Yolonda Richardson

Yolonda C. Richardson is a dynamic leader and recognized expert on gender issues, reproductive health, international development, U.S. philanthropy and corporate responsibility. She has appeared in top media outlets, including the Associated Press, Christian Science Monitor, C-SPAN, Knight-Ridder and National Public Radio.

Richardson is currently the Vice President of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. Previously she was President and CEO of the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA), an internationally recognized non-profit organization that improves the lives of women and girls in developing countries. Her leadership ensures the success of CEDPA’s global efforts in girls’ education and youth development, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, and gender and governance. .

Throughout Richardson’s career she has been committed to social development globally, with a particular expertise in development in Africa. She served as Special Counsel for the African Development Foundation, a government-funded agency that provides financial support to African non-governmental organizations. From 1999 to 2002, she served as Senior Vice President of Africare, where she oversaw more than 150 development projects throughout Africa. .

Prior to joining Africare, Richardson spent ten years at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a global foundation, where she managed an international grant program focused on women’s health and development. .

Having practiced as a corporate attorney at the Wall Street law firm, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, she continues to be a member of the American Bar Association and the National Bar Association. She is also a member of the Association of Black Foundation Executives, Women in Philanthropy, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Women’s Foreign Policy Group. She serves on the board of directors of InterAction and the Society for International Development. .

Richardson holds a Masters Degree in Public Health from Columbia University and a Juris Doctorate from Yale University School of Law. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from Dillard University in New Orleans.