Hunter College has appointed diplomat and human rights advocate Hillary Schrenell as the executive director of the Sorensen Center for International Peace and Justice at Roosevelt House.
The center, which moved to Hunter from the CUNY School of Law during the summer, fosters the legacy of Theodore (Ted) Sorensen, counselor to President John F. Kennedy and champion of democracy, peace, and justice in the United States and around the world.
“I am excited to return to New York City to join the vibrant community at Roosevelt House and Hunter College as the new executive director of the Sorensen Center,” Schrenell said. “It is an honor to advance Ted Sorensen’s remarkable legacy by empowering students to preserve and enhance the ideals of peace and justice to which Ted dedicated his life. I look forward to building on the first decade of the center’s success and working with students and scholars across CUNY and with partners in civil society, government, and business to realize a shared vision of peace and justice in New York City, across the United States, and globally.”
The center nurtures students dedicated to public service, leveraging the diversity of their knowledge and experiences to strengthen peace and justice. During the last decade, the center’s fellowship program has enabled more than 200 CUNY students to work on critical issues of peace and justice in 18 countries, 12 states, and across all five boroughs.
With scholars-in-residence and a speaker series, among other initiatives, the center has given students opportunities to learn from leading figures and engage in creative and strategic thinking on pressing issues.
At Hunter, the Sorensen Center will further this work, with an expanded mission to support undergraduates and scholars working on issues of peace and justice. Under Schrenell’s leadership, the center will offer resources and guidance to help Hunter students understand potential careers in peace and justice, including opportunities to engage with inspiring early- to mid-career professionals. The center will also foster connections with the United Nations and diplomatic community in New York City.
Schrenell joins the Sorensen Center after two decades at local and federal government and institutions of higher education. She most recently served as senior adviser to the chief operating officer of the U.S. Agency for International Development, where she led key organizational change initiatives to modernize the agency.
Before that, she led project development at Columbia World Projects, a university-wide initiative mobilizing research and scholarship to address global challenges in partnership with government, businesses, and communities.
Earlier in her career she served as deputy commissioner for international affairs for New York City, where she developed programs to leverage the United Nations as a resource for city residents, and as a senior adviser to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, where she directed successful diplomatic and public-relations campaigns on human rights.
A product of New Jersey public schools and a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Schrenell began her legal career supporting access to justice programs in West Africa and southern Texas.
