Last week, Ertharin Cousin was named by the United Nations to replace Josette Sheeran as the head of the World Food Programme (WFP). Cousin currently serves as the U.S. ambassador to UN food agencies based in Rome, which include WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Cousin, described by Reuters as a “a stalwart of the U.S. Democratic Party…worked in the retail food sector and served as an executive of Feeding America, the largest U.S. domestic hunger organization. She led that organization’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.”
CBS News described her previous work in government in the “Clinton Administration for four years, including as deputy chief of staff for the Democratic National Committee and White House Liaison at the State Department. In 1997 she received a White House appointment to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development.”
Cousin will begin her post in April, when Josette Sheeran’s five-year term expires.
Photo credit: WFP/Giulio D’Adamo
