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About the Professor

Following more than a decade of service to the United Nations, Catherine Bertini joined the faculty of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 2005 as Professor of Public Administration.  She teaches courses in Humanitarian Action, UN Management, and Girls' Education, drawing on the vast experience she gained during her years of leadership in public sector management, international organizations, humanitarian relief, and nutrition policy.

Professor Bertini's career spans public service at international, national, state, and local levels and includes private sector leadership and university teaching.  She was the driving force behind reform of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), where she was the Chief Executive for ten years.  During her tenure, WFP’s institutional changes in the areas of efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability were cited by the United States government and the thirty-six-government board of WFP as a model of UN reform.