Faye Wattleton

Faye Wattleton is an activist for the rights of women, a managing director with Alvarez & Marsal in New York and the former president of the Center for the Advancement of Women. The daughter of a female African-American fundamentalist minister, she grew up to become the youngest and longest-tenured woman to head Planned Parenthood since Margaret Sanger founded its predecessor in 1916. During a politically explosive and violent period of conflict over constitutional protections for women’s reproductive rights that culminated in the last quarter of the 20th Century, Wattleton played a critical role in defining the national debate over sex education, contraception and abortion.

Wattleton has amassed an extraordinary track record for leadership, both as CEO of national not-for-profit organizations and by serving on the boards of public and private corporations, academic institutions and high-impact philanthropic organizations. Lauded as a public spokesperson, her countless honors and awards include the Fries Prize for improving public health, Independent Sector’s John Gardner Award and the Jefferson Award for the Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen. Wattleton was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993 and is an active member on the board of trustees at Columbia University.

As of September 2016