Sarah Degnan Kambou Appointed ICRW President

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The board of directors of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) announced today that it has appointed accomplished social scientist Sarah Degnan Kambou president of the organization, effective immediately. Degnan Kambou served for two years as ICRW’s chief operating officer (COO) under Geeta Rao Gupta, and then as interim president and COO after Rao Gupta stepped down in April this year.

Degnan Kambou is ICRW’s fourth president in its 30-year history.

“After meeting with many accomplished individuals from around the world, the board unanimously decided that Sarah was the best candidate,” said Jeanne Warner, ICRW board chair. “Sarah’s deep knowledge of the institution, her expertise in gender and development and her innovative vision for the organization will ensure ICRW’s continued leadership in empowering women and promoting gender equality.”

A 25-year veteran in the field, Degnan Kambou joined ICRW in 2002. As COO, she led the organization’s research and programs, finance and human resources departments as well as ICRW’s Asia Regional Office in New Delhi, India. Before that, she was vice president of health and development, overseeing research in HIV and AIDS, reproductive health and nutrition as well as in gender, violence and women’s rights.

Degnan Kambou came to ICRW after more than a decade living in sub-Saharan Africa, where she managed signature programs for CARE, a humanitarian relief and development organization. Among her notable achievements, Degnan Kambou established the CARE country office in Cote d’Ivoire during the civil conflict and designed community-led reproductive health programs in post-conflict Rwanda, Sudan and Somaliland.

She also worked for eight years as a director of international health in the School of Public Health at Boston University. While there, Degnan Kambou directed intensive trainings for international health professionals, managed collaborative programs in China and Nepal and consulted widely across South and Southeast Asia.

Degnan Kambou recently was appointed by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to represent ICRW on the U.S. National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

“I am honored to lead ICRW,” Degnan Kambou said. “I believe in ICRW and its unique ability to influence the global discourse on gender and development. All people – women and men, boys and girls – deserve a safer, more equitable and just world. Informed by the breadth of ICRW’s research, the energy of our experts and our unfailing commitment to empowering women, I believe that achieving meaningful social change in many parts of the world is within our grasp.”

Related Link:
Q&A: ICRW President Sarah Degnan Kambou »