Laurene Powell
Encyclopedia
Laurene Powell Jobs is co-founder and President of the Board of College Track and widow of Steve Jobs
, co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc.
degree from the University of Pennsylvania
and a BSc
degree in Economics (BSE) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
in 1985. She received her MBA
degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business
in 1991.
She married Steve Jobs
on March 18, 1991, in a ceremony at the Ahwahnee Hotel
in Yosemite National Park
. Presiding over the wedding was Kobun Chino Otogawa, a Zen Buddhist monk. Their son, Reed, was born September 1991, followed by daughters Erin in August 1995 and Eve in 1998. The family lives in Palo Alto, California
.
Powell Jobs co-founded Terravera, a natural foods company that sells to retailers throughout Northern California
. She also served on the board of directors
of Achieva, which made online tools to help students study and to be more effective at taking tests. Before business school, Jobs worked for Merrill Lynch Asset Management and spent three years at Goldman Sachs
as a fixed-income trading strategist.
; Global Fund for Women
; KQED
(PBS); EdVoice
; New America Foundation
; Stanford Schools Corporation; New Schools Venture Fund. She also sits on the advisory board of Stanford Graduate School of Business
.
In 1997, Powell Jobs and Carlos Watson co-founded College Track, a nonprofit organization in East Palo Alto with a mission of improving high school
graduation, college enrollment, and college graduation rates for "under-resourced" communities--students of color and from low-income families. "Everybody graduates from high school and continues with their education," Powell Jobs has said in interviews. Of College Track's high school graduates, 90 percent have gone to four-year colleges and 70 percent have finished college within six years, which is 46 percentage points higher than the national average for first-generation students. College Track has grown slowly. It currently operates in East Palo Alto, San Francisco, Oakland
, and New Orleans. "We have a wait list of five cities where we’d like to open up centers," Powell Jobs has said. "We want to keep our standards high, though, and are reluctant to grow through franchising or through dissemination of our curriculum and training."
Powell Jobs was appointed by President Barack Obama
in December 2010 to be a Member of the White House Council for Community Solutions, which is charged with advising the President on the best ways to help communities across America solve important social challenges around education and job creation. The White House Council is Chaired by former Gates Foundation CEO Patty Stonesifer
and also includes singer Jon Bon Jovi
, EBay CEO John Donahoe
and President of the Rockefeller Foundation
Judith Rodin
.
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
, co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc.
Biography
Powell Jobs received a BABachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and a BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in Economics (BSE) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
in 1985. She received her MBA
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business
Stanford Graduate School of Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business is one of the professional schools of Stanford University, in Stanford, California and is broadly regarded as one of the best business schools in the world.The Stanford GSB offers a general management Master of Business Administration degree, the Sloan...
in 1991.
She married Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
on March 18, 1991, in a ceremony at the Ahwahnee Hotel
Ahwahnee Hotel
The Ahwahnee Hotel is a destination hotel in Yosemite National Park, California, on the floor of Yosemite Valley, constructed from stone, concrete, wood and glass, which opened in 1927...
in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
. Presiding over the wedding was Kobun Chino Otogawa, a Zen Buddhist monk. Their son, Reed, was born September 1991, followed by daughters Erin in August 1995 and Eve in 1998. The family lives in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
.
Powell Jobs co-founded Terravera, a natural foods company that sells to retailers throughout Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
. She also served on the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of Achieva, which made online tools to help students study and to be more effective at taking tests. Before business school, Jobs worked for Merrill Lynch Asset Management and spent three years at Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
as a fixed-income trading strategist.
Philanthropy
Powell Jobs turned her attention to non-profit entrepreneurship, focusing on education, women’s human rights, and the arts. As of 2011, she sits on the boards of directors of Teach for AmericaTeach For America
Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
; Global Fund for Women
Global Fund for Women
The Global Fund for Women is the largest non-profit foundation in the world funding women's human rights. It was founded in 1987 by New Zealander Anne Firth Murray, and co-founded by Frances Kissling and Laura Lederer to fund women's initiatives around the world...
; KQED
Northern California Public Broadcasting
Northern California Public Broadcasting was formed on May 1, 2006 when the boards of KQED, Inc., and the KTEH Foundation agreed to merge, forming the "most watched public television broadcaster and the second most listened-to public radio broadcaster in the country."NCPB operates:*KQED Public...
(PBS); EdVoice
EdVoice
EdVoice is an educational non-profit organization dedicated to improving public schools in California.According to its , the EdVoice network connects over 37,000 teachers, parents, and community leaders with their state elected officials on important educational issues.-Notable people:* Ted...
; New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
; Stanford Schools Corporation; New Schools Venture Fund. She also sits on the advisory board of Stanford Graduate School of Business
Stanford Graduate School of Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business is one of the professional schools of Stanford University, in Stanford, California and is broadly regarded as one of the best business schools in the world.The Stanford GSB offers a general management Master of Business Administration degree, the Sloan...
.
In 1997, Powell Jobs and Carlos Watson co-founded College Track, a nonprofit organization in East Palo Alto with a mission of improving high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
graduation, college enrollment, and college graduation rates for "under-resourced" communities--students of color and from low-income families. "Everybody graduates from high school and continues with their education," Powell Jobs has said in interviews. Of College Track's high school graduates, 90 percent have gone to four-year colleges and 70 percent have finished college within six years, which is 46 percentage points higher than the national average for first-generation students. College Track has grown slowly. It currently operates in East Palo Alto, San Francisco, Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, and New Orleans. "We have a wait list of five cities where we’d like to open up centers," Powell Jobs has said. "We want to keep our standards high, though, and are reluctant to grow through franchising or through dissemination of our curriculum and training."
Powell Jobs was appointed by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in December 2010 to be a Member of the White House Council for Community Solutions, which is charged with advising the President on the best ways to help communities across America solve important social challenges around education and job creation. The White House Council is Chaired by former Gates Foundation CEO Patty Stonesifer
Patty Stonesifer
Patty Stonesifer is the former Co-chair and chief executive officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. On February 7, 2008, she announced that she would step aside from her role at the end of the year. In May 2008, Jeff Raikes, a Microsoft executive, was tapped as her replacement...
and also includes singer Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
, EBay CEO John Donahoe
John Donahoe
John Donahoe is an American businessman and the President and CEO of eBay Inc. since March 31, 2008, succeeding Meg Whitman, who stepped down from the role after 10 years, and who continues to serve on the company's Board of Directors....
and President of the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
Judith Rodin
Judith Rodin
Judith Rodin was the 7th president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2004 and the first permanent female president of an Ivy League university. She is currently the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, a position she has held since 2005. A University of Pennsylvania alumna, she...
.