Hilary Pennington is an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

and the Executive Vice President of

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

, a position she has held since January 2018. Pennington is celebrated for leading the launch of the five-year, $5 billion BUILD initiative which invested in the sustainability and capacity of 300 social justice organizations around the world. Previously, she was vice president for Ford foundation’s programming on Education, Creativity, and Free Expression. Before joining Ford Foundation, she was the Director of Education, post secondary success and special initiatives at the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was l ...

and led the foundation's effort to double by 2025 the number of low-income Americans who obtain a post secondary credential by age 26.

Early life and education

The oldest of 3 children, Pennington was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. In her interviews with several media sources, she has mentioned that witnessing the inequality of apartheid in her father's home country of South Africa helped shape her lifelong passion for social justice. Her later years were spent in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, with her family regularly spending summers in

Door County, Wisconsin Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,066. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. The dangero ...

. Pennington graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

’s School of Management and holds a graduate degree in social anthropology from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. She also obtained a master’s degree in theological studies from

Episcopal Divinity School The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) is a theological school in New York City that trains students for service with the Episcopal Church. It is affiliated with the Union Theological Seminary. Students who enroll in the EDS at Union Anglican st ...

at Union Theological Seminary.

The Ford Foundation

In 2018, Pennington was appointed as the executive vice president of Ford Foundation. As Executive Vice President, Pennington oversees all programs, in the U.S. and globally, for the Ford Foundation, a social justice philanthropy with a $13 billion endowment and annual grantmaking of $600 million. Pennington joined the Ford Foundation in 2013 as a program vice president. During her time as program vice president, she led the foundation's work on arts and culture, documentary film making, journalism, and youth leadership. Pennington was also responsible for leading the foundation's work in Africa and the Middle East.

Other professional work

In addition to a background in education and social justice in the non profit sector, Pennington was a former adviser to Presidents

George H.W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, and, along with Arthur White, co-founde
Jobs for the Future
a research, consulting, and policy-development organization, which as of 2020 operates in 46 states.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennington, Hilary Living people American women philanthropists South African emigrants to the United States American philanthropists United States presidential advisors Year of birth missing (living people) Yale University alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Episcopal Divinity School alumni Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation people