A. Edward Elmendorf

Ed Elmendorf has been actively involved in UN organizations for over 50 years. He earned a BA, magna cum laude, from Yale University, an MA from George Washington University, and an MPH from Johns Hopkins University. Following service as a secondary school teacher for the Government of Ghana, in 1963 he joined the U.S. Foreign Service. In that capacity, he worked at the United Nations from 1963 to 1969. He served as Personal Assistant to US Ambassadors Adlai Stevenson, negotiated UN actions on human rights, and facilitated cooperation among UN agencies.

In 1970, Ed began a 30-year career with the World Bank. His work there focused on economic policy and health strategy, policy, and projects in developing countries, especially in Africa. He served as co-author of the book, Better Health in Africa, published by the World Bank in 1994. Following retirement from the World Bank in 2000, he served as health consultant to the World Bank, WHO, the UN Development Program, the US Institute of Medicine, and the African Development Bank. He has also taught at Johns Hopkins SAIS and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore.

Ed was volunteer President of the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA) from 2005 to 2009. He returned to full-time employment as President and Chief Executive Officer of UNA-USA in 2010, with a mandate to negotiate an alliance between UNA-USA and the UN Foundation. Following conclusion of the alliance, he has continued to serve UNA-USA and UNA-NCA and other NGOs as a volunteer. He currently serves as Co-Director of the UNA-NCA Graduate Fellows Program.