Secretary-General appoints Denise Brown of Canada as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Denise Brown of Canada as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, with the host Government’s approval. Ms. Brown takes up her post on 30 July. She will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator. 

Ms. Brown brings more than 25 years of experience in humanitarian affairs and recovery programmes, with a particular concentration on complex emergencies and a thematic focus on operations, programme development, coordination and interagency relations. 

Since 2019, Ms. Brown served as Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), and as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator. 

Prior to this, she worked at the World Food Programme (WFP) headquarters in Rome, first as Director of the Emergency Preparedness and Supportive Response Division and then as Director of Policy and Programmes. 

From 2013 to 2016, Ms. Brown was WFP's Director for West and Central Africa, based in Dakar, Senegal, serving 20 countries.  She spent most of her career in the field with WFP, covering a range of situations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kenya, Niger, and Somalia. She has also worked with non-governmental organizations in Haiti and Cambodia. Ms. Brown has also served in New York. 

Ms. Denise Brown holds a master’s degree in Children’s Development from Purdue University in the United States.

She is fluent in English and French.