Isobel Coleman is a distinguished non-resident fellow at CGD. A former diplomat, she served as the Deputy Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2021-2024. She was also U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for Management, Reform and Special Political Affairs from 2014-2017, and the Chief Operating Officer of GiveDirectly from 2018-2020. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Azheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) which, through its venture philanthropy model, is accelerating the development of new therapeutics and diagnostics to treat, manage and ultimately cure Alzheimer's disease.
During her time at USAID, Coleman oversaw the agency’s regional and functional bureaus, including humanitarian assistance, democracy, global health, food security, conflict prevention and stabilization. She spearheaded the establishment of a new Office of the Chief Economist which focused on bringing cutting-edge research and best practices in cost effectiveness to the development and humanitarian work of USAID. She also led efforts to harness artificial intelligence in the service of improved global development outcomes.
From 2002-2014, Coleman was a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations where she wrote extensively about the economic development of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa for publications such as The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and the Washington Post. She is the author and co-author of numerous books including Pathways to Freedom: Political and Economic Lessons from Democratic Transitions (Council on Foreign Relations, 2013), and Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women are Transforming the Middle East (Random House, 2010). She started her career at McKinsey & Co. where she was a partner in the Financial Institutions practice.
Coleman holds D.Phil. and M.Phil. degrees in International Relations from Oxford University which she attended on a Marshall Scholarship, and a B.A. from Princeton University. She is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the board of Innovations in Poverty Action (IPA).
