Ambassador Cindy McCain: A Profile in Global Leadership

The Council will honor McCain and her commitment to combatting world hunger at the 23rd annual Global Leadership Awards Dinner.

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs will honor Ambassador Cindy McCain and her remarkable commitment to fighting world hunger at our 23rd annual Global Leadership Awards Dinner on October 28.

McCain is an American businesswoman, philanthropist, and humanitarian. In 2021, she was appointed by then-US President Joe Biden as the US ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome. In this position, she played a critical role in managing the global food crisis sparked by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

a side profile of Cindy McCain
Amr Nabil / AP

McCain built on this important work at the United Nations World Food Programme, where she served as executive director from 2023 until May 2026. During her tenure, she led efforts to combat famine and food insecurity in Gaza, Sudan, and around the globe.

Cindy McCain walks by bags of food aid
USA Mission to the UN in Rome

McCain inspects donations at the World Food Programme warehouse at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Turkana County, Kenya, on March 17, 2022.

Cindy McCain looks at a map of Eastern Europe
USA Mission to the UN in Rome

McCain visits a food distribution center in Poland near the Ukrainian border on March 30, 2022, roughly a month after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Amid steep global shortfalls in humanitarian assistance, McCain has been a vocal advocate for sustained humanitarian funding and the protection of aid workers. “No one should go to bed hungry," she posted on World Food Day 2025. "Let's commit to taking bold action to invest in solutions that end hunger once and for all."

Cindy McCain stands next to Pope Leo in Rome
Alessandra Tarantino / AP

McCain welcomes Pope Leo XIV to the World Food Programme headquarters in Rome on June 22, 2026.

Cindy McCain speaks in front of a World Food Programme backdrop
Omar Sanadiki / AP

McCain speaks with the Associated Press in Damascus on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, after meeting with interim Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani to discuss food security.

Please join us on October 28 as we celebrate McCain and her fellow honorees, Chicago business and civic leader David J. Vitale and Council Emerging Leaders Program alumnus Chris Myers, for their substantial contributions to the nation and the world.

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