Emergency response team leader arrives Wednesday

Holden Basch arrives in Islamabad tomorrow from Afghanistan to take the reins of the 11-person emergency response team we've assembled in Pakistan.

Holden is a New Yorker who spent the last year in Helmand, Afghanistan, managing Mercy Corps' project to revive agricultural production in what was once considered the war-torn country's breadbasket.

Once a Brooklyn high-school teacher, Holden has worked in the international humanitarian realm since 2000. During that time, he's managed programs in Afghanistan for Mercy Corps and a children's agency, as well as directed efforts in Indonesia and East Timor that supported elementary schools and street youth.