Eileen O'Connor

Eileen O’Connor joined the Rockefeller Foundation in 2019 as Senior Vice President for Communications, Policy, and Advocacy, a member of the President’s Executive Team, overseeing strategic communications and policy for all programs. Previously, Eileen led Garnet Group Public Affairs, specializing in crisis management, and served as Vice President for Communications at Yale University. She served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia, living in Kabul in 2011-12 and managing $400 million in public diplomacy programs. Early in her career, O’Connor was a journalist at ABC News and CNN, serving as a national and White House correspondent and based in London, Tokyo, and Moscow.  O’Connor was awarded the Peabody, DuPont, multiple Overseas Press Club awards and numerous other awards for political, investigative and war zone work. She holds a J.D. and B.A. from Georgetown and a post-graduate diploma in world politics from the London School of Economics.