Aaron Sherinian is the Chief Communications and Marketing Officer for the United Nations Foundation. Aaron has led the Foundation’s public relations efforts, media relationships, strategic outreach, and online presence since 2009, managing an award-winning team of communicators and digital pioneers who believe that innovative communications can help change the world. He has helped build some of the most talked about milestones in digital global engagement around causes and UN issues over the last few years including the Social Good Summit, #GivingTuesday, Rio+Social, International Day of Happiness, and the Momentum1000 global social media rally. He is a passionate supporter of efforts to build a new era of global activism and philanthropy among a younger generation that is emerging on the global scene. Before joining the UN Foundation, Aaron Sherinian served as Managing Director of Public Affairs for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. Government development assistance agency administering $7 billion in poverty reduction grants in 40 partner countries. He oversaw the agency’s strategic communications portfolio, media relationships, public relations agenda and a global re-branding.
His professional background includes a decade of service as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State. Before returning to Washington, his diplomatic service included tours at U.S. Embassies in Ecuador, Armenia, Costa Rica, Colombia, and in Washington serving two Assistant Secretaries of State. Aaron’s experience also included work at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See (Vatican).
Before joining the Department of State, Aaron worked at the Washington International Trade Association (WITA). He also held positions as a marketing consultant for the Italian distributors for Apple Computer and as a freelance interpreter and writer in Italy.
Aaron is proud to be a part of the public relations community as a member of the Arthur Page Society, the Seminar, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC). Aaron won the PRWeek Global Professional Award in 2016. His team won three consecutive honors by PRNews as “Public Affairs Team of the Year” in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
While he has lived in a lot of places, Aaron’s heart is always in his native Pasadena, California. He holds degrees from the Johns Hopkins University (School of Advanced International Studies – SAIS) and Brigham Young University. In addition to Spanish, he speaks (or at least does his best) at Italian, Armenian, and French. He and his wife have four children. Aaron served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints in Milan, Italy. He loves cooking, travel, and connecting with friends all over the world. He is a proud Eagle Scout, although wonders some days how he ever got through all the merit badges…then he realizes it was all about a dedicated Mom and Dad! He blogs at GlobalExtrovert.com about fatherhood, public relations and social media.
