Biography

Brenda Killen is Gavi’s Director of Governance. She leads governance processes for the Boards of both Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance – including COVAX – and the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm). Brenda brings some 30 years of experience leading the governance of international organisations, partnerships and alliances, and she is passionate about engaging stakeholders across the sustainable development sphere.

Prior to joining Gavi in June 2020, Brenda held a number of senior international positions. As Deputy Director of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Development Co‐operation Directorate, she built the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation; and engaged developing countries, donors and civil society in setting standards for aid and modernising sustainable development finance. A member of OECD’s Senior Leadership Team, she was OECD’s envoy to the UN-led 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the G20 Development Working Group.

Previously, Brenda worked for the United Nations, where she was Director of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Secretariat; the World Health Organization (WHO), where she helped define WHO’s role in development policy; the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID, since replaced by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office), where she was a senior economist, and also served on the Boards of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; and the Government of Malawi, where she was a Treasury economist. Brenda was appointed to the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Accountability Panel for Every Woman Every Child from 2015 to 2020.

Brenda received an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics.