ANN
M. VENEMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNITED NATIONS CHILDRENS FUND, UNICEF, ADDRESSES
UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (MaximsNews Network)
Ann
M.Veneman, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF),
addresses a Security Council meeting on children and armed conflict. 17 July
2008. United Nations, New York. UN Photo: Paulo Filgueiras
ANN
M. VENEMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNITED NATIONS CHILDRENS FUND, UNICEF
(MaximsNews Network)
United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Ann M. Veneman, (center),
addresses the fifth meeting of the Global Consortium on Tsunami, at UNICEF
House in New York. 15 November 2006. United Nations, New York. UN Photo:
Paulo Filgueiras
ANN
M. VENEMAN BIO: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNITED NATIONS CHILDRENS FUND, UNICEF (MaximsNewsNetwork)
UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews
Network
/ 23 April 2010 - Ann
M. Veneman, Executive Director, United Nations Childrens Fund, UNICEF, is among the
key leaders in Global Health that are being profiled by MaximsNewsGlobalHealth as part of its launch to publish news from the United Nations, its agencies and important development organizations.
Ann
M. Veneman became UNICEF’s fifth Executive Director on May 1, 2005.
Appointed by the United Nations Secretary General, the Executive Director
works on behalf of the United Nations children’s agency to help children
around the world survive and thrive by advocating for and protecting their
rights.
UNICEF’s
mission is accomplished by over 11,000 staff on the ground in more than 150
countries, advancing programs that support child health and nutrition, quality
basic education, the protection of children from violence, exploitation and
AIDS, and access to clean water and sanitation, among other priorities.
At UNICEF, Veneman oversees annual program resources of around $4 billion,
funded entirely from voluntary contributions.
MaximsNewsNetwork:
09 October 2009 - UNICEF: On her week-long visit to the Philippines,
UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman surveyed the damage done by
Tropical Storm Ondoy, spoke with storm victims and met with President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
She
has stressed a culture of continuous improvement to help achieve lasting
results for children.
Under
her management, UNICEF has launched initiatives to improve business practices,
transparency and collaboration to ensure the agency’s programs reach those
most vulnerable and that its resources are utilized efficiently to protect,
save and improve the lives of children around the world.
These
strategies include establishing a results-based approach to program management
and scaling up the use of integrated packages of interventions to the health
and development of children.
Since becoming Executive Director, Veneman has traveled to more than sixty
countries to review the plight of children and UNICEF’s work to assist them.
She has first-hand knowledge of how children’s lives are being saved and
improved as a result of programs and assistance provided by UNICEF and its
partners. Veneman has witnessed the devastation caused by natural disasters,
conflict, disease and exploitation.
These
experiences have redoubled her sense of hope, passion, and urgency in
advocating for children when administering programs, meeting with government
leaders, international agencies and strategic partners, or speaking at
conferences such as the World Economic Forum and Clinton Global
Initiative.
Veneman
co-chairs Mothers Day Every Day, a campaign launched by CARE
and the White Ribbon Alliance supporting access of basic health care and
maternal services for women around the world.
Prior to joining UNICEF, Veneman served as Secretary of the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA), overseeing 110,000 employees and an annual
budget of $113 billion.
Among
her responsibilities at this diverse agency, was the management of the
nation’s food and nutrition programs, including services for food stamps,
school lunch programs and nutrition assistance for women, infants and
children.
In
2003 she hosted the first-ever Ministerial Conference on Science and
Technology, bringing together leaders from 120 nations to explore new
approaches to global hunger and the better use of science and technology to
reduce hunger and poverty in developing countries.
Veneman held various other
positions at USDA, including Deputy Secretary, Deputy Undersecretary for
International Affairs and Commodity Programs, and Associate Administer of the
Foreign Agricultural Service. She also served as Secretary of the California
Department of Food and Agriculture.
A lawyer by training, Veneman has practiced law in Washington, DC and
California.
Earlier
in her career she served as a deputy public defender. Veneman earned her
bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California,
Davis; a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California,
Berkeley; and a juris doctorate degree from the University of California,
Hastings College of Law.
She
has also been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from several universities and
colleges.
In a personal capacity, Veneman serves on the Board of the Close Up
Foundation, a nonpartisan civic youth education organization.
She
has previously served on a number of advisory councils and committees,
particularly those involving children and higher education.
Veneman
has received numerous awards and distinctions throughout her career, including
the Outstanding Woman in International Trade Award; Food Research and Action
Center Award; Dutch American Heritage Award; Junior Statesman Foundation
Statesman of the Year Award; California Council for International Trade Golden
State Award; Goldman School of Public Policy Alumnus of the Year Award; The
History Channel’s Save Our History Leadership Award; Main Street Partnership
John Chafee Award for Distinguished Public Service; American PVO Partners
Award for Service to People in Need; Richard E. Lyng Award for Public Service;
Sesame Workshop’s Leadership Award for Children; and as an Honorary Member
of Rotary Club.
Veneman’s leadership and vision at UNICEF has been recognized both
nationally and internationally. In 2009, she was named to the Forbes 100
Most Powerful Women list, ranking #46.
~~~~~
MaximsNewsGlobalHealth
is being launched this month to publish news on such Global Health issues as
hunger, HIV/AIDS, childhood mortality, maternal health, environmental health,
malaria and other diseases.
MaximsNewsGlobalHealthis publishing news from
the U.N., its agencies and important development organizations and presenting
it within the context of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs).
