Kristen A. Cordell serves as the Senior Director of Policy and Learning at Grand Challenges Canada, a position she is the first to hold. She brings more than 14 years of leadership and policy development experience gained through senior and expert roles within U.S. public institutions. Before joining Grand Challenges Canada, she held leadership positions at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the United States Department of State, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

She has led a number of high-impact public initiatives, including efforts to secure $300 million to strengthen the global semiconductor industry, oversee the implementation of a $500 million program in Afghanistan, direct a multi-agency infrastructure review for the G7, and establish a strategic competition unit supporting 180 field missions.

Her dedication to public service and thought leadership in advancing U.S. geopolitical objectives earned her recognition from both the Secretary of State and the Administrator of USAID. In 2020, she was awarded the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship (IAF), followed by the CSIS Strategy and Statecraft Fellowship in 2021, and she became a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations in 2022.