United States Mission to the United Nations
Office of Press and Public Diplomacy
For Immediate Release
March 15, 2021
U.S. Delegation to the 65th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women
The United States Mission to the United Nations today announced the U.S. delegation to the 65th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), to be held March 15 through 26, 2021 in a hybrid format at United Nations Headquarters in New York and virtually. The theme of this year’s session is “Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.”
In keeping with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to gender equality, diversity, equity, and inclusion, the United States is sending an historically diverse delegation. This is the first time the United States will be represented at the White House level at the Commission on the Status of Women and the first time two women of color have co-led the delegation.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Representative of the United States to the United Nations, will serve as Heads of Delegation. Vice President Harris will deliver the national statement on behalf of the United States virtually on Tuesday, March 16 during the General Discussion starting at 11 a.m. On Friday, March 26, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield will deliver remarks on behalf of the United States at the closing session. Both events will be live-streamed at webtv.UN.org.
Ambassador Elisabeth Millard, Acting Representative of the United States to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, Courtney Nemroff, Deputy Representative of the United States to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations will serve as Deputy Heads of Delegation.
They will be accompanied by senior government advisers from the State Department – Erica Barks-Ruggles, Senior Bureau Official in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs; and Katrina Fotovat, Senior Official in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues – and by the Co-Chairs of the White House Gender Policy Council, Jennifer Klein and Julissa Reynoso.
They will also be accompanied by eight non-Government Advisers:
- Amariyanna Copeny, Global Youth Activist
- Dr. Roopa Dhatt, M.D., Executive Director of Women in Global Health
- Lourdes Ashley Hunter, Executive Director and Global Initiatives Officer of Trans Women of Color Collective
- Seema Jalan, Executive Director for Universal Access Project and Policy of the United Nations Foundation
- Gayatri Patel, Director of Gender Policy and Advocacy for CARE USA
- Onay Payne, Managing Director of Clarion Partners
- Lyric Thompson, Senior Director for Policy and Advocacy at the International Center for Research on Women
- Stephanie Wheeler, Paralympic Athlete and member of the USA Under 25 Women’s National Team.
Other members of the U.S. Delegation include technical experts from the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The annual two-week session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women is the most important annual meeting on women’s issues at the United Nations. Representatives of the Commissions 45 member governments convene to discuss ways to improve women’s lives at a conference that also features the active participation of civil society representatives from around the world.
For more information, please visit: https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw65-2021.
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