Kristen Edgreen Kaufman is a trustee at Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and was recently selected for the Fulbright Specialist Program where her work will focus on subnational and city to city diplomacy. In 2024, the Department of Defense (DoD) selected Edgreen Kaufman to be one of 40 participants in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, the oldest public liaison program in the DoD for civilian leaders, and she is a lifetime member at the Council on Foreign Relations. She frequently speaks and is a guest lecturer on topics pertaining to subnational diplomacy. Her writing has appeared in Newsweek and CitiesSpeak.
Edgreen Kaufman previously served as the deputy commissioner of public private partnerships & economic development in the NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs. She shared the successes of the city's agencies on a global platform and facilitated the global exchange of best practices, enabling the New York to replicate the successes of leading global cities in thematic areas ranging from education to mental health initiatives to public safety. Edgreen Kaufman also led all trade and investment initiatives with the Americas and Europe and served as the key relationship manager for European consulates. Her work led to the creation of social impact partnerships, one of which offered 10,000 scholarships to deserving New Yorkers; she directed the creation of a global gun violence forum on best practices in partnership with other agencies and countries; she launched the pilot program for an international virtual youth exchange with disadvantaged high school students; and she launched international CEO roundtables with key European and North American business leaders.
Before becoming deputy commissioner, Edgreen Kaufman was a consultant who specialized in advising international organizations on strategic partnerships and development. She also has a strong foundation in finance having earned her MBA from Columbia Business School and having worked at Lazard and Merrill Lynch, and as a managing director at Natixis Bleichroeder. In 2009, Edgreen Kaufman co-founded Acrocorinth, Inc., a foundation promoting ethics in foreign policy and educational equity. She previously served on the board of New York’s chapter of Teach for America. In 2014, Edgreen Kaufman was elected Democratic Judicial Delegate for the 75th Assembly District in New York City where she was responsible for facilitating the election of New York State Supreme Court justices. She is a member of Network 20/20 Foreign Policy Group, Women in Foreign Policy, and the Leadership Now Project.