Suzanne Ehlers is an established non-profit executive leader with 25+ years of experience serving and connecting global populations including refugees, forcibly displaced people and the stateless. She is currently the Executive Director & CEO of USA for UNHCR where she leads a DC- and NYC-based organization of 80+ staff that amplifies refugee voices whilst engaging millions of Americans in support of the work of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
Prior to joining USA for UNHCR, Suzanne served as CEO of Malala Fund where she worked closely with co-founders Malala and Ziauddin Yousafzai to create a world where all girls can pursue twelve years of free, safe and high-quality education.
Before joining Malala Fund, Suzanne was President & CEO of PAI, a global advocacy organization that Suzanne transformed into a sector leader in the protection and promotion of the reproductive health and rights of women and girls.
Suzanne’s hallmark as a leader is the transformation, scaling and growth of mission-driven enterprises. She is a systems thinker with a background in grantmaking, bringing a global and inclusive perspective to the most challenging policy issues of our times. She is energized by relentless and generous networking; connecting the dots between ideas, people and resources; and convening unlikely partners from across fields and sectors to discover new solutions to intractable problems.
Suzanne has held numerous board and advisory positions including, currently, with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, and previously with Ibis Reproductive Health, the Latin America Montessori Bilingual public charter school and U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. Suzanne served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Central African Republic. She holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Cornell University. She grew up in San Antonio, TX, and now resides in Washington, DC, with her husband and two teenage daughters.
