Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy
Michelle Milford Morse is the United Nations Foundation’s Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy. She leads the Foundation’s organization-wide efforts to promote gender equality and the rights and agency of all girls and women, working in collaboration with the United Nations and its partners.
Michelle has worked on global health and development issues with a range of UN, private sector, and civil society partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, LIVESTRONG, UNICEF USA, Sesame Workshop, the UBS Optimus Foundation, mothers2mothers, amFAR, ICRW, and the University of Texas. Through her work she has helped organizations define strategic paths and advance specific global development causes – including on child development, regulatory action on HIV treatment, maternal mortality, mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and violence against children. She previously advised the UN Foundation and led a range of projects related to gender equality, including serving as the Foundation’s co-convener on the Girl Declaration. Michelle was also the press secretary and communications director for U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
Michelle earned a Master of International Affairs and a Master of Public Health at Columbia University, and pursued her graduate research at the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Kalisizo, Uganda. She is a proud graduate of the University of Texas (Hook ’em!). Michelle is the past chair of the Ann Richards School Foundation board and now serves on its Advisory Council. She serves on the Reykjavík Action Advisory Board, the Livestrong Foundation and the She Runs It Foundation boards, and is a member of the Global Advisory Council for the Miracle Foundation. Apolitical named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy in 2021.
