Guarnieri Valerie

Valerie Newsom Guarnieri serves as the Deputy Executive Director for Programme and Policy Development. In this role, she oversees activities at the nexus of humanitarian aid, development, and peace, providing food, cash, and technical assistance to help people and countries respond to urgent needs, build human capital, and improve food security. Under her leadership, she also directs global partnerships for women’s empowerment, support for refugees and displaced persons, the fight against malnutrition, and ensuring that all hungry children receive a nutritious meal at school.

Before her appointment in January 2018, Valerie Guarnieri was the WFP Regional Director for Central and Eastern Africa, overseeing some of WFP’s largest and most complex field operations. She has also served as WFP Director of Programmes at the global level. Since 2000, she has worked in various country, regional, and headquarters offices in Rome. Prior to joining WFP, she held positions in the U.S. government at the National Security Council and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), working in interdisciplinary teams focused on saving lives and helping create conditions for sustainable peace, with a particular focus on Africa.

Valerie Guarnieri holds a Master of Arts from the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. She is married and has three children.