Global Development Speaker Series with Sofia Sprechmann Sineiro

The International Development Initiative (IDI) and the School for the Future of Innovation in Society (SFIS) are launching a guest speaker series on "Global Development: Meeting the Moment, Shaping the Future". Each month we will invite a field practitioner, expert, academic, or leader working with NGOs, the UN, donor communities, and academia (including from ASU) in the humanitarian and development sector to share their experience and reflections on the current state of global development, as well as views and insights of where they think it is headed.

Meet our first guest speaker Sofía Sprechmann Sineiro

Sofía Sprechmann Sineiro is an Uruguayan sociologist who served until October 2024 as the Secretary General of CARE International, a leading humanitarian and development organization, where she worked for thirty years in various roles. In her role as Secretary General of CARE International, she participated at the highest level of humanitarian coordination as a Principal of the Inter Agency Standing Committee. In 2023 she was recognized with the Humanitarian Hero of the Year Award. Sofía has also been key in helping steer the international aid sector towards decolonizing its practices. She co-founded and currently co-chairs the Pledge for Change, which aims to help re-imagine the role of INGOs in the global humanitarian and development aid system. She is a board member of Acapacá and, as such, coordinates the Latin American Forum on Decolonizing Aid. She also chairs the board of the International Budget Partnership and regularly supports the Mediation Group International, led by Martin Griffiths, former United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator. She has used all spaces afforded to her to further the rights of communities most impacted by poverty, injustice and humanitarian emergencies, and has been a strong advocate for gender equality and women leading in emergencies. LinkedIn Profile: Sofia Sprechmann Sineiro