Catherine Bertini

Professor of Public Administration, Syracuse University
Former Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme

Catherine Bertini has spent many years as a leader in public sector management, international organizations, humanitarian relief, and nutrition policy. Her career spans service at international, national, state, and local levels. Ms. Bertini was the driving force behind reform of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), where she was the Chief Executive for ten years. She was named the 2003 World Food Prize Laureate because of the results achieved by WFP in ending famine and decreasing hunger. Following her WFP assignment, Ms. Bertini was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to be Under-Secretary-General for Management. In 2006, President George W Bush appointed her as a member of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development and recently, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah appointed her to the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. She is Co Chair of the Global Agriculture Initiative of the Chicago Council of Global Affairs and serves on two university public policy advisory boards. She is currently Professor of Public Administration at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. For two years, she was senior fellow in agricultural development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Ms. Bertini was decorated by the Republic of Italy with its Order of Merit and The Times of London listed her as one of the world's most powerful women. Ten universities in four countries have awarded her honorary degrees. She is a member of the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She currently serves as a member of the Hilton Humanitarian Prize jury.