Carol Bellamy

Former Head of UNICEF, CEO of World Learning, and President of the School for International Training

We have come to recognize that the greatest accomplishment for a leader is to be known as someone that has encouraged the development of other leaders. Few have done as much in this task, or on as wide a scale, as Carol Bellamy.

Carol Bellamy, a respected voice in the international community, completed her tenth year at the helm of UNICEF (the maximum allowed by UN policy), but is continuing her good work on behalf of those in need. Ms Bellamy was selected to become CEO of World Learning, and President of its School for International Training. Founded in 1932 as The U.S. Experiment in International Living, World Learning is the only international organization with both academic and project capabilities dedicated to promoting international education, social justice, and world peace. Through distinctive educational methods based on experiential learning and the integration of theory and practice, the programs of World Learning build knowledge, develop leaders in education and management, contribute to global development, and effect change.

Under Ms. Bellamy's leadership, UNICEF became a champion of global investment in children, arguing that efforts to reduce poverty and build a more secure world can only be successful if they ensure that children have an opportunity to grow to adulthood in health, peace and dignity. She has challenged leaders from all walks of life to recognize their moral, social, and economic responsibility to invest in children-and to shift national resources accordingly. Ms. Bellamy has visited more than 100 countries, advocating for children and women with heads of state, cultural icons, corporate leaders, rebel commanders, and many others.

Trained in corporate law and finance and deeply committed to global peace and development, her first two years at UNICEF were devoted to streamlining operations, cutting costs, and giving UNICEF's 160 country offices more flexibility to respond to local needs. She also focused UNICEF on helping countries improve their data gathering so that global goals set for children in 1990 could be monitored effectively. The results of that successful effort can be found in UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's 2001 report, "We the Children," perhaps the most comprehensive picture of the global child ever assembled.

Prior to joining UNICEF, Ms. Bellamy was Director of the United States Peace Corps. Having served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 1963 to 1965, she was the first former volunteer to run the organization, which works in more than 90 countries.

Ms. Bellamy has also had a distinguished career in the private sector. She was a Managing Director of Bear Stearns & Co. from 1990 to 1993, and a Principal at Morgan Stanley and Co. from 1986 to 1990. Between 1968 and 1971 she was an associate at Cravath, Swaine and Moore.

Ms. Bellamy also spent 13 years as an elected public official, including five years in the New York State Senate (1973-1977). In 1978, she became the first woman to be elected President of the New York City Council, a position she held until 1985.

Ms. Bellamy earned her law degree from New York University in 1968. She is a former Fellow of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and an honorary member of Phi Alpha Alpha, the U.S. National Honor Society for Accomplishment and Scholarship in Public Affairs and Administration. Ms. Bellamy graduated from Gettysburg College in 1963. She was born and raised in the New York area. She is a Mets fan.