Our History
Medical Mission International Inc. was founded in 2003 and is a 501©(3) organization. MMI’s mission is to provide short-term medical and surgical care to people in underserved regions of the world who have limited access to medical service, particularly to women and children. Its current projects are based in El Salvador. The choice of El Salvador was inspired by the success of Dr. Roberto Arevalo Araujo and his group of talented physicians, nurses, and technicians, who comprise Medical Mission of Mercy (MMM) and who have undertaken annual missions to provide expert medical care to the impoverished people in eastern El Salvador since 1992. MMM’s efforts were recognized by the Salvadoran government and it was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. MMI was founded by David V. King, a business man and philanthropist, and Dr. Roberto Arevalo Araujo. MMI has worked tirelessly over the last nine years to finance, with local partners, the construction of new medical facilities in areas currently lacking modern medical facilities and to renovate and modernize existing medical facilities.
In 2010, MMI began construction of a state-of-the-art medical / surgical center (the "Center") in Jucuapa, El Salvador, on land which had already been purchased by David V. King and donated to MMI.
The Center’s construction was completed in April 2011 and the medical portion of the Center should open by September 2011. The Center will provide medical care for thousands of people in the eastern area of El Salvador who currently have limited access to medical services.
The Surgical portion of the Center will provide surgery for cleft palate/lip, cataracts, and orthopedic deformities that are not high priorities of the current public health system. Surgery will be provided by missions of highly-skilled surgeons from U.S and foreign hospitals and universities. MMI foresees the wide dissemination of surgical expertise, particularly to students from the local medical universities. Salvadoran physicians will also work with the visiting teams which will enhance the technical level of expertise among local medical practitioners.
The medical portion of the Center will be staffed on a continuous basis by a paid medical staff who will be available to treat common medical and dental problems. The surgical portion will consist of two modern operating suites, treatment rooms, and up-to-date medical equipment. These procedure rooms will be staffed by a rotating series of volunteer medical missions with different surgical and medical specialties from around the world.
About Us
MMI was founded in 2003 and is a non-profit 501(C)(3) organization. MMI’s primary mission is to provide medical services internationally. Its initial work has been in El Salvador where the emphasis has been on treating women, children and a general underserved rural community. In addition to its board members, MMI is greatly enhanced by a network of architects, lawyers, businessmen, and secular and religious organizations worldwide. MMI’s directors are Bradley D. King, Roberto Arevalo Araujo, Gian Paolo Einaudi, Rochelle B. King and William M. Tyree.
Bios
- David V. King, Founder —
After over twenty years of experience as a corporate executive, David retired from his position as CEO of a public company to found and grow an independent petroleum company in the New York metro area which he later converted to a diversified commercial real estate company. While recovering from life saving surgery in Tampa, Florida, he met Dr. Roberto Araujo and became aware of the work he and his colleagues had been performing as the Medical Mission of Mercy. David soon became determined to further this work and the work of other volunteer medical personnel by creating an organization that could help provide the type of modern facilities they needed, and so Medical Mission International was born. Unfortunately, he died in 2005 before seeing the successful implementation of the Medical Center.
- Bradley D. King, President —
Bradley D. King, the son of David V. King, is the second generation of the King family to become involved in MMI. Like his father, Bradley is passionately committed to bringing modern medical services to El Salvador. He is the head of a family office, which includes management and development of commercial real estate as well as tax, trust, and portfolio management. He has over thirty years of experience in tax and finance, including as a principal in the tax department of two prestigious New York City CPA firms and is a member of the Estate Planning Council of New York City. He has had extensive experience in negotiating and structuring acquisitions and leases as well as experience in resolving complicated environmental issues. Bradley is also a licensed attorney and member of the New York State Bar Association. - Dr. Roberto Arevalo-Araujo, Vice President —
Dr. Arevalo-Araujo, a native Salvadoran, was educated in El Salvador until he was 16 years old, when he was sent to Mexico City to pursue studies in medicine at the National University of Mexico. His postgraduate training was in the United States where he completed the subspecialty of Hematology and Medical Oncology with the College of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey. In 1991 he organized the first annual trip to El Salvador for volunteer medical personnel under the name of Medical Mission of Mercy, which has offered medical care to over 60,000 patients and performed over 2,000 surgical procedures. In 2003, together with David King, he co-founded MMI. - Gian Paolo Einaudi, Vice President —
Gian Paolo Einaudi graduated from Haverford College in 1998 and subsequently served in the Peace Corps El Salvador (PCES, 1999-2002), first as a volunteer concentrating on community organization and youth development in a rural community for two years, then as a volunteer coordinator, focusing on youth leadership and sports camps and later as a master trainer, preparing future volunteers for their service. He joined MMI in January 2003 as Project Administrator. Since then, he has led MMI’s operations in El Salvador and completed an executive MBA at INCAE Business School in late 2008. - Rochelle B. King, Secretary, Director of Fundraising —
Rochelle B. King is an investment banker who has arranged funding for a significant number of healthcare, life sciences, media and telecommunications companies. She serves as the Director of Fundraising for MMI. She has served as a Director of Paging Partners Corporation, a public company, and as General Partner of Kagan Media Partners, L.P., a Paine Weber public media partnership. Rochelle is also a licensed attorney. - William M. Tyree, Vice President —
William Tyree is responsible for identification of new business opportunities and development of strategies at Tyree, a multi-dimensional petroleum services, and environmental firm with seven offices in the United States . Prior to his present position, Mr. Tyree was Chief Operating Officer of The Tyree Organization, responsible for sales projections and overall profitability, development of the corporate business plan and final approval of the company budget. Mr. Tyree earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Gettysburg College. His passion for MMI will help our future endeavors and we are proud to announce him as our newest director.