
Ertharin Cousin
global nonprofit leader
Growing up in the west side of Chicago, Ertharin Cousin was no stranger to poverty. Today, the inner-city kid is on a bold mission ~ to make hunger a thing of the past. As the head of the world's largest humanitarian organization, The United Nation's World Food Programme, Ertharin is in a prime position to make her "audacious" vision a reality.
Finding innovative ways to go good has defined Ertharin's impressive career. She has worked on philanthropic agendas for national grocery chains, managed the US's largest hunger-relief nonprofit and served as ambassador + civil servant for the Clinton + Obama administrations. Now, the executive director's decades of experience are feeding the world and building healthy, resilient food systems.
feeding the world | a lifetime of working with grocery retailers, nonprofits + NGOs
persuasion | her job is giving pitches to powerful ears
food assistance | moving the WFP from a primary focus on emergency aid to programs that strengthen resilience
1993 | moved to DC + started a career in politics as the deputy chief of staff for the Democratic National Committee
2002 | selected as the executive vice president + chief operating officer for America's Second Harvest, the largest hunger-relief nonprofit in the US
2012 | appointed executive director of the United Nation's World Food Programme
from | to
a low-income, inner-city girl whose parents taught her to aspire | head of the world's largest humanitarian organization
born on
1957
born in
Chicago, Illinois
birth name
Ertharin Cousin
nickname | also known as
Your Excellency
citizen of
The United State of America
daughter of
Julius + Annie Cousin
~ a community activist + social worker who shaped Ertharin's values ~
sister of
3 sisters
lives in
Rome, Italy
educated at
Lane Technical High School
~ Chicago, Illinois ~
University of Illinois Chicago
~ BA | 1979 ~
University of Georgia Law School
~ JD | 1982 ~
loved studying
social sciences
social work
community planning
divorced from
a man who she married young
mother of
1 son | Maurice
~ who she raised as a single parent ~
grandmother of
2 grandchildren
advocate for
hunger relief
food assistance
the Democratic Party
in her spare time
explores Rome
massages + long baths {to de-stress}
collapse bio bits
"We can no longer divide development from humanitarian action."
Principles and Practice for Resilience, Food Security and Nutrition | january 2013
"Better risk management and strengthened resilience are as central to the development agenda as they are to humanitarian action."
Principles and Practice for Resilience, Food Security and Nutrition | january 2013
"Too often, we are focused on meeting crisis needs but not on building resilience."
UN News Centre | may 2013
"If we really are to resolve the issue of food insecurity, it’s not just about feeding stomachs."
Ertharin Cousin on Becoming Fit for Purpose | june 2013
"Let us proudly be the crazy ones, the ambitious ones, the ones who see beyond the limits of today, who capture the opportunities, who find the resources that will build a better tomorrow, not for ourselves, but for those depending upon us to get it right."
Closing Remarks to the WFP Executive Board | november 2013
"Let us proudly be the crazy ones, the ambitious ones, the ones who see beyond the limits of today."
Closing Remarks to the WFP Executive Board | november 2013
"Delivering gender-fair assistance is not an optional extra. It is a requirement if we are to protect and provide effective, sustainable support for the people we serve and if we are to demonstrate effective and more durable outcomes to the people who fund us."
Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference | march 2014
"Don’t ever take a seven-year-old with you to a campaign dinner – they will embarrass you no end."
The woman who feeds the world | march 2014
"If we are to end famine, the first requirement is, of course, peace."
Exclusive interview of Ertharin Cousin, World Food Programme | october 2014
for further reading about Ertharin Cousin:
curated with care by Alicia Williamson {august 2015}
Ertharin + her son
Married and divorced when she was quite young, Ertharin raised her son Maurice as a single parent while building an impressive resume working with the Illinois Attorney General's Office, Chicago Ethics Board + AT&T.
Ertharin Cousin
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ambassador E
In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Ertharin to be a US ambassador to the UN Food and Agricultural Agencies in Rome. The high-profile gig saw her housed in an Italian mansion + had people calling Ertharin "your excellency."
US Department of State
Public domain
Ertharin at the helm of the WFP
She got the top post with the world's largest humanitarian organization in 2012. Under her leadership, the World Food Programme has built on its strengths as a "food aid" organization to develop innovative "food assistance" programs that provide tools for vulnerable communities to strengthen their food systems. Though the WFP still feeds 97 million people each year, Ertharin is confident that her organization can help eradicate hunger within the next few decades.
The World Food Programme
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