Elaine Schuster is a philanthropist, American diplomat, civic leader, and Democratic Party activist.
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In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Mrs. Schuster to serve as a Public Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly.[1] Schuster focuses her work for the U.N. in the area of human trafficking.
In 2004, she and her husband, Gerald, founded The Elaine and Gerald Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University.[2] Through the institute’s collaborations with news outlets such as the Washington Post, National Public Radio and Foreign Affairs Magazine, the Schuster Institute seeks to raise public awareness on key issues such as gender inequality, wrongful convictions in the criminal justice system and other injustices.[3] On June 16, 2010 from 1:15-2:45 p.m. at the United Nations General Assembly Hall, the Schuster Institute will co-sponsor a panel, “Hidden in Plain Sight: The Role of the Media in Exposing Human Trafficking,” with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).[4]
Along with her husband, Mrs. Schuster founded a community-based network center, called PEACE (Partnerships in Education and Community Enrichment).[1] The PEACE Program provides mentoring, tutoring, and life skills training for inner-city children and their families through the use of computer technology. PEACE centers are located in Boston, Massachusetts and Atlanta, Georgia.[5]
For eight years, Mrs. Schuster was a member of President Clinton’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.[1]
She has served as a Trustee at Suffolk University, the Boston Public Library and the Wang Center for the Performing Arts, and is a member of the Board of Advocates for the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. Schuster has also led the Schuster Family Foundation’s efforts to establish a Transplant Center as well as a Surgical Suite named for them at Brigham and Women's Hospital.[6]
Schuster and her husband received the prestigious Heritage Society Award from the Brigham & Women’s Hospital, where she serves on the BWH Trust Board and the Women’s Health Forum. She sits on the corporation of Partners HealthCare and has been honored by Franciscan Children’s Hospital, for helping them bring their visibility and model to the national and international stage.[7]In 2011, Schuster was honored by the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston.[8]
Schuster is active in Democratic politics on both state and national level. She has served as Finance Chair to Senator John Kerry, as National Advisory Board member and the New England Chair for Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign and has been a past Chair of the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum. The Massachusetts State Democratic Party has honored her for her work on behalf of Democratic values.[1]
Mrs. Schuster is married to Gerald Schuster, the President of Continental Wingate Company Inc.[9] The two reside in Massachusetts and Palm Beach, Florida. They have four children and nine grandchildren.