WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon announced the appointment of Celina Schocken as its Chief Executive Officer and Dr. Condoleezza Rice as the Chair of its Board of Directors. The leadership selections follow President George W. Bush’s announcement last September that Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, a public-private partnership aimed at catalyzing the global community to reduce deaths from cervical and breast cancer, is now an independent, non-profit organization.
“I’m pleased that two proven and respected leaders, Celina Schocken and Dr. Condoleezza Rice, have joined Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon in our fight against women’s cancers,” said President George W. Bush. “Each brings a strong record of results to the team, and we are thrilled to welcome them. With Celina and Condi at the helm, Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon will expand its reach and save more lives through cancer screening and treatment.”
In her new role, Schocken will lead the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership to save women and girls’ lives from cancer in countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. She will direct the collaboration of the more than 20 partner organizations that now comprise Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, including national governments, non-governmental groups, and local leadership in the countries. Rice will guide the strategic decision-making of the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Board of Directors, and assist with the organization’s fundraising efforts.
Launched in September 2011 by the George W. Bush Institute, the United States Government through the U.S. Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Susan G. Komen®, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon provides preventive care and treatment to women and girls at risk of women’s cancers where the need is greatest. Since its inception, Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partners have screened more than 200,000 women for cervical cancer and 6,000 for breast cancer, and vaccinated over 42,000 girls against the human papillomavirus (HPV). The organization currently supports programs in Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia and, more recently, Ethiopia and Namibia.
Schocken joins Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon following her work developing new technology to improve women’s health in developing countries. Working with Global Good, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Jhpiego, and several start-ups, she led technology-development efforts related to cervical cancer, post-partum hemorrhage, drug quality, and reproductive health.
She previously served as Director of Policy and Advocacy at Merck for Mothers, where she led the Saving Mothers, Giving Life public-private partnership. Prior to Merck, Schocken was Director of International Organizations at Population Services International (PSI), where she managed PSI’s work with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and other multilateral organizations. She has also served as Chief Advisor to the Rwandan Minister of State for HIV/AIDS and Other Epidemics, whom she assisted to draft national policies related to HIV/AIDS, and to coordinate the implementation of multi-million-dollar HIV/AIDS programs throughout the country.
Prior to her position with the Government of Rwanda, Schocken held positions as Country Director of Columbia University’s programs in Rwanda, and with the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, where she co-authored Rwanda’s national plan for HIV/AIDS treatment and care. In 2005, she was a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Schocken received her juris doctor and master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s in business administration from New York University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and HEC Paris. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago, Phi Beta Kappa.
Dr. Condoleezza Rice is currently the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution; and a professor of Political Science at Stanford University. She is also a founding partner of RiceHadleyGates, LLC.
From January 2005-2009, Rice served as the 66th Secretary of State of the United States, the second woman and first African American woman to hold the post. Rice also served as President George W. Bush’s Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from January 2001-2005, the first woman to hold the position.
Rice served as Stanford University’s Provost from 1993-1999, during which time she was the institution’s chief budget and academic officer. As Provost, she was responsible for a $1.5 billion annual budget and the academic program, which involved 1,400 faculty members and 14,000 students.
From 1989 through March 1991, Rice served on President George H.W. Bush’s National Security Council staff. She served as Director and Senior Director of Soviet and East European Affairs, and as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In 1986, while an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, Rice also served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Rice earned her bachelor’s degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver; her master’s from the University of Notre Dame; and her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Rice is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has been awarded eleven honorary doctorates.
