Sarah Degnan Kambou

Sarah Degnan Kambou is president of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), a global research institute that focuses on making women integral to alleviating poverty worldwide. She was appointed to the position in June 2010, after eight years with the organization.

An accomplished social scientist and development practitioner with expertise in sexual and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS and adolescent programming, Kambou has worked in 26 countries and dedicated more than 25 years to creating meaningful social change in the developing world. Prior to being named president, Kambou served as ICRW’s chief operating officer, coordinating internal leadership and management functions, and leading the implementation of the organization’s restructuring and strategic review processes. Earlier, as ICRW’s vice president of health and development, she oversaw research in HIV and AIDS, reproductive health and nutrition as well as in gender, violence and women’s rights.

In 2010, Kambou was appointed by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to represent ICRW on the U.S. National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Kambou also was one of three graduates honored in 2010 with Boston University's School of Public Health's Distinguished Alumni Award for her contributions to the field of public health.

Kambou joined ICRW after more than a decade living in sub-Saharan Africa, where she managed signature programs for CARE, a humanitarian relief and development organization. While at CARE, Kambou focused on addressing social and economic vulnerability of marginalized populations, strengthening civil society in post-conflict settings and participatory development of underserved urban and rural communities. Among her notable achievements, Kambou established the CARE country office in Cote d’Ivoire during the civil conflict and designed community-led reproductive health programs in post-conflict Rwanda, Sudan and Somaliland.

Prior to her work in Africa, Kambou cofounded and for eight years served as a director of the Center for International Health in the School of Public Health at Boston University. She directed intensive training programs for international health professionals, managed BU’s collaborative programs with Tongji Medical University in China and Tribhuvan University in Nepal, and consulted widely across South and Southeast Asia. Kambou also led two research expeditions to Nepal for the Center for Field Research at the Earthwatch Institute.

Kambou grew up in New Hampshire. A mother of two, she and her husband live in Maryland.