United Nations

Gillian Sorensen

Gillian Sorensen has had a distinguished career with the United Nations serving as Assistant Secretary-General; Special Adviser for  Public Policy, and National Advocate for the United Nations Foundation. She worked closely with three Secretaries-General, with diplomats from 193 nations and with 4000 non-governmental organizations accredited to the UN. She began her career as the New York City Commissioner for the United Nations and Consular Corps, head of the city’s liaison office with 30,000 diplomats. She is an experienced public speaker and has addressed audiences here and abroad ranging from diplomats and politicians, to journalists and students, women’s groups and faith groups, civic leaders and cadets at both West Point and the Air Force Academy. Gillian has twice been a Fellow at Harvard. She serves on the Board of the International Rescue Committee and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is active in political life and was a delegate to three national Presidential Conventions. She continues to inspire support for the UN on matters of peace, justice, human rights, and humanitarian and refugee relief. A New York Times profile referred to her as “The Diplomat’s Diplomat.” Sorensen has moderated several events for The Common Good, including Smithsonian American Women's History Museum with Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Smithsonian’s Lisa Sasaki. She is currently a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

LinkedIn: @GillianSorensen

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Jeffrey Sachs

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Jeffrey Sachs

Economist, policy analyst

Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 100 countries. He is the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership, and has twice been named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders.

Professor Sachs served as the Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University from 2002 to 2016. He was appointed University Professor at Columbia University in 2016 and also serves as Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of Health Policy and Management. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Sustainable Development Goals, and previously advised both Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria.

Professor Sachs is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on economic development, global macroeconomics, and the fight against poverty. His work on ending poverty, overcoming macroeconomic instability, promoting economic growth, fighting hunger and disease, and promoting sustainable environmental practices has taken him to more than 125 countries. Over the past thirty years, he has advised dozens of heads of state and governments on economic strategy in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He was among the outside advisors to Pope John Paul II on the encyclical Centesimus Annus and currently works closely with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences on issues of sustainable development.

Ambassador Ron Prosor

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Ambassador Ron Prosor

Israeli diplomat

Ambassador Ron Prosor became Israel’s 16th Permanent Representative to the United Nations in June 2011. With over two decades of experience at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prosor has carved out an international reputation as one of Israel’s most distinguished diplomats.

Previously, he served for nearly four years as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, where he earned plaudits for his articulate and forthright defense of Israel’s position, publishing numerous articles throughout the British press and addressing the widest possible range of audiences throughout the country. Between 2004 and 2007 Prosor served as the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, overseeing the work of the Foreign Ministry during the disengagement from Gaza in 2005.

His previous overseas service has included roles in Washington, London and Bonn. Mr. Prosor was instrumental in establishing diplomatic relations behind the Iron Curtain following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He was also a member of Israel’s delegation to the Wye River Summit talks in 1998. Prosor served in Washington between 1998 and 2002 as the Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the Israeli Embassy, throughout the transition from the Clinton to Bush administrations after the presidential elections of 2000.

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