Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, to Deliver McCourt School Commencement Address

Cindy McCain has led the World Food Programme (WFP) — the world’s largest humanitarian organization — since April 2023, directing the global response to a food security crisis driven by conflict, climate change, and economic instability. Under her leadership, WFP has mobilized resources from long-standing donor partners while forging new alliances to sustain its life-saving mission across more than 80 countries.

“We are honored to welcome Cindy McCain and have her address our 2026 graduates,” said Dean Carole Roan Gresenz of the McCourt School of Public Policy. “Her career exemplifies the kind of principled, mission-driven public service we seek to inspire in our students — from humanitarian leadership on the world stage to her tireless advocacy for the most vulnerable.”

A diplomat, humanitarian, and business leader with a career spanning four decades, McCain previously served as U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Agencies in Rome. She chaired the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University, where she led initiatives focused on security, economic opportunity, freedom, and human dignity, and chaired its Human Trafficking Advisory Council. She has also served on the boards of CARE, Operation Smile, the Halo Trust, and Project C.U.R.E., among others.

McCain holds a bachelor’s degree in Education and a master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Southern California.