Sue Graves

Deputy Director, Global Health Agencies and Funds, Gates Foundation

Sue Graves leads a team that drives the Gates Foundation’s engagement with several key health funds with a particular focus on governance, strategy, operational effectiveness and programmatic impact. She currently serves on the Strategy Committee of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), and has previously served on Gavi’s Programme and Policy Committee.

Before joining the Gates Foundation in 2021, Ms Graves had a long career working for the Australian government on development programmes and policy. This included five years leading the team responsible for Australia’s engagement in global health and education funds – including Gavi, the Global Fund and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) – and serving on the boards of the Global Fund and GPE.

Ms Graves’ experience encompasses development programme design and implementation, multi-stakeholder partnerships and governance, donor coordination, and public administration and policy. Working as an Australian diplomat in Kenya for three years as Head of Aid, she led the scale-up of the Australian Aid programme in the Horn of Africa. She also previously worked for the Overseas Development Institute’s Humanitarian Policy Group, where she led a research team that worked on the global humanitarian architecture, United Nations reforms, and donor policy.

Ms Graves has an MSc. in development studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and an MA in international relations from the Australian National University. 

Last updated: 17 Oct 2025