Nora O’Connell is a Senior Director at Strategy for Humanity. Her experience in the public, non-profit, and private sector has guided organizations to strengthen their strategic direction, improve how they navigate change, and increased their effectiveness. Over the course of her career, Nora has played a central role in shaping more accountable U.S. foreign policy, advancing equality, and strengthening locally led development—while guiding institutions to adapt to complex and shifting environments. helping organizations determine their strategic direction, navigate change, and increase their effectiveness.
Most recently, Nora served as the Senior Advisor for Women and Girls in the U.S. Department of State. There, she advised the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts on policy and operations to support tens of thousands of Afghan women and girls during a critical period of transition. She influenced strategy and strengthened implementation in a rapidly evolving policy and operational landscape through pioneering uses of data and strengthening civil society engagement.
As a consultant, Nora partners with mission-driven organizations to determine strategy and advise on policy, advocacy, and research to achieve meaningful and sustained impact. She has developed and implemented advocacy and campaigning training for domestic and international audiences, from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs to the International Republican Institute.
Nora spent more than a decade at Save the Children, where she played a central role in shaping the organization’s global policy and advocacy strategy during a period of significant change. As Vice President of Public Policy and Advocacy, she led Save the Children’s efforts to strengthen its influence and effectiveness across a wide range of issues, including aid effectiveness, gender equality, global health, food security, tax and governance policy, and U.S. budget and appropriations. She also crafted the organization’s global vision for shifting power from international actors to locally led partners and launched the Global DATA Fellowship to strengthen the use of evidence in advocacy and improve organizational learning and impact.
She has also been a key leader in advancing locally led development through her work with the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network. She co-chaired the Accountability and Ownership Working Group and influenced U.S. policy debates on foreign assistance reform while strengthening coalition strategy and alignment across diverse stakeholders. Earlier in her career, Nora spent nearly a decade helping to build Women Thrive Worldwide into a leading organization informing U.S. policy on global women’s issues, serving as Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, and helping to scale the organization’s strategy, influence, and impact.
Nora is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing her leadership and impact. She received the U.S. Secretary of State’s Superior Honor Award for groundbreaking efforts to strengthen State Department policy on sexual and gender-based violence. She is also a five-time recipient of Save the Children’s prestigious President’s Award, in recognition of her outstanding performance and demonstration of organizational values. Additionally, during her tenure at Women Thrive Worldwide, the organization was awarded InterAction’s Mildred Leet Award for advocacy Nora led to advance gender integration within the Millennium Challenge Corporation, helping to establish the agency as a leader on gender in U.S. foreign policy.
Her earlier experience includes serving as deputy campaign manager for Chellie Pingree’s U.S. Senate campaign, leading the Women and the Economy program at the Center for Policy Alternatives, and advancing child welfare policy through strategic communications at the Communications Consortium Media Center.
Nora holds a Master’s in International Relations and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Post-Conflict Reconstruction from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She brings a collaborative and systems-oriented approach to her work, grounded in a commitment to advancing equity, strengthening institutions, and delivering lasting change. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her family and their dog, Blue.
Most recently, Nora served as the Senior Advisor for Women and Girls in the U.S. Department of State. There, she advised the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts on policy and operations to support tens of thousands of Afghan women and girls during a critical period of transition. She influenced strategy and strengthened implementation in a rapidly evolving policy and operational landscape through pioneering uses of data and strengthening civil society engagement.
As a consultant, Nora partners with mission-driven organizations to determine strategy and advise on policy, advocacy, and research to achieve meaningful and sustained impact. She has developed and implemented advocacy and campaigning training for domestic and international audiences, from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs to the International Republican Institute.
Nora spent more than a decade at Save the Children, where she played a central role in shaping the organization’s global policy and advocacy strategy during a period of significant change. As Vice President of Public Policy and Advocacy, she led Save the Children’s efforts to strengthen its influence and effectiveness across a wide range of issues, including aid effectiveness, gender equality, global health, food security, tax and governance policy, and U.S. budget and appropriations. She also crafted the organization’s global vision for shifting power from international actors to locally led partners and launched the Global DATA Fellowship to strengthen the use of evidence in advocacy and improve organizational learning and impact.
She has also been a key leader in advancing locally led development through her work with the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network. She co-chaired the Accountability and Ownership Working Group and influenced U.S. policy debates on foreign assistance reform while strengthening coalition strategy and alignment across diverse stakeholders. Earlier in her career, Nora spent nearly a decade helping to build Women Thrive Worldwide into a leading organization informing U.S. policy on global women’s issues, serving as Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, and helping to scale the organization’s strategy, influence, and impact.
Nora is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing her leadership and impact. She received the U.S. Secretary of State’s Superior Honor Award for groundbreaking efforts to strengthen State Department policy on sexual and gender-based violence. She is also a five-time recipient of Save the Children’s prestigious President’s Award, in recognition of her outstanding performance and demonstration of organizational values. Additionally, during her tenure at Women Thrive Worldwide, the organization was awarded InterAction’s Mildred Leet Award for advocacy Nora led to advance gender integration within the Millennium Challenge Corporation, helping to establish the agency as a leader on gender in U.S. foreign policy.
Her earlier experience includes serving as deputy campaign manager for Chellie Pingree’s U.S. Senate campaign, leading the Women and the Economy program at the Center for Policy Alternatives, and advancing child welfare policy through strategic communications at the Communications Consortium Media Center.
Nora holds a Master’s in International Relations and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Post-Conflict Reconstruction from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She brings a collaborative and systems-oriented approach to her work, grounded in a commitment to advancing equity, strengthening institutions, and delivering lasting change. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her family and their dog, Blue.
