Suzanne Petroni

With two decades of service in government, philanthropy and nonprofits, Suzanne Petroni is a respected leader, thinker and speaker on a range of global women's rights, health and development issues. Suzanne is the Senior Director of Gender, Population and Development at the International Center for Research on Women, where she leads programs and policy on reproductive health and rights, adolescent girls, youth leadership and population issues. She previously served as Vice President for Global Health at the Public Health Institute, where she was responsible for advancing and expanding the global health work of this 49-year-old, $100 million nonprofit organization. Before joining PHI and ICRW, Suzanne directed a multi-million dollar international reproductive health and youth leadership grant-making program at a foundation in Washington, DC. As Chair of the Funders Network on Population, Reproductive Health and Rights, she led an association of more than 60 U.S.-based donors which, combined, provide over $1.1 billion annually for these causes.

In nearly a decade of public service in the federal government, Suzanne worked closely with U.S. and United Nations agencies, foreign governments and a range of non-governmental organizations from the U.S. and around the world to advance population, women's health and rights, and refugee and environment issues. She served as the U.S. government's Officer-in-Charge for the five-year review of the International Conference on Population and Development, including as an official delegate to UN meetings.

Her writing has appeared in such publications as Ms. Magazine, Human Rights Magazine, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, the journal, Population and Environment, and she has addressed a wide range of domestic and international audiences, from college students and environmental activists to professional associations. She has been featured on Public Radio International as well as National Public Radio where she has discussed topics such as child marriage and reproductive health. Suzanne is also a member of the prestigious Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Well-Being, an organization that works with academics, policy makers, practitioners, and funders to build partnerships in research and training for youth.

Suzanne has a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Public Administration from The George Washington University. She also earned a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of California, Davis; a Master of Science degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University; and a certificate in Public Health in Complex Emergencies from Columbia University.