Dr. Carol C. Adelman
Senior Fellow and Director
Center for Global Prosperity
Hudson Institute
Biographical Highlights
Dr. Carol Adelman is a Senior Fellow and Director of the
Center for Global Prosperity (CGP) at Hudson Institute
where she lectures, writes, and advises media on
economic growth, foreign aid, global philanthropy, and
international healthcare issues. She developed and
oversees the main publication of the CGP, the annual
Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances, the first
comprehensive compilation of U.S. and other donor
countries’ international private giving to the developing
world. The Index documents the magnitude of
contributions from foundations, corporations, private and
voluntary organizations, religious organizations,
universities, and remittances from individuals, while
reporting on new and innovative private giving trends and
practices.
The Center’s work is widely used by the U.S. Government, multilateral agencies,
philanthropic institutions, the media, and academia. The Index was cited in Foreign
Affairs as “a one stop compendium of the best available data on global philanthropy.”
From 1971 to 1981, Dr. Adelman was a career foreign service officer with the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID), living and working in Africa, Latin
America, and Asia. She worked extensively with foreign governments, NGOs, and
companies involved in economic development projects and philanthropic programs. She
also advised governments on policy reforms to support private initiatives and political
reforms to promote democratic growth.
From 1982 to 1988, Dr. Adelman focused on global economic and health issues. She
completed research for her doctorate in public health and examined the causes of infant
mortality in the barrios of Lima, Peru. She also consulted for the American Red Cross
and monitored famine needs in Africa while assisting in fundraising for the African
drought. From 1988 to 1993, Dr. Adelman was a presidential appointee, serving as
assistant administrator at USAID, in charge of all foreign aid programs to Asia, the
Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe when the Berlin Wall fell. She supervised
over 400 employees with a budget of over $3 billion.
From 1993 to 1998, she headed international services for two different consulting
companies, one private and one publicly held, where she identified investment
opportunities and capital for private U.S. companies in overseas hospitals, insurance
companies, and healthcare systems. Dr. Adelman identified U.S. partners for joint
ventures and projects in Brazil, Argentina, and Malaysia. She also conducted a major
evaluation of public and private sector programs developed by the Inter-American
Development Bank.
From 1998 to the present, Dr. Adelman has conducted research and writing at the Hudson
Institute where she and her Hudson colleagues assist nonprofits and corporations in
developing and communicating their global philanthropy programs. She is also President
of an executive leadership training company and teaches leadership at the Wharton
Business School, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Adelman has served as Vice Chair of
the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid for USAID and Vice Chair of the
Helping to Enhance the Livelihood of People (HELP) Commission, a bipartisan
congressional commission established to provide high-level oversight and evaluation of
the U.S. foreign aid program. She is a past Vice Chair and current board member of the
Atlantic Council and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Adelman is a
recipient of the Heloise Waislitz Visiting Fellowship in Philanthropy at the Asia Pacific
Centre for Social Investment and Philanthropy, Swinburne University, Melbourne,
Australia. She is also past president and current board member of Capital Partners for
Education, a charity that provides scholarships and mentors for low-income students in
the D.C. metropolitan area.
Dr. Adelman holds a Doctorate and Masters of Public Health from John Hopkins
University and a Masters of Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
Publications and Media Exposure
Dr. Adelman has appeared on radio and television, including CNN, PBS, Fox News, CSpan, and BBC, and is a frequent commentator, lecturer, and moderator at universities,
associations, and international conferences including the Aspen Institute, the World
Economic Forum at Davos, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Fortune 500
Brainstorming conference. She was featured on PBS’s The Great Decisions Television
Series episode on Philanthropy and Rise of Global Giving.
Dr. Adelman has been the author and editor of numerous works on economic
development, foreign aid, trade, and global health for national publications and technical
journals. She has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal,
Foreign Affairs, and International Herald Tribune, as well as publishing a book,
International Regulation: New Rules in a Changing World Order.