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| Visions & Revisions |
Avant Vanguard
05/01/2007
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How do you measure the museum’s success?
I measure it by standing in the
space. I had the opportunity to walk through the museum with the mayor, Thomas
Menino, the museum director, Jill Medvedow, and the head of the Boston
redevelopment authority. I knew it was a success when we stood in the Founders’
Gallery, which is a long, narrow glass room outside the galleries, facing the
water. The mayor stood there with us. We finished the tour and this was the last
stop and his staff couldn’t drag him away. The museum is an amazing aesthetic
experience. It draws you in and up through all the different levels, and it is
both exhilarating and quieting at the same time.
You say your passion is the arts but your mission is
politics.
I have always been interested in
women’s empowerment issues. In the mid-1990s, I started looking at using
philanthropy to make change. I went to different women’s organizations to look
at the best ways to help empower women and one person said, "Why not run several
women for president?" So Laura Niswood and I cofounded a nonpartisan project,
the White House Project. In 1998, I started to look at what it would take to
elect more women. In November of that year, there were 10 women who ran for
governor; three were incumbents, and the women who were not incumbents lost. We
began looking at the reasons they lost, and I started my own foundation as an
umbrella for all of my charitable giving. I hired both Democratic and Republican
pollsters to help me formulate a study to look at the obstacles and to come up
with strategies to overcome them.
You grew up in a middle-class household. Does coming into wealth
as an adult change the kinds of causes you support?
No, I don’t think so. I think that my wealth allows me to pursue my passions on a larger scale.
If you give even $5, you are a philanthropist. Most people are generous to
either their churches or educational affiliations or hospitals, and those are
all organizations that need to be supported.
With Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House and Hillary Clinton
running for president, do women candidates still need special
help?
Women candidates think they do. Have you seen the guidebooks I produce? You can use them as quick
reference guides. Another project I’ve been involved with is Women’s Voices,
Women Vote. After the 2000 election, the head of that organization, Page
Gardner, realized that more than 22 million eligible women did not vote.
You weren’t raised as a feminist activist. What led you to this
point?
My background as a woman who had
gone to women’s colleges was very important. One of the jobs I had was at the
Wellesley Centers for Women where they were focusing on new ways of looking at
women and psychology. In politics, too, women have different perspectives than
men and bring different things to the table.
Your political fundraisers are famous for good turnouts and big
names. Yet you could probably contribute personally and skip the
party.
The political gatherings I’ve
organized have been inspiring to me. When I started, I realized how thrilling it
was to be in a room with women senators and to see their different styles,
personalities and legislative agendas. I wanted more women to be able to see
that, rather than only wealthy women. That’s why I started organizing these
large events. We bring in college students with $25 tickets and then we have
hundreds of women with $100 tickets.
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