Carol Bellamy (born January 14, 1942) is an American nonprofit executive and former politician. She is chair of the board of the

Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) is a nonprofit foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the first global effort to support local, community-level initiatives aimed at strengthening resilience against violent extr ...

(GCERF). Previously, she was director of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...

, executive director of the

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

(UNICEF), and president and CEO of

World Learning World Learning is a 501(c)(3) international nonprofit organization that focuses on international development, education, and exchange programs. Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, World Learning "unlocks the potential of people to address critical gl ...

. She is also the chair of children's rights advocacy organization ECPAT International, working to end the sexual exploitation of children. After three terms in the New York State Senate, she was the first woman to be elected to any citywide office in NYC as President of the New York City Council, a position she held until her unsuccessful bid for

Mayor of New York The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

in 1985; she was the second to last person to hold this position.

Early life and education

Bellamy was born in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

in 1942, and raised in Scotch Plains, graduating from

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (or SPFHS) is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school in Union County, New Jersey, United States, which serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the Township of Scotch Plains and the ...

in 1959. She attended

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

, where she was a member of

Delta Gamma Delta Gamma (), commonly known as DG, is a women's fraternity in the United States and Canada with over 250,000 initiated members. It has 150 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. The organization's executive office is in Columbus ...

, and graduated in 1963. She earned her J.D. degree from

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in N ...

in 1968, and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 1963 to 1965.

Business career

Bellamy was a managing director at

Bear Stearns The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was a New York-based global investment bank, securities trading and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 as part of the global financial crisis and recession, and was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chase. The comp ...

from 1990 to 1993, a Principal at

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

from 1986 to 1990, and an associate in the New York law firm of

Cravath, Swaine & Moore Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (known as Cravath) is an American white-shoe law firm with its headquarters in New York City, and an additional office in London. The firm is known for its complex and high profile litigation and mergers & acquisiti ...

from 1968 to 1971. In 1968, she was to be one of the subjects of Jean-Luc Godard's film ''One A.M.'' (later released as '' One P.M.'' by D. A. Pennebaker) where she described her philosophy of using business to accomplish social change. Her speech was then satirized by Rip Torn wearing a

US Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

uniform in front of a Brooklyn middle school class.

Political career

New York State Senate

Bellamy was a member of the New York State Senate from 1973 to 1977, sitting in the 180th, 181st and

182nd New York State Legislature The 182nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met in Albany from January 5, 1977, to December 31, 1978, during the third and fourth years of Hugh Carey's governorship. Backgrou ...

New York City Council

She mounted an uphill campaign for President of the New York City Council in 1977. While her opponents spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in their campaigns, Bellamy carried on with just $90,000 in funds, and, despite her initially low public profile, managed to finish a strong second in the Democratic primary with 25 percent of the vote, behind the incumbent Paul O'Dwyer, who got 30 percent, and ahead of City Councilman Carter Burden, Assemblyman Leonard Stavisky and developer Abe Hirschfeld. Because no candidate had received at least 40 percent, O'Dwyer and Bellamy met in a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

two weeks later, which she won handily, getting 58 percent of the vote. In the November general election, she easily beat the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate, Assemblyman John Esposito, by a 5-to-1 margin, becoming the first woman elected to citywide office in New York. She held the Council Presidency until her unsuccessful bid for

in 1985.

Other positions

Bellamy was a member of the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

Board until she resigned from the board at the behest of Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...

in 1985. In 1982 she considered running for Governor of New York. In 1990 she was an unsuccessful candidate for

New York State Comptroller The New York State Comptroller is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the New York state government's Department of Audit and Control. The New York State Comptroller is the highest-paid state auditor or ...

. She served on the

New York State Board of Regents The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, presiding over University of the State of New York and the New York State Education Depa ...

, which oversees all state education activities and the state Department of Education, from 2005 to 2006.

Peace Corps

From 1993 to 1995, Bellamy was the director of the Peace Corps. Appointed by then US President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, she was the first director to have previously been a volunteer.

GCERF

As of 2014 Carol Bellamy is the Chair of the Governing Board of the

which is the first global effort to support local, community-level initiatives aimed at strengthening resilience against violent extremist agendas, for example through job creation and empowering women and youth. As a public-private partnership operating in the fields of security and development, the fund works with governments, civil society, and the private sector in beneficiary countries to support national strategies to address the local drivers of

violent extremism Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with ideological or deliberate intent, such as religious or political violence. Violent extremist views can manifest in connection with a range of issues, including politics ...

UNICEF

Bellamy was appointed to the position of executive director of

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

in 1995 by

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (; , ar, بطرس بطرس غالي ', ; 14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from 1992 to 1996. An academic ...

, then the

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

. She was granted a second five-year term in 2000 by Boutros-Ghali's successor,

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

. UN policy states that agency heads may serve no more than two five-year terms. Bellamy is credited with having left behind a fiscally sound organization with strong internal controls. She increased UNICEF's resources from roughly $800 million ($966 m in 2004 terms) in 1994 to more than $1.8 billion in 2004.

NGOs

Bellamy was appointed the President and CEO of the

Brattleboro, Vermont Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about ...

-based World Learning and president of its

School for International Training The School for International Training, widely known by its initials SIT, is a private non-profit regionally-accredited institution headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The institution has two main divisions. SIT Graduate Instit ...

in 2005. World Learning is a global organization with operations in more than 75 countries that fosters

global citizenship Global citizenship is the idea that one's identity transcends geography or political borders and that responsibilities or rights are derived from membership in a broader class: "humanity". This does not mean that such a person denounces or waives ...

through experiential education and community-driven development programs. Organizations that fund World Learning include the

Tides Foundation Tides Foundation is an American public charity and fiscal sponsor working to advance progressive causes and policy initiatives in areas such as the environment, health care, labor issues, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, women's rights and human ...

and Rockefeller Financial Services. On July 25, 2007, Bellamy was elected chair of the board of directors of the

Fair Labor Association The Fair Labor Association (FLA) is a non-profit collaborative effort of universities, civil society organizations, and businesses. It describes its mission as promoting adherence to international and national labor laws. History The FLA was ...

(FLA). The FLA advocates for workers' interests by promoting

international labor standards International labour law is the body of rules spanning public and private international law which concern the rights and duties of employees, employers, trade unions and governments in regulating Work (human activity) and the workplace. The Interna ...

. "For eight years the FLA has been strengthening its capacity to work with companies, factories, civil society organizations and others to end sweatshop labor and protect workers' rights. It is now moving beyond its rigorous monitoring program to focus greater attention on identifying the root causes of these problems and to develop sustainable compliance programs," said Bellamy in accepting the position.

Other

In April 2009, Bellamy was appointed as Chair of the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

(IB) Board of Governors. Between 2010 and 2013, Carol Bellamy was the chair of the Board of Directors of the

Global Partnership for Education The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is a multi-stakeholder partnership and funding platform that aims to strengthen education systems in developing countries in order to dramatically increase the number of children who are in school and l ...

. Bellamy is a member of the Board of the American University of Beirut.

Honors

In 1981, she was selected to be one of the first Young Leaders of the

French-American Foundation The French-American Foundation is a privately funded, non-governmental organization established to promote bilateral relations between France and the United States on topics of importance to the two countries, with a focus on contact between upco ...

. Bellamy is a former Fellow of the

Harvard Institute of Politics The Institute of Politics (IOP) is an institute of Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University that was created to serve as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, as well as to inspire Harvard undergraduates to consider careers in politi ...

at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

and an honorary member of

Pi Alpha Alpha Pi Alpha Alpha ( or PAA) is the national honor society for students of public administration. It is administered by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration in the United States. The organization was formed to pro ...

. At its 1982 commencement ceremonies,

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

awarded Bellamy the college's highest honor, the Medal of Distinction. Bellamy received an honorary

Doctor of Humane Letters The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...

from

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

in 2003. She returned to her ''alma mater'', the NYU School of Law, to deliver a commencement day speech in May 2006. For her work with UNICEF, she was awarded Japan's Order of the Rising Sun in 2006. In 2009, she was recognized for her work by France with the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

References

External links

*
The Fales Library Guide to the Carol Bellamy Papers
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellamy, Carol 1942 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians American University of Beirut trustees American expatriates in Guatemala American humanitarians American nonprofit executives American officials of the United Nations American women chief executives American women lawyers Candidates in the 1985 United States elections Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Cravath, Swaine & Moore associates Gettysburg College alumni Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Harvard Kennedy School staff Lawyers from New York City New York (state) lawyers Democratic Party New York (state) state senators New York City Council members New York University School of Law alumni Peace Corps directors Peace Corps volunteers People from Plainfield, New Jersey People from Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School alumni UNICEF people Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations Women New York City Council members Women humanitarians Women nonprofit executives Women state legislators in New York (state) Young Leaders of the French-American Foundation