Meet the Founders
Behind every mission of healing and hope are two women with a shared dream.
Colleen Brennan, MPH, BSN, and Dr. Stephanie Cohen, MD, are the passionate founders of the XO World Project Foundation, longtime friends and dedicated healthcare professionals who transformed their friendship and shared calling into a mission of global impact. Their journey didn’t begin in boardrooms but in operating rooms and hospital wards, working directly in the communities they serve.
Colleen Brennan, MPH, BSN and Dr. Stephanie Cohen, MD are the passionate founders of XO World Project Foundation, two longtime friends and healthcare professionals who turned a shared calling into a global movement for change. Their journey began not in boardrooms, but in operating rooms and hospital wards. Colleen, a pediatric oncology and intensive care nurse, and Stephanie, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, have spent decades delivering care where it’s needed most. Through years of humanitarian work, they witnessed firsthand the heartbreaking gaps in healthcare, clean water, and basic resources, especially for women and children in underserved communities.
Colleen Brennan, MPH, BSN
CEO & Co-Founder, XO World Project Foundation
A lifelong nurse and humanitarian, Colleen Brennan has dedicated her career to improving health outcomes for women and children in developing regions. She earned her BSN from Saint Peter’s University and spent over 15 years in pediatric oncology and ICU nursing. In 2008, she became President of Operation International—Kids, leading medical missions that brought life-saving care to children around the world.
Colleen earned her Master’s in Public Health and Global Health certification from New York Medical College, where she expanded her focus to include training local medical professionals and improving health systems from the ground up.
Today, as CEO of XO World Project Foundation, Colleen continues to lead with compassion, vision, and a deep belief that access to healthcare, clean water, and economic opportunity are basic human rights. Her work empowers communities through action, sustainability, and heart.
Dr. Stephanie M. Cohen, MD
Co-Founder, XO World Project Foundation
Dr. Stephanie Cohen is a highly respected plastic and reconstructive surgeon known for her expertise, precision, and deep compassion for her patients. She completed her medical degree at Georgetown University, followed by General Surgery training at St. Vincent’s Hospital, and specialized training in Plastic Surgery at New York Hospital/Cornell and Memorial Sloan Kettering.
For over 25 years, Dr. Cohen has dedicated herself to breast reconstruction and complex revision surgeries, earning national recognition and the affectionate title of “the Breast Whisperer.” She is the Divisional Head of Breast Reconstruction at Hackensack University Medical Center, where she brings both clinical excellence and personal empathy to her work.
In 2008, Dr. Cohen’s dream of providing free surgical care in underserved countries became a reality. As Chief Surgeon and Vice President of Operation International–Kids, she performed over 350 surgeries on children suffering from cleft lips, burn injuries, and more. Her work in global health reflects her unwavering belief that everyone deserves dignity, care, and the chance to heal.
At XO World Project Foundation, Dr. Cohen continues to use her skills and lead with purpose, bringing life-changing care to those who need it most.
Why XO World Project Foundation?
What began as a deep friendship between two healthcare professionals has grown into a mission rooted in love, compassion, unity, and sustainable change. Through years of working side by side in communities with the greatest need, Colleen and Stephanie witnessed the devastating gaps in basic resources and the extraordinary power of hope when met with action.
The XO World Project Foundation was born from this shared calling: to bring not only healing but lasting transformation grounded in peace and equality. Through free medical care, clean water access, women’s economic empowerment, and dry-season farming initiatives, their work plants seeds of hope that grow into thriving futures.
With every well that flows, a family’s daily burden is lifted. With every life-saving surgery, a child’s future is restored. With every skill taught and every harvest grown, a community becomes stronger, more self-reliant, and more united.
Guided by friendship and love, fueled by purpose, and built on sustainable solutions, XO World Project Foundation exists to ensure that healthcare becomes a right, not a privilege, and that peace, dignity, and hope have the chance to take root, grow, and change lives forever.