Kathy Calvin has assumed the role of President of The United Nations Foundation, the organization launched by Ted Turner with his $1 billion donations to the UN in 1998. The Foundation advocates for the UN and links resources, people and ideas to support the UN’s activities in resolving global issues.
Calvin has been the CEO of the UN Foundation since 2009. She brings several years of expertise and excellence in the fields of U.S. leadership in global concerns, multiple-sector problem resolution and women’s inclusion at all levels in all areas and sectors.
A graduate of Purdue University, and today a renowned public speaker and commentator, Calvin’s relationship with the public and civic society began with her role as Press Secretary for Senator Gary Hart’s Presidential campaign from 1976 to 1984. She was the first woman to assume this pivotal role in U.S. Presidential campaigns.
A brief review of her career prior to becoming the CEO of the UN Foundation demonstrates the achievements of such a capable person:
She served as the Director of Editorial Administration for U.S. News and World Report and was responsible for budgeting, personnel, strategizing and innovations. For the next 12 years, she became the Senior Managing Director at Hill and Knowlton, a company engaged in global public relations, and was in charge of US Media Relations practice. Then she joined America Online (AOL) in 1997 as Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer and was responsible for AOL’s social responsibilities, brand reputation and outside relations.
Just prior to joining the UN Foundation as Chief Operating Officer in 2003, Calvin led the AOL Time Warner Foundation as their President and steered the organization’s philanthropic activities as the architect of the company’s social responsibility initiative.
Kathy Calvin has actively engaged in several philanthropic activities, including being a member of boards in Internews, the East-West Center, International Women’s Media Foundation and the United Nations Association of the United States of America, among others.
Kathy Calvin’s innovative philanthropic activities in the NGO sector at home and abroad earned her numerous accolades. In 2011, The New York Times published a report on her work and she featured among ‘150 Women Who Rock the World’ in Newsweek. In 2012, Fast Company identified her with its ‘League of Extraordinary Women’.
– Mantra Roy
Source: UN Foundation.org