Veneman supervised yearly program resources of about $4 billion at UNICEF, which were completely supported by voluntary contributions. She emphasized the need of fostering a culture of continual improvement in order to achieve long-term outcomes for children.
UNICEF implemented measures to enhance business processes, transparency, and collaboration under her leadership to ensure that the agency's programs reached the most vulnerable people and that its resources were used properly to protect, save, and improve the lives of children throughout the globe.
These methods included implementing a results-based approach to program administration and increasing the use of integrated packages of treatments for children's health and development. Veneman traveled to more than 60 countries as Executive Director to assess the condition of children and UNICEF's work to help them.
She saw firsthand how UNICEF and its partners' programs and support helped to save and enhance the lives of children. Natural catastrophes, conflict, illness, and exploitation all wreaked havoc on Veneman.
These experiences heightened her sense of optimism, enthusiasm, and urgency while managing programs, engaging with government officials, international agencies, and strategic partners, or presenting at conferences such as the World Economic Forum and the Clinton Global Initiative.
Veneman co-chaired Mothers Day Every Day, a campaign created by CARE and the White Ribbon Alliance to assist women throughout the world's access to essential health care and maternity services. Prior to joining UNICEF, Veneman was Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), where he was in charge of 110,000 people and a $113 billion yearly budget.
She was in charge of the nation's food and nutrition programs, including food stamps, school lunch programs, and nutrition assistance for mothers, babies, and children, at this broad organization.
She convened the first-ever Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology in 2003, bringing leaders from 120 countries together to discuss innovative approaches to global hunger and the greater use of science and technology to decrease hunger and poverty in poor countries.
Veneman also served as Deputy Secretary, Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs and Commodity Programs, and Associate Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service at USDA. She also served as Secretary of Food and Agriculture in California. Veneman, a trained lawyer, has worked in both Washington, DC and California. She formerly worked as a deputy public defender.
Veneman graduated from the University of California, Davis with a bachelor's degree in political science, the University of California, Berkeley with a master's degree in public policy, and the University of California, Hastings College of Law with a juris doctorate. She has also received honorary doctorates from a number of institutions and colleges.
Veneman is a member of the Close Up Foundation's Board of Directors, a non-partisan civic youth education organization. She has previously worked on several advisory boards and committees, notably those dealing with children and higher education.
Throughout her career, Veneman has received numerous honors and awards, including the Outstanding Woman in International Trade Award, the Food Research and Action Center Award, the Dutch American Heritage Award, the Junior Statesman Foundation Statesman of the Year Award, the California Council for International Trade Golden State Award, the Goldman School of Public Policy Alumnus of the Year Award, and the History Chan Award.
Veneman's leadership and vision at UNICEF were lauded on a national and worldwide scale. She was ranked #46 on Forbes' list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in 2009.
