Our leaders

CARE International’s Secretary General and our supervisory board work together to support CARE staff and partners worldwide in the advancement of our global priorities.

Our Secretary General 

Sofía Sprechmann Sineiro

Woman with short grey hair wearing blue jacket with CARE's logo looking to the camera

About Sofia

A leader in international development and a long-serving champion of gender equality, Sofia has almost 30 years of experience of working at CARE. She spearheaded CARE’s first program strategy and was integral to placing women and gender equality at the very heart of CARE’s worldwide work.  

Sofia, originally from Uruguay, lives in Quito, Ecuador. Having worked in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, Sofia unshakable commitment to women and girls is drawn from many years of working alongside some of the worlds most marginalized communities; from domestic workers, women working in the garment sector and survivors of gender-based violence.  

Prior to working in international development, Sofía was a Sociologist in the field of public opinion polls and audience research. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from the Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay and an MSc in Epidemiology from the University of London/London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.  

Connect with Sofía Sprechmann Sineiro on Twitter @SofiaSprechmann

To contact the Secretary General’s office about speaking opportunities, please email [email protected]

Supervisory board

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro

Chair of CARE International Supervisory Board

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro

Chair of CARE International Supervisory Board

Musimbi Kanyoro is a Kenyan human rights advocate who served as the CEO and President of the Global Fund for Women from 2011 until 2019. Musimbi is a social activist, theologian and an accomplished leader with 30 years of experience managing international non-governmental organizations from the global to grassroots level.  

In 2015, Forbes magazine named Musimbi one of 10 women “power brands” working for gender equality. In 2016 she was named in the list of “Forty over 40 – women who are reinventing and disrupting and making an impact.” More recently, she was named among the Apolitical 100 people making a difference in gender policy and alongside Bill Gates as one of the Global Citizen’s 9 powerful people changing the planet

Martha Brooks, Member of CARE's Supervisory Board

Martha Brooks

Member of CARE International Supervisory Board

Martha Brooks, Member of CARE's Supervisory Board

Martha Brooks

Member of CARE International Supervisory Board

Martha Finn Brooks has over 25 years of corporate board experience with large global public companies in a variety of industries. Her board work followed nearly 25 years in global manufacturing and marketing with Cummins, Alcan, and Novelis. Martha held a variety of leadership positions with Cummins. As President and COO of Novelis, she led the company through a spin off from Alcan, to become a public company, and then later in a sale to Mumbai-based Hindalco. She has served as Board Chair of the Yale-China Association, Board Chair of the Carter Center Board of Councillors, and a member of the Yale President’s Council on International Activities. Martha holds a B.A. in economics and political science and a M.A. of Public and Private Management from Yale University. Martha joined CARE’s Board in 2013

Philippe Leveque, member of CARE's Supervisory Board

Philippe Lévêque

Member of CARE International Supervisory Board

Philippe Leveque, member of CARE's Supervisory Board

Philippe Lévêque

Member of CARE International Supervisory Board

Philippe Lévêque was CEO of CARE France from May 2000 to April 2022. He graduated from the HEC Paris Business School in 1982 and began his career at IBM in 1984, where he held marketing and commercial positions. In 1989, he joined the software package publisher SYSTAR, where he was Marketing Director until 1993. Following a year in Africa, he opted for the humanitarian cause. He was a volunteer worker at Doctors of the World France in 1993, where he subsequently became Development Director and Deputy CEO. His responsibilities covered marketing, communication, finance and human resources. In June 2011, he was awarded the insignia of Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur by Alain Juppé. 

Headshot of Dr Iris Mwanza

Dr. Iris Mwanza

Member of CARE International Supervisory Board

Headshot of Dr Iris Mwanza

Dr. Iris Mwanza

Member of CARE International Supervisory Board

Iris is Director of the Community Health Roadmap where an important part of her work is advocating for decent, safe, paid work for humanity health worker, the majority who are women. Iris brings 16 years of leadership and senior management experience working on strategy, operations and program implementation, plus a multidisciplinary background in law, economic development and health to the CARE International Supervisory Board.

Iris is the co-chair of the Gender Equity Hub hosted by the WHO and women in Global Health and also serves on the WHO Steering Committed for the International Year of the Health and Care Worker, chaired by the Director-general, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus.

Iris’s education is in law and economics – an MA and PhD in International relations from John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, an LLM in International Law from Cornell, and an LLB from the University of Zambia.

Headshot of Stefanie Pfeil

Stefanie Pfeil

Member of CARE International Supervisory Board

Headshot of Stefanie Pfeil

Stefanie Pfeil

Member of CARE International Supervisory Board

Stefanie is the Global Director of Development at Client Earth and is responsible for building the global fundraising portfolio of a fast growing global network.

Stefanie brings over a decade of experience in the international development and humanitarian sector to the CARE International Supervisory Board. Having served on several Boards in the past she understands how crucial it is to have a strategic oversight, robust governance and coordination for an organisation, such as CARE, that works in some of the most challenging places in the world.

Stefanie’s education is in Management and Business Studies – an MA in Arts Management from the University of Greenwich and a BA in Business Studies from the University of Westminster.

Bright Simons

Member of CARE International Supervisory Board

Bright Simons

Member of CARE International Supervisory Board

Bright Simons is the President of mPedigree, a social enterprise working on three continents with governments, Fortune 500 companies and activists to safeguard human health and food security using technology.   

An inventor and innovator, his current projects include vaccine quality detection using novel organosensors. He is also a Board-level Advisor, with recent appointments to the Microsoft Africa Advisory Council, the Lancet Commission on the Future of Health in Africa, the Center for Global Development's Study Group on Technology, the World Economic Forum's Africa Strategy Group, the Africa Population Health Research Center, and IC Publications, owner of the New African magazine.  

Bright is a WEF YGL, TED Fellow, Aspen Braddock Fellow, and the 2016 CNBC African Innovative Business Leader of the Year. In 2016, Fortune magazine named him on their 50 World Greatest Leaders list. 

Our Directors

Celine Mias portrait

Céline Mias

Director of CARE International Belgium & EU Representative

Celine Mias portrait

Céline Mias

Director of CARE International Belgium & EU Representative

Céline Mias has over 20 years of experience in leading humanitarian and development NGO programs and advocacy, with a strong passion for gender equality and social justice. Céline began her career working on rural women’s development programs in Burkina Faso. She subsequently oversaw humanitarian and development programs for different NGOs in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe, as well as leading European advocacy for a women’s health organization, prior to joining CARE International in 2013.

A French national, Céline has a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Russian from McGill University. In addition to her role at CARE International, Céline has served as Vice President of the Board of CONCORD Europe since 2018.

Blonde woman standing speaking on microphone and holding a piece of paper

Clare Spurrell

Director of Strategy and Communications

Blonde woman standing speaking on microphone and holding a piece of paper

Clare Spurrell

Director of Strategy and Communications

Clare Spurrell is CARE International’s Director of Strategy and Communications. She originally worked as a journalist in the UK for major national outlets including The Independent and The Times, and has launched award winning digital platforms including Big White Wall, an online mental health service.

Having worked for many years in digital teams at the BBC and NBC Universal, Clare developed specific expertise in building and engaging mass audiences to drive new business and revenue growth. She has worked in public relations and crisis management in the medical industry, and later as Head of Strategic Communications at the policy think tank the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (part of the Norwegian Refugee Council) in Geneva.

At CARE, Clare supports the confederation in all areas of communications and believes in ethical, inclusive and locally driven approaches to how we tell the story of our work. She also provides strategic support to the Secretary General in driving CARE’s Vision 2030 ambitions.

Clare has a bachelor’s degree in Applied Zoology & Microbiology, and a master’s degree in Psychology.

More information

Governance

Find information about how CARE International is governed and its advisory boards and committees.

Mission and vision

CARE International works across the globe to achieve our vision is of a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice.