Dilly Severin Named Executive Director of the Universal Access Project at the United Nations Foundation
The Universal Access Project (UAP) at the United Nations Foundation has announced that Dilly Severin will take the helm as Executive Director effective May 1.
Severin will oversee all programmatic, budgetary and operational functions at UAP. Founded in 2008, the initiative convenes an innovative community of philanthropists, advocates and companies striving for a world where all people can realize sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice (SRHRJ). UAP has two flagship program areas: transforming U.S. foreign policy and U.S. foreign assistance for SRHR worldwide, and driving groundbreaking corporate initiatives in pursuit of the health, rights and well-being of women workers in global supply chains.
Severin’s appointment to lead UAP comes at a critical moment when SRHR programs worldwide are facing threats ranging from harmful policy, to funding cuts to growing political opposition. At the same time, women’s health and rights are often also neglected in global supply chains.
“With her deep expertise in advancing advocacy and communications programs in support of SRHR and gender equality, Dilly brings clear-eyed vision and leadership at a time when UAP’s priorities are more urgent than ever,” says Peter Yeo, President of the Better World Campaign and Senior Vice President at the United Nations Foundation. “She is the right person at the right time to lead this initiative, and to help keep the U.S. accountable to advancing a progressive foreign policy that prioritizes gender equality and SRHR.”
“I am incredibly inspired and motivated by the community of public and private sector partners and civil society advocates that remains strong in the face of unprecedented challenges to SRHR and gender equality,” Severin says. “I look forward to building on the tremendous work of UAP over the past 15 years and growing these partnerships even further, including fostering new champions and building new alliances across sectors.”
Severin brings more than 15 years of experience in the fields of international development and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Most recently, she led advocacy and communications for Data 2X, a civil society organization working to improve the use of gender data to drive gender equality and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to that, as Senior Director for Global Initiatives at Family Planning 2020, Severin oversaw the Global Initiatives portfolio, including managing the initiative’s governing Reference Group. She also served as director of communications at Population Action International (PAI) and worked at the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity and at the International Youth Foundation. Severin holds a master’s of public policy in international development from the University of Maryland and a master’s of communication from American University.
About the Universal Access Project
The Universal Access Project of the United Nations Foundation convenes an innovative community of philanthropists, advocates and companies striving for a world where all people have full bodily autonomy and the right to self-determination in family planning, pregnancy, parenting and sexual health and well-being. Learn more at www.universalaccessproject.org.
About the United Nations Foundation
The UN Foundation is an independent charitable organization created to work closely with the United Nations to address humanity’s greatest challenges, build initiatives across sectors to solve problems at scale, and drive global progress. Learn more at www.unfoundation.org.