Mary Symmonds , BA, MSc

Mary Symmonds has had a long and successful UN career spanning over 30 years. She has served in different capacities in Africa and at UNDP Headquarters, including Country Director in Uganda, Deputy Resident Representative in Nigeria and Country Advisor in New York. In these capacities she has provided vision, strategic direction programme design and operational management at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for multimillion dollar projects contributing to national priorities including gender, poverty reduction, including micro finance, climate change and environmental management, good governance including electoral support, disaster prevention, prevention, preparedness and management, post conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction and conflict prevention and management. She has led offices through change management processes and mobilized partnerships and resources.

She has built strategic partnerships and alliances within the national donor and UN system domain as well as the NGO community , Academic institutions and the private sector to deliver development results within the framework of the Sustainable development Goals

She has mentored a range of staff including management trainees and Junior Professional Officers entering the UN System.

Ms. Symmonds founded and leads the Global Leadership Coalition which aims to build young entrepreneurial leaders between the ages of 18 and 29 in underserved areas who are committed to their societies and taking actions to respond to gaps in the society through business or social enterprises that respond to the sustainable development goals. She has worked with young leaders and entrepreneurs in Ghana and the Caribbean who are thriving and assuming leadership positions. Her vision for the Global Leadership Coalition is shaped by her decades of focus on economic and social Development and the need to prepare a cadre of accountable, entrepreneurial future leaders.

She currently provides leadership, and self development training.

Ms. Symmonds originates from Barbados in the Caribbean. She earned a BA in Political Science from Hunter College of the City University of New York and an MSc, Magna Cum Laude, in International Affairs from the New School for Social Research, focusing on conflict prevention and management.