Amanda Ellis

Amanda Ellis is Executive Director, Asia-Pacific for the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation and Senior Director of Global Partnerships and Networks at the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, Arizona State University. She also co-chairs the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge, promoting inclusive entrepreneurship worldwide.

A former New Zealand Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ellis served as Deputy Secretary for International Development, leading the New Zealand Aid Programme, and as inaugural Ambassador for Women and Girls. She has held senior roles at the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, pioneering programs to expand women’s economic opportunities globally. Earlier in her career, she led women’s markets at Westpac Banking Corporation in Australia.

Ellis is the author of two best-selling books and multiple research publications on gender and development. She has received the TIAW Lifetime Achievement Award and serves on advisory boards including the Global Governance Forum, UN Target Gender Equality, and the East-West Center. She holds a BA in French and Economics from the University of Otago, an MA from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and has completed executive education at Harvard, Stanford, and INSEAD.