Kathy
Calvin
Former President and Chief Executive Officer, UN Foundation
Kathy Calvin, International Advisory Council member at APCO, is the former president and CEO of the United Nations Foundation. Her career has spanned work in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She is a passionate advocate for multi-sector problem-solving, U.S. leadership on global issues, and the inclusion of women at all levels and in all sectors.
Ms. Calvin led one of the most innovative organizations advocating for the UN and the creation of public-private partnerships. Her leadership brought together the largest network of supporters of UN issues in the United States and a global network of corporate, civil society and media partners.
In 2011, Ms. Calvin was named one of Newsweek’s “150 Women Who Rock the World,” and in 2012, she was listed in Fast Company’s “League of Extraordinary Women.” Her innovative work in the philanthropy and international NGO sector was featured by the New York Times in 2011. She has received numerous other awards for philanthropy and leadership.
Prior to joining the UN Foundation as chief operating officer in 2003, Ms. Calvin served as president of the AOL Time Warner Foundation where she guided AOL Time Warner’s philanthropic activities and was the chief architect of the company’s corporate responsibility initiatives. She joined America Online in 1997 as senior vice president and chief communications officer, and was responsible for the company’s brand, social responsibility, and external relations.
Immediately prior to joining AOL, she was a senior managing director at Hill+Knowlton, a global public relations company, where she led the U.S. Media Relations practice. For 12 years before that, she served as director of Editorial Administration for U.S. News & World Report, overseeing budget, personnel, innovation and strategy. From 1976 through 1984, Ms. Calvin served as Senator Gary Hart’s press secretary in his Senate office and his 1984 Presidential campaign. She was one of the first women to hold that title in American Presidential campaigns.
Throughout her career, she has taken an active role in a range of philanthropic activities, including the boards of the International Women’s Media Foundation, The B Team, Global Women Leaders, the George Mason University Business for a Better World Center, City Year, Internews, the Newseum, Share Our Strength, the United Nations Association of the United States of America, the East-West Center and remains on the board of the UN Foundation. She is a frequent public speaker and commenter.
Ms. Calvin is a graduate of Purdue University.