Robert Skinner is currently serving as a Senior Special Advisor in the UN’s Department of Global Communications, focusing on the UN’s COVID-19 Communications Response Initiative. Prior to taking on this role, Robert was the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships. He began his tenure with the UN in 2015 as the Director of the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining the UN, Robert was the Executive Director in the New York Office of the United Nations Foundation. Before joining the Foundation in 2006, Robert held several positions in the United States Department of State, including as Deputy Spokesperson at the United States Mission to the United Nations in New York, and as Public Affairs Officer for the United States Embassy in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He also held posts in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and San Salvador, El Salvador.

Robert was an attorney in the Office of the Cook County Public Defender, Chicago, Illinois before starting his diplomatic career. Robert holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Oakland University in the United States. He is married and has two children.