Chicago, Illinois
June 22, 2009
On Friday, June 19, President Barack Obama named Ertharin Cousin to be the next U.S. ambassador to the Rome-based U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture. A long-standing advocate for hunger-relief programs, Ambassador Cousin served Feeding America as a Board Member (2002-2004) and Executive Vice President / Chief Operating Officer (2004-2006).
“Ambassador Ertharin Cousin has been and will continue to be a leading advocate for hungry people in the United States and around the world,” said Vicki Escarra, President and CEO of Feeding America. “As a leader within Feeding America, Ambassador Cousin vastly accelerated visibility of domestic hunger with heartfelt passion and tireless determination.”
Prior to her work with Feeding America, Ambassador Cousin served as a board member for International Food and Agriculture Development (1997-2000). Her professional experiences in retail food have included assignments as Senior Vice President Public Affairs, Albertsons Foods (2001-2004); Group Vice President Public Affairs, Albertsons Foods (1999-2001); and Vice-President Government and Community Affairs, Jewel Food stores (1997-1999). During her service as White House Liaison at the State Department (1994-1996), Cousin was awarded the Meritorious Service Award.
“I am fully confident that Ambassador Cousin will advance international programming that will help nourish the world with her exceptional enthusiasm and commitment,” Escarra said. “She remains one of the great hunger-relief advocates of our time, and we applaud President Obama for choosing her. We send Ambassador Cousin our congratulations and pledge Feeding America’s national support in helping hungry families not only to survive, but thrive.”
About Feeding America
Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit http://www.feedingamerica.org. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow our news on Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.
Contact(s):
Ross Fraser
Feeding America
312.641.6422