between fear and recovery. It’s built one decision, one conversation, one act of integrity at a time. That same trust is what’s missing in public life today. That’s why I believe in the Alliance for American Leadership — because it stands for principled, informed, and service-minded leadership.”

Asher Moss, Executive Director of A4AL, contrasted that leadership with recent policy changes. 

“As a nation, we made a conscious decision to shut down USAID this year,” said Asher Moss, Executive Director of A4AL. “That meant cutting off food, medicine, and life-saving care to 120 million people. It meant allowing 500 tons of American crops to be destroyed instead of feeding families in Yemen and Sudan. That’s not American leadership — it’s a moral failure. If we do nothing, 14 million people could die over the next five years. That’s why we’re here — to act, to lead, and to remind the world what America stands for.”

Victoria Ayer, who once served on Gejdenson’s staff, recalled his enduring belief in service: “Sam believes in the best of what America can be. We worked on Medicare for All, we helped build the East Coast Greenway, and we restored funding to the UN Population Fund. What truly makes this country great is our empathy and compassion for others.”

When it came time for Congressman Gejdenson to speak, he shared a story that captured the ripple effect of American generosity.

“In Ghana, a woman borrowed about $100 through a microloan program we started,” Gejdenson said. “She bought a sewing machine, then a stove, then plastic flowers — and before long, she had 50 employees making flowers for weddings and funerals. The U.S. investment was under $300. That’s what American assistance can do — it transforms lives.”

He continued: “It’s hard to get people to see why we should help others. Forget that it’s the right thing to do — it’s also smart. Disease anywhere becomes disease everywhere. Hunger abroad breeds instability at home. We need to remind Americans that compassion is not weakness; it’s strength. And rebuilding that understanding starts at the grassroots level — it starts with groups like A4AL.”

The Alliance for American Leadership was honored to recognize Congressman Gejdenson’s decades of service and his relentless commitment to a more compassionate, secure, and principled America.

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About the Alliance for American Leadership (A4AL)

Formed after the shutdown of USAID, the Alliance for American Leadership is a nonpartisan coalition dedicated to restoring American leadership through smart, strategic, and effective international assistance.

Join the movement at https://A4AL.org