Anne-Marea Griffin is a senior fellow for National Security and International Policy at American Progress. She is an international development professional who has focused her professional life on African affairs, philanthropy, and program management. She most recently served as senior director of diaspora partnerships at UNICEF USA.
Dr. Griffin earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and her master’s from Northwestern University. She spent a year on a fellowship at Yale University and earned her doctorate in business administration from the University of Bath. She has travelled to and lived in Africa for 25 years, residing the last nine in South Africa.
Griffin’s early experience ranged from positions at think tanks, including the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and the Investor Responsibility Research Center, and international development nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and Save the Children. Her early career began within the international affairs arena in Washington, D.C., beginning in the field of foreign policy advocacy at TransAfrica, later moving to Capitol Hill, where she was staff consultant for the House Subcommittee on Africa.
While in Africa, Griffin founded AHEAD, Ltd., an education NGO that promoted scholarships, research networking, and youth development. Her other positions included senior level consultancy and program officer work with major philanthropic institutions such as the Ford Foundation, ELMA Philanthropies, the Carnegie Corporation, and the MasterCard Foundation. On her return to the United States, Griffin consulted for the U.S. Agency for International Development, served as deputy director of the Office of Program Partnerships with the U.S. African Development Foundation, and was director at the Global Health Advocacy Incubator with a focus on South Africa and the Caribbean.