| Silda Wall Spitzer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Silda Alice Wall December 10, 1957 Chapel Hill, North Carolina[1] |
| Residence | Manhattan, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | B.A., J.D. |
| Alma mater | Meredith College Harvard Law School |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
| Spouse | Peter Stamos (m. 1982–1982) Eliot Spitzer (m. 1987–present) |
| Children | 3 |
Silda Alice Wall Spitzer[2] (born December 10, 1957) is the founder and chair of the board of Children for Children, a not-for-profit organization that fosters community involvement and social responsibility in young people. As the wife of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, she was the First Lady of New York State from January 2007 until March 2008.
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Wall grew up in Concord, North Carolina.[3] Her father, Robert, was a hospital administrator and her mother, Trilby, was a homemaker. She was raised as a Southern Baptist.[4][5] Wall graduated in 1980 with a B.A., summa cum laude, from Meredith College. She received a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1984.
She married Eliot Spitzer on October 17, 1987[6] and together they have three daughters. Spitzer stated that when her husband decided to pursue his political career, she turned her focus more towards the raising of their children, which also allowed her to focus on her work with non-profit organizations.
On March 10, 2008, it was reported that Gov. Spitzer had been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute on February 13, 2008, at a Washington, D.C., hotel. Governor Spitzer held a press conference where he apologized for a "private matter" that violated obligations to his family but did not go into any detail regarding the charges.[7] Spitzer resigned on March 17.
Silda Wall Spitzer began her legal career with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, specializing in mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance. She then joined The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. as a member of its International Legal Group. She is a founding co-chair of Project Cicero, the annual New York City book drive building classroom libraries in under-resourced schools and serves as trustee for her children's school. She served on the NY Blue Ribbon Commission on Youth Leadership as well as the board of the Children's Museum of Manhattan from 1995 until January 1999, where she was a member of its executive committee and chaired its program committee. In 1996, she co-founded Children for Children, a not-for-profit organization promoting community involvement and civic engagement in youths.
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Libby Pataki |
First Lady of New York 2007 –2008 |
Succeeded by Michelle Paige Paterson |
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