Caryl M. Stern (born October 30, 1957) is an American author, child advocate, civil and human rights activist, and non-profit executive.

Early life

Stern was born to Edwin and Manuela Stern in Westchester County, New York. She has one sibling, her brother, Dr. Mitchell Stern. Stern graduated from high school at age 16 and went on to receive her bachelor's degree at the State University of New York at Oneonta, when she was 20. She received her master's degree at Western Illinois University and pursued a doctorate in education at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

. In her early career, Stern served in several leadership positions at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, NY including Dean of Students from 1985-87.Interview: Caryl M. Stern

Anti-Defamation League

In 1987, Stern took a post with the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

(ADL). There she headed A World of Difference, a diversity training and anti-bias project. Stern was later promoted to director of the education division at the ADL and eventually chief operating officer (COO) and senior associate national director of the organization. In 2006, she left the ADL for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, the oldest of the 36 National Committees that support the United Nations Children's Fund ( UNICEF) and collectively raise about one-third of its annual income.

U.S. Fund for UNICEF

Stern joined the

U.S. Fund for UNICEF The U.S. Fund for UNICEF, doing business as UNICEF USA, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) in the United States that supports the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Founded in 1947 by Helenka Pantaleoni, it is the oldest o ...

in 2006 as COO and served as acting president for a short time before assuming the role of president and CEO in May 2007. In this role, she advocated for continued U.S. Government support of UNICEF and headed the organization's efforts to raise awareness and revenue for UNICEF's efforts to aid children affected by disasters including the

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

, the

2011 East Africa drought Occurring between July 2011 and mid-2012, a severe drought affected the entire East African region. > Said to be "the worst in 60 years", the drought caused a severe food crisis across Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya that threatened the liv ...

, and the current

Ebola crisis The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in West Africa, Western Africa, was the most widespread List of Ebola outbreaks, outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and Socioeconomics, socioeconomic disr ...

. During her tenure, the U.S. Fund's revenues have increased from $372,131,340 in FY 2007 to $606,869,535 in FY 2014.

Walton Family Foundation

Stern was announced as Executive Director for the Walton Family Foundation in September 2019. She will start in the position in January 2020. She'll head the non-profit that, in 2018, awarded nearly $600 million in grants for various charitable causes.

Personal

Stern is married to real estate developer Donald LaRosa. They have three sons. Stern's compensation as president and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF is $521,820.

Books and publications

Stern is the co-author of ''Hate Hurts: How Children Learn and Unlearn Prejudice'' and ''Future Perfect: A Model for Professional Development''. ''I Believe in Zero: Learning from the World's Children'', a collection of Stern's accounts from areas affected by crisis, war, and disaster was published in 2013.

References

External links

*
Unicef USA Bio Page
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Caryl M. 1957 births Living people American women writers American women chief executives Western Illinois University alumni Loyola University Chicago alumni State University of New York at Oneonta alumni American chief operating officers 21st-century American women