Our Leadership

The UN Foundation is led day-to-day by our President and CEO Kathy Calvin, and an innovative and experienced team. Our senior leadership includes:

 

	Kathy Calvin President and Chief Executive Officer Kathy Calvin is President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation. Her career has spanned work in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She is a passionate advocate for multi-sector problem-solving, U.S. leadership on global issues, and the inclusion of women at all levels and in all sectors. View Full Bio »
	Richard S. Parnell Chief Operating Officer Rick serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund. Rick oversees all aspects of the Foundation's operations including Finance, Grants, Budget, HR, Operations, and Board Liaison. In addition, he supervises all Foundation staff, ensures the efficient and effective allocation of resources across departments, and, along with the President, Executive Vice President, and Senior Vice President for Public Affairs, forms the Strategic Planning Committee, which is responsible for creating and directing the UN Foundation's core mission and activities. View Full Bio »

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VICE PRESIDENTS

 

	Andrew Axelrod Vice President, Strategic Planning and Implementation Andrew Axelrod serves as the Vice President of Strategic Planning and Implementation at the UN Foundation, where he leads the Foundation’s strategic planning and performance management functions as well as provides senior level management for the UN Foundation’s marketing and advocacy campaigns, including Nothing But Nets, Girl Up, and Shot@Life. View Full Bio »
	Walter Cortés Chief Financial Officer Walter Cortés serves as Chief Financial Officer of the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund. In this role, Mr. Cortés manages the accounting operations and staff of the Foundation. View Full Bio »
	Reid Detchon Vice President for Energy and Climate 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. View Full Bio »
	Elizabeth (McKee) Gore Vice President, Global Partnerships Elizabeth Gore is the Vice President of Global Partnerships for the United Nations Foundation, currently managing partnership and cause marketing strategies implemented in programs and campaigns of the United Nations. View Full Bio »
	Susan Myers Vice President, UN Relations Susan Myers is the UN Foundation's Vice President for UN relations. Ms. Myers has served as Executive Director of the New York office of the United Nations Foundation since 2000. As a member of the Foundation's leadership team, she provides overall guidance and participates in the development of long-term strategy for the organization. View Full Bio »
	Aaron Sherinian Vice President, Communications & Public Relations Aaron Sherinian is Vice President for Communications and Public Relations for the UN Foundation. He leads the Foundation's public relations efforts, media relationships, strategic outreach, and online presence. View Full Bio »
	Peter Yeo Vice President for Public Policy 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. View Full Bio »

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SENIOR STAFF

 

	David Burton Executive Director, Business Services, Budgets, and Reporting David Burton serves as the Executive Director of Business Services, Budgets, and Reporting for the United Nations Foundation and the Better World Fund. In this capacity, he directs and manages the overall BSBR team and its functions, prepares and analyzes UNF’s budgets and management reports, reviews and controls all financial and contractual agreements, and provides strategic support and tracking for all proposals and donor reporting. View Full Bio »
	Leslie Cordes Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships Leslie Black Cordes is Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships for the Foundation 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. View Full Bio »
	Kate Dodson Managing Director, Global Health Kate Dodson is the managing director of global health at the United Nations Foundation. In this role, Ms. Dodson is responsible for ensuring that UNF’s advocacy, partnership, campaign, and program work for global health is coordinated, effective, and efficient. View Full Bio »
	Jennifer Kim Field Executive Director of Global Partnerships & Marketing Ms. Field is the Executive Director of Global Partnerships & Marketing and is responsible for building successful initiatives with corporations, civic organizations, foundations, and individuals to support the goals of UN Foundation program areas and campaigns such as Nothing But Nets. View Full Bio »
	Andrea Gay Executive Director of Children's Health 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. View Full Bio »
	Maureen Greenwood-Basken Executive Director Maureen Greenwood-Basken is the Executive Director of the Universal Access Project and the Director of Policy Initiatives in the Women and Population Program of the United Nations Foundation. The Universal Access Project works to achieve universal access to reproductive health, which leads to healthier women, stronger families, and more stable, prosperous communities. View Full Bio »
	Christopher Helfrich Director, Nothing But Nets Christopher Helfrich is the Director of the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets, a global, grassroots campaign to raise awareness and funding to fight malaria, a leading cause of death among children in Africa. View Full Bio »
	Ryan Hobert Director for Energy and Climate Change Ryan Hobert is the Director for Energy and Climate Change at the United Nations Foundation, an organization created in 1998 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner to connect people, ideas and resources with the UN. View Full Bio »
	Mark Hopkins International Energy Efficiency Director 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. View Full Bio »
	Seema Jalan Director, Universal Access Project & Policy Seema Jalan is Director of the Universal Access Project and Policy, Women and Population, at the United Nations Foundation. In this role, she leads the strategic and business planning processes for the initiative and oversees the management of the U.S. policy angles. View Full Bio »
	Kawanna Duckett Jenkins Senior Director, Human Resources Kawanna joined the UN Foundation in May 2009 as the Human Resources Manager, providing Human Resources support and services to our staff. Prior to that, Kawanna worked with several organizations providing human resources, strategic planning and performance management services. View Full Bio »
	Radha Muthiah Executive Director, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Radha Muthiah is Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, where she leads efforts to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women and combat climate change by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions. View Full Bio »
	Eric Porterfield Senior Communications Director, Campaigns and Initiatives Eric Porterfield is the Director of Global Health Communications at the United Nations Foundation. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he did a year of service with Americorps and worked as a research assistant at Duke University. View Full Bio »
	Emily Courey Pryor Senior Director Emily Courey Pryor is the Senior Director of Women and Girls Initiatives for the Women and Population team at the UN Foundation. View Full Bio »
	Danielle Ramacciotti Executive Director, Campaign Strategy and Operations Danielle Ramacciotti is the Executive Director, Campaign Strategy and Operations, of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation. View Full Bio »
	Janet Riessman Communications Director, Women & Population Janet Riessman joined the Foundation in February 2012 as Communications Director, Women & Population. In her role, Janet is responsible for creating and implementing the strategic communications efforts for the UN Foundation’s Women & Population programs, and assisting with overall UN Foundation communications efforts. View Full Bio »
	Shamir Shahi Deputy Chief of Staff and Board Liaison Shamir is the Deputy Chief of Staff and Board Liaison for the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund. In this capacity, he works closely with the Chief Operating Officer for effective management of the Foundation's operations. He directs the Board of Directors liaison activities. He also provides leadership for the Foundation's Small grants program and management of Intersessional grants. Shamir also coordinates strategic planning for Partnership Development, Public Affairs, Executive, and Finance teams. View Full Bio »
	Anita Sharma Senior Director, Millennium Development Goals Initiatives Anita Sharma is the Senior Director of Millennium Development Goals Initiatives at the United Nations Foundation. View Full Bio »
	Robert Skinner Associate Director, New York Office 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. View Full Bio »
	Maxine Griffin Somerville Executive Director, Administration & Human Resources Maxine Griffin Somerville serves as the Executive Director, Administration & Human Resources of the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund. In her role, she manages the daily operations of the organization and oversees the human resources function. View Full Bio »
	Kevin Starace Executive Director, Global Health Innovation Kevin Starace, Executive Director, Global Health Innovation, specializes in private sector partnerships, global health policy and strategy and development finance at the United Nations Foundation. View Full Bio »
	Devi Ramachandran Thomas Director, Shot@Life Devi Ramachandran Thomas joined the UN Foundation in May 2011 as Director of Shot@Life, to manage the campaign and oversee the daily programmatic, communications, marketing, and fundraising needs of the campaign. View Full Bio »
	Caleb Tiller Executive Director, Communications & Public Affairs Caleb Tiller is the United Nations Foundation’s Executive Director of Communications & Public Affairs, and brings over a decade of experience in communications, marketing and public relations to the position. He helps manage an award-winning team of more than 30 communicators, shaping the conversation about the Foundation’s work to connect people, ideas and resources to help the UN take on the world’s most pressing challenges. View Full Bio »
	Richenda Van Leeuwen Executive Director, Energy and Climate, Energy Access Initiative Richenda Van Leeuwen is Executive Director, Energy and Climate, Energy Access Initiative, overseeing the UN Foundation's work on energy access. She joined the UN Foundation in 2010 from Good Energies, a global renewable energy investment company. A sought out speaker on energy access and poverty issues, she has over 20 years of executive management experience with the UN, private sector and non-profits on several continents. View Full Bio »

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SENIOR FELLOWS

 

	Dr. Alaka Basu Senior Fellow, Reproductive Health Dr. Alaka Basu is a social demographer with strong interests in public health. Dr. Basu has published widely in the areas of reproductive health and family planning, gender and development, child health and mortality, and the context and politics of population policy. View Full Bio »
	Mayra Buvinic Senior Fellow, Womens Economic Empowerment Mayra Buvinic, an internationally recognized expert on gender and development and social development, is a Senior Fellow both with the UN Foundation and Vital Voices. View Full Bio »
	Mohamed T. El-Ashry Senior Fellow, Energy and Climate Mohamed T. El-Ashry is Senior Fellow with the UN Foundation and Facilitator of the Global Leadership for Climate Action (GLCA) which he organized in 2007. Its membership includes 13 former Presidents and Prime-Ministers and 12 other global leaders. View Full Bio »
	Melinda L. Kimble Senior Fellow, Global Fund Melinda Kimble is a senior vice president, and oversees our International Bioenergy Initiative. She joined the UN Foundation in May 2000. View Full Bio »
	John W. McArthur Senior Fellow, MDGs John W. McArthur is an international development economist and Senior Fellow with the UN Foundation. View Full Bio »
	Gillian Sorensen Senior Advisor and National Advocate 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. View Full Bio »
	Stephen Strickland Senior Fellow, Polio Stephen Strickland’s professional experience in Washington over fifty years includes stints with the U.S. Congress and the White House, teaching in the medical schools of two universities, and developing and directing a wide range of international programs, as Vice president of the Aspen Institute, Senior Associate of the Kettering Foundation, and CEO of the National Peace Foundation, His most recent work has been with the United Nations Foundation. View Full Bio »

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