Sara K. Gould
Sara K. Gould | |
|---|---|
| Born | Grand Haven, Michigan, United States |
| Education | Grand Valley State University, Harvard University |
| Movement | Feminist |
| Board member of | National Immigration Law Center, Proteus Fund |
Sara K. Gould is a feminist leader, philanthropist and activist in the United States. She served as president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women from 2004 to 2010.[1] She is a vice chair on the board of directors of the National Immigration Law Center[2] and serves on the board of the Proteus Fund.[3]
Biography
[edit]Gould grew up in Grand Haven, Michigan with five brothers and sisters.[4] She was raised in a Christian background and as a young person was very involved in the church. Later, as an adult, she became "much more secular."[4] In 1973, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from Grand Valley State University.[5] Gould was married at age twenty and she followed her husband to Syracuse where he was attending law school.[6] During her time in Syracuse, she began to see that she was following his dream instead of her own.[7] Gould realized that she was "viewing her life through the prism of gender" and shortly after she left her marriage and went to graduate school at Harvard University.[6] She received her master's degree in city and regional planning from Harvard in 1977.[8]
Work
[edit]After graduating from Harvard, Gould went to work in Massachusetts with Community Development Corporations (CDCs), but she didn't feel fulfilled by the work.[4] In 1983, the Women's Action Alliance in New York called Gould to work on a project with them involving women's economic development.[4]
At the time, the Women's Action Alliance and the Ms. Foundation for Women shared space in the same building. In 1986, Gould joined the Ms. Foundation.[9] Gould began to identify economic development organizations throughout the country and began a grassroots program to help women identify their own seats of economic power.[4]
In 1988, Gould started the Institute for Women's Economic Development under the Tufts University umbrella.[4]
In 1990, she created the Collaborative Fund for Women's Economic Development (CFWED), one of the first of its kind in the country.[9] Gould relates that at the time, "the words 'women' and 'economic development' were not put in the same sentence; they were almost like an oxymoron."[10] The project involved multiple funders to pool money together into a larger sum in order to lower individual groups' risk. There were several "anchor" funders who contributed half a million each, such as the Levi Strauss Foundation and the Charles Steward Mott Foundation.[4] The CFWED allowed the Ms. Foundation to give out fifteen large grants for the first time.[4]
She contributed the piece "Owning the Future: Women Entrepreneurs" to the 2003 anthology Sisterhood Is Forever: The Women's Anthology for a New Millennium, edited by Robin Morgan.[11]
Gould served as president for the Ms. Foundation starting in 2004. During her time as president, she expanded grantmaking to further include community project that emphasized sustainable change.[1] When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, she immediately reacted by establishing the Katrina Women's Response Fund which granted $3 million in funds to organizations in Louisiana and Mississippi which helped low income women and women of color rebuild their communities.[1]
She has also been a contributor to the Huffington Post.[12]
In 2011, Gould was a visiting fellow at the Foundation Center where she worked with Atlantic Philanthropies for two years providing research and activities on social justice philanthropy.[13]
After her time at the Foundation Center, she served as associate director of Caring Across Generations, a campaign to help those provide long-term home care, from April 2012 to January 2014.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Sara Gould, Activist-in-Residence". Sophia Smith collection. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Board of Directors". National Immigration Law Center. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ "Board". Proteus Fund. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Pactor, Andrea K. (18 April 2007). "Oral History Project on Men and Women in Philanthropy" (PDF). eArchives. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Sara Gould, '73". Grand Valley State University. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ a b Yerman, Marcia G. (19 June 2008). "Women Get Respect -- Part 2". Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ Z, Julie (27 January 2010). "An Interview with Sara K. Gould". fbomb. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ "Sara Gould Biography" (PDF). eArchives. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. 18 April 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Sara K. Gould". SheSource. Women's Media Center. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ Anghelescu, Iulia (29 December 2008). "2009 Seven Who Break the Barriers of Bias". Womens eNews. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ "Library Resource Finder: Table of Contents for: Sisterhood is forever : the women's anth". Vufind.carli.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
- ^ "Sara K. Gould". HuffPost. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ Loe, Cheryl (15 February 2011). "Sara Gould Joins the Foundation Center as Visiting Fellow". Foundation Center. Retrieved 11 June 2015.