Clare Waite was the head of external relations in Europe. She joined CGD after having worked at the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) where she specialised in international safe motherhood projects. Before that, she worked for Marie Stopes International in various roles, including in programme management providing technical assistance and organizational support to partners in Asia, and for Amnesty International developing and implementing campaigning strategies on targeted human rights violations in Western European countries. She has also worked as a freelance consultant for Marie Stopes International Ethiopia (based in Ethiopia), for Development Initiatives (on an initiative aimed at accelerating poverty reduction by making aid more transparent) and for Penal Reform International. She holds a BA Hons in modern languages and contemporary history, and has a working knowledge of several European languages, including Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese.