Over the course of the Women’s Refugee Commission’s 35 years, the organization has been led by four dynamic women–Mary Anne Schwalbe, Mary Diaz, Carolyn Makinson, and Sarah Costa.
Mary Anne Schwalbe was WRC’s founding director, serving from 1989 to 1994. Along with our founders, she was instrumental in setting the course of the organization, driven by her commitment to women and education. A passionate advocate for policy change, she recognized that changing refugee policy was critical to improving the lives of refugee women and children. Earlier in her career, at Harvard, she led the integration of Radcliffe and Harvard admissions, pushing for an equal number of women and men in the class. After a decade working in girls’ high schools in New York City, she took a leave to work in a refugee camp in northeast Thailand, and became committed to the cause of refugees. Her work on behalf of refugees brought her to 27 countries, often during war.
Mary Diaz was executive director of WRC from 1994 to 2004. Prior to working at WRC, Mary was director of refugee and immigration services at Catholic Charities in Boston. As executive director of WRC, Mary traveled to some of the most dangerous conflict zones in the world, including Afghanistan, Colombia, Haiti, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, and Serbia. Under Mary’s leadership, WRC grew from an organization with four staff and a budget of $450,000 to an organization with more than 20 staff and a budget of over $4 million. In 2003, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ruud Lubbers presented Mary with the UNHCR Award for the Promotion of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Refugee Women.
Carolyn Makinson was executive director of WRC from 2004 to 2010. Prior to joining WRC, Carolyn was responsible for the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s population and refugee programs, which funded WRC’s groundbreaking assessment of the lack of opportunities available to allow refugee and displaced women to plan their childbearing and ensure their reproductive health. After leaving WRC, Carolyn served as executive director of the International Rescue Committee UK (IRC-UK), and senior vice-president-Europe, IRC.
Carolyn was appointed Commander of the (UK) Order of the British Empire in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to humanitarian relief programs.
Sarah Costa has been the executive director of WRC since 2010. Under Sarah’s leadership, the organization has experienced significant growth, with the budget more than doubling, and has expanded its ability to ensure refugees’ right to sexual and reproductive health care, to safety from gender-based violence, and to economic and social empowerment. Before joining WRC, Sarah served as regional director of the Global Fund for Women, a grant-making organization that supports women’s rights organizations working on economic security, health, education, and leadership. Previously, she was a program officer for the Ford Foundation in Brazil and New York, developing and managing international and national programs on gender, sexuality, reproductive health, women’s rights, HIV/AIDS, and health policy.
The Women’s Refugee Commission’s 2024 Voices of Courage Awards gala was held Thursday, September 26, 2024. Learn about our honorees, presenters, and performers.
