Benefit Luncheon on Monday, June 28, 2010 at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel
CHICAGO – The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) will honor Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, Vice President of Global Corporate Citizenship for The Boeing Company, at a benefit luncheon at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel (17 E. Monroe, St.) on Monday, June 28, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. Doors open at 11:30 a.m.
The Honorable Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois, The Honorable Richard J. Durbin, U.S. Senator from Illinois, and The Honorable Richard M. Daley, Mayor of Chicago, are the Honorary Chairs for this event. Robert D. Blackwell, Sr. of Blackwell Consulting and James M. Newcomb of The Boeing Company are the event co-chairs. Host Committee members include Christie Hefner, Bettylu Saltzman, Lester N. Coney, Julia Stasch, Sunny Fischer, Arthur M. Sussman, and Amina J. Dickerson.
Individual reservations are $175 each. For tickets and sponsorship opportunities, including the purchase of tables, please call Kristina A. Valaitis at 312.422.5580 or visit www.prairie.org/PHA. All proceeds from the luncheon will support the Illinois Humanities Council.
At the luncheon, Ms. Roosevelt will receive the Council’s 2010 Public Humanities Award. Given annually by the IHC, this award recognizes individuals and organizations for their contributions to public understanding of the role the humanities play in transforming lives and strengthening communities.
“In her career, Anne has made contributions in academe, philanthropy, government, business, and to cultural and educational institutions. We are honoring Anne for her deep and lifelong commitment to the importance of the humanities in a healthy democracy and to a vibrant community life—in neighborhood, nation, and the world,” said Illinois Humanities Council Executive Director Kristina A. Valaitis.
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (known as Anne) leads The Boeing Company’s Global Corporate Citizenship function, providing philosophical and strategic direction to the company’s integration of citizenship goals. She has had a long career of public service in the humanities and beyond. She taught museum studies at Western Kentucky University as a member of The Kentucky Museum staff for nearly eight years. In 1983, she moved to Chicago and was later named the first director of the Center for Scandinavian Studies at North Park College in Chicago.
She has had a lifelong interest in politics, working for the Democratic National Committee, the late U.S. Senator Paul Simon, and Mayor Richard M. Daley. In 1991, she became the first executive director of the Museums in the Park, an organization representing the political interest of the nine museums located on Chicago Park District land.
From 1996 through 1998, she was director of the Mayor’s Office of Program Development for the City of Chicago. From January 1998 to 2001, Roosevelt served as executive director of the Brain Research Foundation, an affiliate of The University of Chicago. When The Boeing Company relocated to Chicago, Roosevelt became director of Community and Education Relations for Boeing’s Corporate Offices and now serves as vice president of Global Corporate Citizenship.
Roosevelt is a trustee of Roosevelt University, where she also chairs their advisory committee for the Center for New Deal Studies. She is also a trustee of Spelman College, chairing the Student Affairs Committee; is a member of the advisory boards of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies; is a member of the Chicago Sister Cities Casablanca Committee and the Foundation for the National Archives board; and chairs the Roosevelt Institute in New York City.
Born in Pasadena, Calif., Roosevelt holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art and Art History from Stanford University and a Master of Science degree in Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“Anne has been one of Chicago’s most vigorous and effective advocates for a more vital role for the humanities in the pubic sphere. The cultural life of our city and state is richer because of her work for so many of our most important museums, corporations, and academic and philanthropic institutions,” said Alton B. Harris, Illinois Humanities Council Board Chair.
The Illinois Humanities Council is dedicated to bringing people together to reflect, think critically, and actively exchange ideas. For more than 35 years, the IHC has enriched lives, strengthened communities, and encouraged civic participation through film, performance, exhibitions, lectures, seminars, and public discussions. We are a catalyst for unique educational experiences for Illinoisans young and old, rural and urban, in school or not. Organized in 1973 as a state affiliate of the National Endowment of the Humanities, the IHC is now a private nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization supported by federal, state, and private funds.
The IHC’s Chairman is Alton B. Harris, partner in Ungaretti & Harris Law Firm. Other Board officers include: Deborah Epstein, Anita Nagler, and Michael C. Dorf.
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