Panel discussion on disability inclusive trade: a call for action

Rebeca Grynspan, of Costa Rica, became UNCTAD's eighth Secretary-General on 13 September 2021 and is the first woman to lead the organization.

Prior to her UNCTAD appointment, she was the Ibero-American secretary-general from 2014 to 2021, also the first woman to head the organization. During her mandate, she has coordinated the 22-member Iberoamerican Conference and led four key summits of Heads of State and Government. 

In 2010 she was appointed Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and prior to that was UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.  

Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Grynspan served as Vice-President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. She was also Minister of Housing, Minister Coordinator of Economic and Social Affairs, and Deputy Minister of Finance. In 2021 she was named Special International Advisor to the newly created Economic and Social Council of Argentina and invited to join as member of the G20 High-Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

In addition to her experience as a lecturer and advisor to several international organizations, she has been actively involved in key United Nations initiatives, such as the Millennium Project's Task Force on Poverty and Economic Development and the High-level Panel on Financing for Development.  

In 2014 and 2015, she was recognized as one of the 50 leading intellectuals of Latin America.  And she was recognized as one of the 100 most powerful women in Central America by Forbes magazine.

Ms Grynspan holds a degree in Economics by the University of Costa Rica and a MSc in Economics by the University of Sussex. She has been awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of Salamanca, the University of Extremadura and the European University of Madrid in recognition of her outstanding professional achievements. 

Mxolisi Nkosi is Ambassador Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organisations in Switzerland. He has served in several senior positions in the Foreign Ministry of post-Apartheid South Africa. Between February 2012 and March 2016 was the South African Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Head of Mission to the European Union. Until his appointment as South Africa's Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, he was the Head of Global Governance and Continental Agenda in the South African Foreign Ministry, and President Cyril Ramaphosa's Sherpa to G7 Outreach Sessions.

An expert in the field of international relations and diplomacy, Nkosi previously headed Africa Branch in the Foreign Ministry. He has travelled extensively throughout the world and in Africa, and accompanied high-level delegations of former President Thabo Mbeki, President Jacob Zuma, former Foreign Ministers Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, and now President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Naledi Pandor.

Ambassador Schroderus-Fox is the Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and Conference on Disarmament. She comes to this position from the United Nation Headquarters in New York, having served as the Director of the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) from 2012 to 2023. In this capacity, she recently served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations 5th Conference on the Least Developed Countries, in Doha,

Ms. Schroderus-Fox joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1988, and has previously served at Finnish missions in Paris, Washington DC, Tel Aviv, Pretoria and New York. She served as Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations in New York during 2006-2010. During her work for Finland, she has made significant contributions in the areas of intergovernmental policy dialogue, partnership building and negotiations. Earlier in her career she focused particularly on Security Policy, Arms Control and the Middle East, chairing many international negotiations relating to these issues.

In 2010–2011, she served as the Head of Policy Issues for the Office of the President of the United Nations General Assembly.

She holds a degree of Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration. She is also an alumni of the executive program of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

Ms. Schroderus-Fox is married to Mr. Alan Fox and they have two children.

Ms. Celeste Drake was appointed as the Deputy Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in August 2023. She is a seasoned policy advisor with extensive experience in labour, trade and economic policy.

Ms. Drake began her professional career as a high school economics and world history teacher before transitioning into key advisory roles within the U.S. government.

Most recently, she served as the Deputy Director of the National Economic Council and top labour advisor to President Joseph R. Biden, where she played a pivotal role in shaping labour and industrial strategies. Prior to this, Ms. Drake was appointed as President Biden’s first-ever Made in America Director, where she established and led an office within the Office of Management and Budget, working with employers and trade unions to implement infrastructure, industrial, and procurement policies.

Her previous roles include leading government affairs at the Directors' Guild of America and serving as the Trade and Globalization Policy Specialist at the AFL-CIO. At the AFL-CIO, Ms. Drake was instrumental in advocating for trade policy reforms to support inclusive growth and shared prosperity. She worked closely with governments, trade unions, and employers on major international trade initiatives, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, a Master’s degree in Public Policy, and a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Ms Angela Paolini Ellard has served as WTO Deputy Director-General since June 2021. She is responsible for dispute settlement/reform, trade remedies, market access/trade facilitation, and ongoing negotiations on fisheries subsidies. She supervised the Secretariat's facilitation of the successful conclusion of the 2012 Fisheries Subsidies Agreement. She also oversees the WTO budget.

Previously, DDG Ellard had a distinguished 26-year career as Majority and Minority Chief Trade Counsel in the United States Congress. She achieved significant bipartisan trade policy outcomes with Congressional leaders and five Presidential administrations. She practiced law, focusing on trade litigation, policy, and legislation.

She is renowned for her expertise in trade and international economic policy, resolving trade barriers, and negotiating outcomes. She earned her J.D. cum laude/Tulane Law School, M.A. in Public Policy/Tulane, and B.A. summa cum laude/Tulane's Newcomb College.

She speaks and lectures worldwide and has received numerous awards for her contributions to trade law and policy.

Ms. Dorothy Tembo has served Deputy Executive Director of the International Trade Centre since June 2014.

A Zambian national, prior to her roles at ITC, Ms. Tembo served as the Executive Director of the multi-donor funded Enhanced Integrated Framework Programme (EIF) at the World Trade Organization (WTO), supporting Least Developed Countries. Prior to the WTO, she held various other positions, including serving as Zambia’s Chief Trade Negotiator and Director Foreign Trade in the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Deputy Chief of Party, USAID Zambia Trade and Investment Enhancement Project, as well as Senior Advisor, USAID RAPID project in Botswana supporting the implementation of the SADC Protocol on Trade.