Isobel Coleman ’87

Isobel Coleman is an author, entrepreneur and diplomat who served as one of the US ambassadors to the UN from 2014-2017. She is currently the COO of GiveDirectly, a New York based nonprofit helping to reshape international assistance by providing unconditional cash transfers to those living in extreme poverty. She was previously a partner with McKinsey and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she wrote about international affairs and global development issues for publications such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and The Atlantic, and authored several books, including Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women are Transforming the Middle East (Random House, 2010). Her opinion pieces have appeared in major publication such as The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Financial Times. Coleman has served on numerous boards, including currently, the National Outdoor Leadership School, the Association of Marshall Scholars and Trilantic.