Ertharin Cousin

Distinguished Fellow, Global Food and Agriculture Program
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Payne Distinguished Lecturer
Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Ertharin Cousin is a distinguished fellow of global agriculture at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. She previously served as executive director of the World Food Programme from 2012 until 2017. In this role, Cousin led the world’s largest humanitarian organization with 14,000 staff serving 80 million vulnerable people across 75 countries. Cousin possesses more than 30 years of national and international nonprofit, government, and corporate leadership experience. She maintains relationships with global government, business, and community leaders. She has published numerous articles regarding agriculture, food security, and nutrition.