About Barbara Lee
Biographical Information
Barbara Lee, a leader in the effort to promote women's political leadership and powerful participation in our democracy, brings energy and enthusiasm to social justice activism and the support of the arts. Ms. Lee calls the arts her passion and politics her mission, and her accomplishments speak to that.
A former school teacher and social worker, Lee has committed herself to helping women gain and use political power as elected officials, activists, and voters. In her hometown of Boston, she is also known as a devoted advocate for the city's cultural life, and her leadership is helping the Boston arts community continue to make history. Boston Magazine includes her among “The 100 People Who Run This Town,” and she is listed as one of the 50 most powerful people in Boston (Boston Magazine, May 2008). She was also recognized for her grassroots activism by Women's eNews as one of their “21 Leaders for the 21st Century.”
The Barbara Lee Family Foundation, which Lee created and leads, is recognized nationally for investing in change. The foundation supports progressive initiatives in two program areas: women in politics and the contemporary arts. Over the past ten years, the Foundation has conceived, directed and provided funding for projects in these two areas.
Lee is the driving force behind the groundbreaking "Governors Guidebook" series that combines original research with a nationally-distributed practical guide for women candidates seeking executive office. The four-part Guidebook series includes: Keys to the Governor's Office - Unlock the Door: The Guide for Women Running for Governor (2001), Speaking with Authority: From Economic Security to National Security (2002). Cracking the Code: Political Intelligence for Women Running for Governor (2004) and Positioning Women to Win: New Strategies for Turning Gender Stereotypes into Competitive Advantages (2007).
Lee has leveraged her belief in empowering young women by endowing the Barbara Lee Political Intern Fellowship Program at Simmons College as part of her overall mission to promote women's full political participation. Her other major political endowment, the Barbara Lee Women in U.S. Politics Training Program and Lecture Series at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, serves to train women for electoral office in the United States.
Lee's investments in making contemporary arts more accessible to Boston residents and visitors are well-known and visible across the city. As a member of the Board of Trustees, Ms. Lee's substantial leadership pledge launched the capital campaign to build the new Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) – the city's first new art museum in nearly a century. She is a founding chair of the contemporary arts program at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and an avid supporter of public art, including the Boston Women's Memorial and the Arts on the Point sculpture garden at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.
A New Jersey native and a graduate of Simmons College, Lee was inspired by her late grandmother who was influenced by the women's suffragist movement and who spoke her mind and encouraged her granddaughter to pay attention to politics. Lee credits her time at Simmons College, an all women's school, for nurturing her interest in social change and activism.
Lee is the proud mother of two grown sons, Zach and Robbie, who have the self-confidence to value the leadership of powerful women.
