Gillian Sorensen Former Assistant Secretary General at the United Nations

Ms. Sorensen currently serves on the Board of the International Rescue Committee working on refugee issues, and is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She has had a long career working with and for the United Nations, most prominently as Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations on appointment by both UN Secretaries General Kofi Annan and Boutros Boutros Khali, where she was responsible for outreach to civil society, religious leaders, the academic world, politicians and both friends and critics of the UN. She has also served as New York City Commissioner for the United Nations, head of the Host City’s liaison with the world’s largest diplomatic community. Ms. Sorensen has twice been a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She is a graduate of Smith College and has studied at the Sorbonne.