Barbara F. Lee

Barbara F. Lee (born July 3, 1945) is an expert on women in politics and an American philanthropist. She founded and leads the Barbara Lee Family Foundation and the Barbara Lee Political Office, both located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She writes monthly about women in politics in the Huffington Post.

Biography

Barbara Fish Lee earned a master’s degree from the Boston University School of Social Work and her bachelor’s degree from Simmons College in Boston. She is a former school teacher and social worker.

Since 1999, her foundation has studied and published non-partisan research about women gubernatorial candidates. The following titles are part of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation’s Governors Guidebook Series: Keys to the Governor’s Office (1998),[1] Speaking with Authority (2001),[2] Cracking the Code (2002),[3] Positioning Women to Win (2006),[4] Leading with Authority (2008). Turning Point: The Changing Landscape for Women Candidates will be published in June, 2011.

Through the foundation, Barbara has also endowed The Barbara Lee Women in U.S. Politics Training Program and Lecture Series, a nonpartisan training program for women at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and The Barbara Lee Family Foundation Intern Fellowship Program, a political internship program at the Massachusetts State House for students of Simmons College, her alma mater.

Barbara also serves as Advisory Council Chair for Emerge Massachusetts, an intensive political training program for Democratic women and a program Barbara brought to the Commonwealth. She is also a member of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Barbara has helped elect every sitting Democratic woman governor and U.S. Senator by providing strategic advice, candidate training, direct support, and voter mobilization.[5] Barbara frequently hosts events to raise the profile of women elected officials and candidates, such as Women’s Senate, a biennial fundraiser that provides support for progressive women Senators. In 2008, she served as the Co-Chair of the Martha Coakley for Senate Campaign and in 2004, Barbara convened Revolutionary Women, which was held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

An advocate for Boston’s cultural life and advancing women’s representation in contemporary art, Barbara is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, serves on the Collection Committee at Harvard University’s Art Museums, the Visiting Committee at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and is a founding chair of the contemporary arts program at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. She has also funded public art such as the Boston Women’s Memorial and the Arts on the Point sculpture garden at UMass/Boston.

Other initiatives for women founded by Barbara include the White House Project, which she founded in 1998 with Laura Liswood and Marie Wilson; the Simmons Institute for Leadership and Change; the Family Policy Center at The Heller School at Brandeis University; and the Women’s Studies Program at Brandeis University.

Boston Magazine has included Barbara among “The 50 Most Powerful Women in Boston” and their list of “100 Women Who Run This Town.” Women’s eNews ranks her among the “21 Leaders for the 21st Century.”

Personal life

In 1996, she divorced private equity investor Thomas H. Lee.[6][7][8] They have two sons. In 2006, her net worth was estimated at $213 million.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Keys to the Governor’s Office. ISBN 0-9748913-1-2.
  2. ↑ Speaking with Authority. ISBN 0-9748913-2-0.
  3. ↑ Cracking the Code. ISBN 0-9748913-3-9.
  4. ↑ Positioning Women to Win. ISBN 0-9748913-4-7.
  5. ↑ According to her website, http://barbaralee.com/about#barbara
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Boston Magazine: "The 50 Wealthiest Bostonians" By Francis Storrs March 2006
  7. ↑ Boston Globe: "Lee divorce case goes to court" by Nathan Cobb July 17, 1995
  8. ↑ Boston.com: "1995: Allegation embroil financier - Woman stockbroker is accused of targeting Boston man for extortion " by Nathan Cobb November 24, 2009

External links