Cynthia McCaffrey joined the U.S. Fund for UNICEF at the opening of 2008 as the Chief Program Officer. Prior to that she was a Senior Advisor at UNICEF, coordinating the relationship between the children’s agency and the governments of the United States and Ireland.

Before joining UNICEF in March 2001, Cynthia worked in the office of the U.S. Executive Director at the World Bank where she coordinated issues regarding Africa, debt relief, health, education and post-conflict. In 1995 Cynthia joined USAID as a White House Fellow, a year-long competitively awarded program for mid-career professionals. After her White House Fellowship, USAID hired Cynthia to manage USAID’s legislative and public affairs strategy for Eastern and Central Europe. In 1997 Cynthia was hired by USAID’s incoming Deputy Administrator to establish and manage her office.

Cynthia began her career in international development with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in New York. She left IRC for one year of travel, work and study in Brazil. In 1990 she returned to IRC to establish and manage their nutrition garden project in Malawi’s refugee impacted areas and Mozambican refugee camps.

Cynthia holds a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Vanderbilt University and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Texas. She is a third generation native New Yorker and spends all her free time with her family.