WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Friday’s announcement by the United Nations of Catherine Russell being appointed as UNICEF’s next executive director was made, according to a spokesperson for the U.N.

Russell is currently the White House Presidential Personnel Office director and will be the eighth American head UNICEF. The agency was founded in 1946 and has had a total of eight American executive directors.

Stephane Dujarric, U.N. spokesperson, stated that Russell “brings to the table decades of experience in the development innovative policies that empower poor communities across the globe.”

Russell formerly served as ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues at the U.S. Department of State under the administration of former President Barack Obama, the U.N. said.

In July, a spokesperson for the U.N. stated that Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s Executive Director, would be stepping down in order to address a family-related health problem.

Fore was formerly the head of USAID’s Agency for International Development. In 2018, Antonio Guterres, U.N. Secretary General, appointed Fore to lead UNICEF.