alt text here

Our Experts

The UN Foundation works on a diverse portfolio of issues including children's health, energy and climate, women and population, technology and sustainable development.

For more information on our experts or to arrange for an interview with them, please email press@unfoundation.org.  

CHILDREN'S HEALTH

  1. Dr. Daniel Carucci

    Area of Involvement: Children’s Health, Women & Population

    Dr. Carucci serves as the Vice President for Global Health at the UN Foundation. He received his Medical Degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine supported by a scholarship from the U.S. Navy and practiced medicine with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps as an active duty Navy physician and Flight Surgeon, flying with a squadron of F/A-18 aircraft. In 1991 and 1995, he was awarded a Masters of Science in Clinical Tropical Medicine and a Doctor of Philosophy from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, respectively.

  2. Elizabeth (McKee) Gore

    Area of Involvement: Children’s Health

    Elizabeth McKee Gore

    Elizabeth Gore is the executive director of global partnerships and Nothing But Nets for the United Nations Foundation, currently managing partnership and cause marketing strategies implemented in programs and campaigns of the Foundation. Mrs. Gore also directs successful initiatives such as the Nothing But Nets campaign, $200 Million campaign for the Global Fund, Refugee appeal for malaria, and a multi-million dollar partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

  3. Kevin Starace

    Area of Involvement: Children’s Health

    Kevin Starace

    Kevin Starace, Senior Malaria Advisor at the United Nations Foundation, specializes in private sector initiatives, global health policy and strategy. Before coming to UNF in 2003, Starace had over 10 years of experience in business development, communications, strategic planning and politics.

  4. Andrea Gay

    Area of Involvement: Children’s Health

    Andrea Gay

    Andrea Gay is the Executive Director of Children's Health at the United Nations Foundation, where she oversees projects to improve the survival and health of children in developing countries, particularly those under five years of age. She joined the UN Foundation when it was created in 1998.

Back to top

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

  1. Erika Harms

    Area of Involvement: Sustainable Development

    Erika Harms is the Executive Director of the Tourism Sustainability Council (TSC) and Senior Advisor on Tourism at the United Nations Foundation. In this role, Ms. Harms manages and oversees the implementation of activities under the framework of the TSC.

  2. Peter DeBrine

    Area of Involvement: Sustainable Development

    Peter DeBrine

    Peter DeBrine is the Executive Director of the World Heritage Alliance—a global community of travelers, members of the travel industry, government groups, non-governmental organizations, and the United Nations who work to protect and preserve World Heritage sites and support local communities.

  3. Kate Dodson

    Area of Involvement: Sustainable Development

    Kate Dodson

    Kate Dodson, Deputy Director of Sustainable Development, manages the sustainable tourism portfolio at the Foundation, including the development of a new Sustainable Tourism Criteria and the World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism. She also manages the Friends of World Heritage initiative, a grassroots outreach campaign targeted to the traveling public to raise awareness and funds to support community development around World Heritage sites.

Back to top

CLIMATE & ENERGY 

  1. Mohamed T. El-Ashry

    Area of Involvement: Climate & Energy

    Mohamed T. El-Ashry

    Mohamed T. El-Ashry is Senior Fellow with the UN Foundation. He served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) from July 1994 to July 2003. He also served as Chairman of the GEF during its Pilot Phase (1991-1994).

  2. Melinda L. Kimble

    Area of Involvement: Climate & Energy

    Melinda Kimble

    Melinda Kimble is a Senior Vice President, overseeing our International Bioenergy Initiative. She joined the UN Foundation in May 2000.

  3. Mark Hopkins

    Area of Involvement: Climate & Energy

    Mark Hopkins

    Mark is an internationally recognized expert in energy efficiency, with more than 30 years of experience in policy and program development. He is the former Executive Vice President of the Alliance to Save Energy, where he developed an international program that helped to improve energy efficiency in 20 transitional and developing countries.

  4. Reid Detchon

    Area of Involvement: Climate & Energy

    Reid Detchon

    Reid Detchon is the Vice President for Energy and Climate at the United Nations Foundation. He is also the Executive Director of the Energy Future Coalition, a broad-based non-partisan public policy initiative supported by the UN Foundation that seeks to bring about change in U.S. energy policy.

  5. Leslie Cordes

    Area of Involvement: Climate & Energy

    Leslie Black Cordes is Director of Partnerships, Energy and Climate where she is responsible for developing new relationships with the philanthropic, international donors, and private sector communities. She previously held positions with the Environmental Protection Agency, the non-profit Alliance to Save Energy, the US Agency for International Development, and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

  6. Timothy E. Wirth

    Area of Involvement: UN-US Relations, Climate & Energy

    Timothy E. Wirth

    Timothy Wirth is the President of the United Nations Foundation and the Better World Fund. Both organizations were founded in 1998 through a major financial commitment from Ted Turner to support and strengthen the work of the United Nations.

Back to top

U.S.-UN RELATIONS

  1. Peter Yeo

    Area of Involvement: UN-US Relations

    Peter Yeo joined the United Nations Foundation and the Better World Campaign in February 2009 with over twenty years of legislative, analytical, and management experience, including senior roles on Capitol Hill and in the State Department.

  2. Gillian Sorensen

    Area of Involvement: UN-US Relations

    Gillian Sorensen

    Gillian Martin Sorensen, Senior Advisor at the United Nations Foundation is a national advocate on matters related to the United Nations and the United States-United Nations relationship, addressing audiences as diverse as Rotary International and the Air Force Academy; university students; staff and Members of Congress; journalists and leaders of civil society.

  3. Susan Myers

    Area of Involvement: UN-US Relations

    Susan Myers

    Susan Myers became the Executive Director of the UN Foundation’s New York Office in September 2005. Previously, she worked for the Better World Campaign, the UN Foundation’s advocacy arm, starting in March 2000 as Research and Legislative Coordinator and rising to Legislative and Advocacy Director.

  4. Timothy E. Wirth

    Area of Involvement: UN-US Relations, Climate & Energy

    Timothy E. Wirth

    Timothy Wirth is the President of the United Nations Foundation and the Better World Fund. Both organizations were founded in 1998 through a major financial commitment from Ted Turner to support and strengthen the work of the United Nations.

  5. Robert Skinner

    Area of Involvement: UN-US Relations

    Robert Skinner

    Robert Skinner is the UN Foundation's Associate Director of the New York Office. In this role, he assists in managing daily operations and activities of New York staff in conjunction with the Washington, DC office.

Back to top

WOMEN & POPULATION

  1. Tamara Kreinin M.H.S.A.

    Area of Involvement: Women & Population

    Tamara Kreinin

    Tamara Kreinin is the Executive Director of Women and Population at the United Nations Foundation. Her experience in health and human services spans over 25 years. She speaks nationally and internationally on numerous topics related to social justice. These include sexual and reproductive health and rights; adolescent pregnancy, STD, HIV/AIDs, and sexual abuse prevention; sexuality education; children in poverty; and advocacy.

  2. Dr. Daniel Carucci

    Area of Involvement: Children’s Health, Women & Population

    Dr. Carucci serves as the Vice President for Global Health at the UN Foundation. He received his Medical Degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine supported by a scholarship from the U.S. Navy and practiced medicine with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps as an active duty Navy physician and Flight Surgeon, flying with a squadron of F/A-18 aircraft. In 1991 and 1995, he was awarded a Masters of Science in Clinical Tropical Medicine and a Doctor of Philosophy from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, respectively.

  3. Katherine C. Hall, J.D.

    Area of Involvement: Women & Population

    Katherine C. Hall

    Kathy Hall is the deputy director of women and population at the United Nations Foundation. She is a human rights lawyer with over a decade of experience developing and executing programming and advocacy strategies to advance women’s reproductive and sexual health and rights.

Back to top

TECHNOLOGY

  1. David Aylward

    Area of Involvement: Technology

    David Aylward

    David Aylward is the first Executive Director of the mHealth Alliance -- a partnership recently formed by the UN Foundation, The Vodafone Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation to support and advance mobile health (“mHealth”) initiatives in the developing world. The Alliance will generate public and private collaboration in support of mHealth innovation and projects that address global health needs.

  2. David Aylward

    Area of Involvement: Technology

    David Aylward

    David Aylward is the first Executive Director of the mHealth Alliance -- a partnership recently formed by the UN Foundation, The Vodafone Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation to support and advance mobile health (“mHealth”) initiatives in the developing world. The Alliance will generate public and private collaboration in support of mHealth innovation and projects that address global health needs.

  3. Adele Waugaman

    Area of Involvement: Technology

    Adele Waugaman

    Adele Waugaman leads the $30M partnership between the United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation that invests in the use of mobile technologies to advance UN health and disaster relief programs. She also directs communications for the mHealth Alliance, an umbrella organization using mobile technology to meet global health goals.

 Back to top

Media Contacts

We welcome media inquiries about our operations, programs and grant activities, as well as those about the work of the United Nations around the world.

General Inquiries:

(202) 887-9040

Media Contact by Program »

Latest Stories of Impact

  1. Communications saves lives, brings hope after Haiti earthquake

    After a deadly earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, millions of people faced the isolating reality of having no telephone or Internet connection. Immediately following the disaster, two teams of telecommunications and technology experts from Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) deployed to Haiti with support from the UN Foundation & Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership.

Read more stories »

Latest Video

UN Foundation visits rubble removal program in Haiti

The UN Foundation speaks with a UNDP staffer about a United Nations rubble removal program in the Carrefour-Feuille neighborhood of Haiti. The program employs hundreds of thousands of Haitians to open up road access so that emergency crews and sanitation workers can reach areas of destruction before the rainy season starts.

Blog & Multimedia Section »