Elizabeth M. Cousens

Elizabeth M. Cousens is the current President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation.

Early life and education
Cousens received her B.A. in history from the University of Puget Sound and a D.Phil. in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

Career
Cousins worked for several years at the U.S. Mission to the UN in New York. She was Principal Policy Advisor and Counselor to the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, and later served as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN Economic and Social Council and Alternate Representative to the UN General Assembly where she led U.S. negotiations on the SDGs; served on the boards of UN agencies, funds, and programmes; and was U.S. representative to the UN Peacebuilding Commission.

On 23 May 2024, Cousens was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in honor of President William Ruto of Kenya at the White House.

Works

 * Elizabeth M. Cousens (2018). Extremely loud and uncomfortably close: Lessons of the “Great War” 100 years on. Brookings Institution.
 * Elizabeth Cousens (2018). 'Why I Won't Apologize for Using the Word "Multilateralism'. United Nations Foundation
 * Elizabeth M. Cousens (2018). Extremely loud and uncomfortably close: Lessons of the “Great War” 100 years on. Brookings Institution.
 * Elizabeth Cousens (2018). 'Why I Won't Apologize for Using the Word "Multilateralism'. United Nations Foundation
 * Elizabeth M. Cousens (2018). Extremely loud and uncomfortably close: Lessons of the “Great War” 100 years on. Brookings Institution.
 * Elizabeth Cousens (2018). 'Why I Won't Apologize for Using the Word "Multilateralism'. United Nations Foundation