Nancy Lindborg has spent her career focused on issues of democracy, conflict, and humanitarian action. She is currently the president and CEO at The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which awards national and global grants to help build just societies, restore and protect our planet, and improve the lives of children, families, and communities.

From 2015 to 2020, she served as the president and CEO of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a federally funded organization that links research, policy, training, and direct action with partners in conflict-affected areas to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict around the world.

From 2010 to 2014, she served as the assistant administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) at USAID, where she directed the efforts of more than 600 team members in nine offices focused on crisis prevention, response, recovery, and transition. She also led response teams for some of the biggest challenges the world was facing at the time, including the crisis in Syria, the droughts in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, the Arab Spring, as well as the Ebola crisis.

Prior to joining USAID, she was president of Mercy Corps, where she spent 14 years helping to grow the organization into a globally respected organization known for innovative programs in the most challenging environments. She has also lived and worked in Nepal and Central Asia, was a founding member of the National Committee for North Korea, and served as co-chair of the board of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. She holds a B.A and an M.A. in English literature from Stanford University and an M.A. in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Modernated by I.R. Faculty Director Professor Stephen Stedman.

Professor Stephen Stedman is a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) and the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL); director of the Fisher Family Honors Program in Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law; an affiliated faculty member at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC); and professor of political science (by courtesy).

In 2011-12, Professor Stedman served as the Director for the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy, and Security, a body of eminent persons tasked with developing recommendations on promoting and protecting the integrity of elections and international electoral assistance. The Commission is a joint project of the Kofi Annan Foundation and International IDEA, an intergovernmental organization that works on international democracy and electoral assistance.

In 2005, he served as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Advisor to the Secretary- General of the United Nations, with responsibility for working with governments to adopt the Panel’s recommendations for strengthening collective security and for implementing changes within the United Nations Secretariat, including the creation of a Peacebuilding Support Office, a Counter Terrorism Task Force, and a Policy Committee to act as a cabinet to the Secretary-General.

In 2003-04 Professor Stedman was Research Director of the United Nations High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and was a principal drafter of the Panel’s report, A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility.

About IR Career Conversations

IR Career Conversations connect students with accomplished professionals for candid, engaging discussions that offer firsthand insight into diverse international career paths. This series is supported by Stanford Global Studies and the Program in International Relations and is open to all undergraduate and graduate students across campus.