The Dr. William P. Sexton Award - 2025: Jim Reimer
Jim Reimer
Jim Reimer is the former director of the University of Notre Dame’s Bon Sel Initiative (BSI), part of the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child. From 2012 to 2024, Reimer helped develop and implement a faith-based social-enterprise model using fortified salt to help stop the transmission of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) and prevent Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) in Haiti.
Working with the Congregation de Sainte Croix, the Haitian Ministry of Health, Cargill Salt, and
other stakeholders, BSI processes, markets, and distributes fortified salt products in the
retail, food service, and food processing markets within Haiti. In addition, the BSI team
develops specialty salt products for the industrial market that enables the organization to become a self-sustaining entity.
Guided by Reimer’s expertise, BSI became a leader in a broader alliance of organizations working on LF and IDD in Haiti — benefitting not only individuals burdened by those diseases, but countless families and communities throughout the country, as well.
Before joining the BSI team, Reimer worked for Cargill, Inc., where he held a variety of leadership roles in North America, South America, and Southeast Asia. He also served as a thesis advisor within the Notre Dame ESTEEM program and as a liaison with internal and external stakeholders. Reimer holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Nebraska and an executive program certificate from the University of Michigan School of Business. He is also fluent in Spanish. Currently, Reimer resides in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with his wife, Portia.
"I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the many men and women who have worked tirelessly and sacrificially to reduce the disease burden that afflicts so many in Haiti. It is by God's grace that this collaborative effort has been one of 'the good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them' — all to His glory and blessing of His people."