Dawn Del Rio (United States) has over 25 years of experience in governance, recovery, and international development, much of it in senior roles with the United Nations. Her work has focused on leading country teams, managing complex programs, and building partnerships in some of the most challenging environments.

Most recently, she has been supporting the Bougainville Peace Process as an advisor to the Independent Moderator, through the UNDP, helping to design and coordinate the consultation process between the Papua New Guinea National Government and the Autonomous Bougainville Government. In 2023, she stepped in as Resident Representative ad-interim for UNDP’s Pacific Office in Fiji, a multi-country office, covering 10 Pacific Island countries and more than 200 staff. During that time, she oversaw a major office restructuring and realignment effort while maintaining relationships with government, partners, and donors.

From 2017 to 2021, Dawn served as Deputy Resident Representative in Myanmar, leading a team of over 200 staff across eight field offices. She helped shape UNDP’s work during a period of rapid change, from responding to the Rohingya refugee crisis to launching an area-based development program in Rakhine State. She directed the office through the COVID-19 response and previously through a complete restructuring that introduced new program portfolios focused on governance, peace, and innovation.

Before Myanmar, Dawn spent several years in Afghanistan as Chief of UNDP’s Rule of Law and Human Security Unit, overseeing one of the most significant trust fund operations in the UN system. She has also worked at UNDP headquarters in New York on pooled funding mechanisms, crisis financing, and early recovery programmes. Earlier roles included leading governance projects in South Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Zambia with the Carter Center, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the National Democratic Institute.

Dawn’s approach to leadership is based on practical experience in fragile and post-crisis environments, focusing on how structures and teams can adapt to achieve results under pressure. She has extensive experience managing change processes, designing programs that unite humanitarian and development actors, and building partnerships among governments, communities, and donors.

She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Oregon and a BA from Loyola University in the United States.