Amanda Ellis currently serves as Executive Director Hawaii & Asia-Pacific for the ASU Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability. She was previously New Zealand Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva (2013-16), co-chair for Humanitarian Access into Syria on the UN Security Council and Prime Minister’s Special Envoy. Prior to that, as Deputy Secretary (International Development) Ms Ellis was the first woman to lead the NZ Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) Programme, managing an annual budget of over $0.6billion.

Ms Ellis currently serves on the boards of Hawaii Green Growth, Bishop Museum, the Institute for Climate and Peace, the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. FINCA International and, in her capacity as Global President for the East-West Center Alumni Association, ex-officio on the Board of Governors.

Other previous roles include Lead Specialist for the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management group at the World Bank Group, where Ms Ellis also managed the World Bank President’s Global Private Sector CEO Leaders Forum; Head of the Global Gender Group at the International Finance Corporation; and National Manager Women in Business at Westpac Banking Corporation, where her team grew annual revenues over $0.5 billion in just 3 years.

The author of two best-selling Random House business books and five titles in the World Bank Directions in Development series, Ms Ellis contributed most recently to the HRD 2018 Book of the Year, “Leadership and Power in International Development”.