Obama Appoints ICRW President to Global Development Council

White House officials announced late last week that International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) President Sarah Degnan Kambou has been appointed by President Obama to serve on his Global Development Council for a two-year term. Members of the council advise the president and other senior officials on United States global development policies, practices and emerging issues in the field.

Kambou is one of 12 individuals from a variety of sectors, including, among others, philanthropic organizations, institutions of higher education and private industry who serve on the council. The U.S. secretaries of state, treasury and defense as well as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator and the chief executive office of the Millennium Challenge Corporation serve as non-voting members. The council is administered by USAID.

“I am deeply honored that President Obama has appointed me to serve on the Global Development Council,” Kambou said. “This is a tremendous opportunity to represent the nonprofit community and those who work for effective global development that creates a more safe, equitable and prosperous world.”

Kambou has been president of ICRW since 2010. She joined ICRW in 2002 and has held numerous leadership roles prior to becoming president, including serving as chief operating officer from 2008 to 2010, and vice president of health and development from 2006 to 2008. Prior to joining ICRW, Kambou spent more than a decade in sub-Saharan Africa managing programs and operations for CARE. 

Obama established the Global Development Council in 2010 as part of the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development, which upholds development as vital to national security and as a strategic, economic and moral imperative for the U.S.

“I applaud the creation of this council and its mandate,” Kambou said. “And particularly with the forthcoming transition in leadership at the State Department, I welcome the opportunity to advise the administration on issues related to gender equality, empowering women and girls and eradicating poverty worldwide.”