We are delighted to congratulate Newton Rotarian Dr. Tatjana Kobb for her appointment as a 2020-2021 Rotary International Representative at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. She was selected for this role by RI President Holger Knaack. She has been a member of the Rotary Club of Newton since October 2017, and continues her membership while residing temporarily in China.
The president of RI annually appoints Rotarians and Rotaractors to serve as UN representatives, with an aim of fostering relationships with UN agencies and key international organizations and raising awareness of Rotary programs, while keeping Rotary informed of their organization's initiatives. The network advances a century-old tradition of fostering global harmony. Through the representatives' participation in various high-level meetings and events, they help advance the aims of Rotary around the world - chief among them is the eradication of polio and new actions, including the seventh Area of Focus: the environment.
Tatjana’s focus has been supporting the global health actions and contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and she will be committed to facilitating Rotary program and public relations objectives; enhancing Rotary’s visibility; and furthering communications between Rotary International and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The largest under UN, it is the organizations’ global development network, committed to ending poverty once and for all. It connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life for themselves, working to get to the root causes of poverty and create lasting change.
Tatjana is a medical doctor and serves as a member of RI’s Cadre of Technical Advisors for public health grants. These Rotarians review, monitor, and evaluate projects and ensure grant funds are being used properly.
Rotary has been a valued and trusted partner of the United Nations from the start and was integral in getting this crucial organization off the ground as early as 1943. To learn more about this unique relationship, click here. Through her dedication and passion, Tatjana delivers impact. Rarely satisfied (or accepting) the status quo, she has continually strived to channel her energies, and the business, into areas that needed positive change. She has worked in a wide range of capacities in the humanitarian sector, including the UNHCR, UNICEF and WHO, and has advised universities. She is currently guiding the Mentorship4SDGs initiative hosted by Zhejiang University Academy of Internet Finance in People's Republic of China.
An alumna of the Council for Young Political Leaders under the U.S. State Department, Tatjana believes adamantly in justice, not only in the legal sense, but also in the social sense, and she has a deep belief in doing good and serving people. She is a visionary, and has the keen ability to identify trends and to imagine future potential. Her extensive international experience and the depth of her networks add to her worldview. Under her leadership, our district had a group of youth visit the UN headquarters during last year's 63rd session of the Conference on the Status of Women, and she has been involved in starting the District 7910's Passport Club as well as the very first UNESCO Club in Massachusetts. She serves as a co-chair of the Global Women's Health task force at the Women Graduates USA, to ensure that health is recognized as central for enabling girls to be educated under the Graduate Women International umbrella.
Tatjana continues to strive to deliver life-changing projects wherever she works both through direct action and mentoring programs for future generations. She is an advisor for the International Masters for Health Leadership at McGill University, and she teaches Global Health, Sustainable Development and is preparing the course on Global Health Diplomacy at Global Studies & International Relations at Northeastern University. She is also involved in the UN’s High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, and is the founder of Boston Sustainable Advising.
Congratulations Tatjana! We’re so proud of you for carrying Rotary’s message and ideals to our friends and colleagues around the world!
