Suzanne Ehlers, President & CEO of Population Action International, has worked for the last 15 years to promote women’s health, rights and empowerment across the globe. Ms. Ehlers has led PAI since 2009.
Ms. Ehlers and PAI build the case for women’s health as an integral development issue that impacts everything from the environment, to state stability, to food security. Under her leadership, PAI leads U.S. and global advocacy for international family planning, and provides key technical and financial resources to partners in Africa, South Asia and Latin America.
Ms. Ehlers was previously Vice President of International Advocacy at PAI. Her work focused on building advocacy capacity among indigenous NGOs, strengthening reproductive health and HIV integration, and winning new funding for reproductive health supplies.
Ms. Ehlers has repeatedly served on the U.S. government delegation to the United Nations’ Commission on Population and Development. She also sits on the Steering Committee of the Asia Pacific Alliance, a Bangkok-based reproductive health group. Ms. Ehlers is an Environmental Leadership Liaison for Rachel’s Network, a network of women leaders dedicated to the stewardship of the earth.
Ms. Ehlers is a frequent speaker on reproductive health issues and has been profiled by New York Times columnist Nick Kristof, National Journal and Grist. She was honored as one of Devex’s “40 under 40” International Development Leaders for 2011 and selected as a 2012 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Previously, Ms. Ehlers was Associate Program Officer at the Wallace Global Fund. At Wallace she supported a grantmaking portfolio that broke new ground in the fields of sustainable forestry and international financial institution reform, as well as laid the early foundation for philanthropic engagement on climate change.
Ms. Ehlers served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Central African Republic, following her graduation from Cornell University with a degree in Government. Ms. Ehlers is an avid traveler and baker. She resides in Washington, DC, with her Argentine-Swiss husband and two young daughters.