Patricia A. Stryker (born 1956/1957) is an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

businessperson, philanthropist, and political activist. Stryker is the granddaughter of

Homer Stryker Homer Hartman Stryker MD (November 4, 1894May 5, 1980) was an American orthopedic surgeon, inventor, businessman, and the founder of Stryker Corporation. His inventions contributed to orthopedic care, patient comfort, and medical staff convenien ...

, founder of

Stryker Corporation Stryker Corporation is an American multinational medical technologies corporation based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Stryker's products include implants used in joint replacement and trauma surgeries; surgical equipment and surgical navigation system ...

, a

medical technology Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of liv ...

company. Since the early 2000s, she has become more active in civic life. In 2001, she founded the Bohemian Foundation, which focuses on music, arts and the community through grantmaking, programs, and events. She donated $3 million to defeat a 2002 ballot initiative to limit

bilingual education In bilingual education, students are taught in two (or more) languages. It is distinct from learning a second language as a subject because both languages are used for instruction in different content areas like math, science, and history. The t ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. In 2004, she gave $20 million to

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

, mostly to benefit its football team. Stryker bought Sonoma's Sommer Vineyards in 1999, which she rebuilt, replanted, and rechristened as Stryker Sonoma. It covers 32 acres (129,000 m²) in

Alexander Valley The Alexander Valley (Wappo: Unutsawaholmanoma, "Toyon Bush Berry Place") is a Californian American Viticultural Area (AVA) just north of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. It is home to many wineries and vineyards, as well as the city of Cloverdale. ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, producer of classic vinifera varieties

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

and

Zinfandel Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kaštel ...

. In May 2016, she sold the winery to focus on her foundation work. As of 2021, Stryker ranks #340 on the Forbes Women 400.

Early life

Stryker dropped out from the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

Bohemian Foundation

Stryker has funded the Bohemian Foundation which, in addition to national and international programs, funds music and other initiatives in

Larimer County, Colorado Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins. The county was named for William Larimer, Jr., the founder of Denver. ...

, the

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359 ...

area, notably the annual Bohemian Nights at New West Fest. She has also donated a substantial amount to

, which is located in Fort Collins.

Political donations

In 2006, Stryker gave $500,000 to the

Coalition for Progress Formed in 2006, the Coalition for Progress was an independent statewide American non-profit, progressive or liberal 527 political action committee in Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regi ...

, a political action committee that donated heavily to support Democratic party candidates in Michigan elections. In 2008, Stryker gave $87,500 to the Presidential Inaugural Committee for President-Elect Barack Obama. Stryker donated $3 million to defeat a 2002 ballot initiative regarding

. Stryker donated $1.5 million to

Priorities USA Action Priorities USA Action is a progressive political action committee and is the largest Democratic Party super PAC. Founded in 2011, it supported Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. It was the primary super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton' ...

, a Super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

in 2016. She was among the largest donors in the 2016 election.

Political allies

Stryker,

Jared Polis Jared Schutz Polis (; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 20 ...

Tim Gill Tim Gill (born October 18, 1953) is an American computer software programmer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and LGBTQ rights activist. He was among the first openly gay people to be on the Forbes 400 list of America's richest people. He is the fo ...

, and

Rutt Bridges Rutt Bridges is an American geophysicist and politician from Colorado and a member of the Democratic Party. Business success Bridges began his career with Chevron Corporation, then founded Advance Geophysical in 1980. He achieved success with ...

are known in Colorado political circles as "The Four Horsemen" (aka "Gang of Four" or "The Four Millionaires") who have donated to liberal causes, fought against gerrymandering, and promoted progressive initiatives. Significant political contributions from the four to favored Democratic candidates has played a role in electing a Democratic majority in Colorado's house and senate. Stryker has been frequently represented at political meetings by Al Yates, former president of Colorado State University.

Democracy Alliance

According to

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

reporter Matt Bai, Stryker attended the April 2005 meeting of the

Democracy Alliance The Democracy Alliance is a network of progressive donors who coordinate their political donations to groups that the Alliance has endorsed. It has been described by ''Politico'' as "the country's most powerful liberal donor club". Members of th ...

near Scottsdale, Arizona. Stryker along with

George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...

and other Democracy Alliance members

Gail Furman Gail Furman was an American psychologist and political donor. Furman was President of the Furman Foundation, Inc. The foundation is a major donor to the Tides Center and the Media Matters for America, a left-leaning center for journalism founded b ...

; Paul Rudd (co-founder of Adaptive Analytics);

John R. Hunting John R. Hunting (born November 7, 1931) is a philanthropist who is the son of David D. Hunting, founder of Steelcase, an office furniture manufacture based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2006 he was noted as a major contributor to liberal or progr ...

;

Nicholas Hanauer Nicolas Joseph Hanauer (born September 2, 1959) is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Business career Hanauer was born to a secular Jewish family in New York City and raised in Bellevue, Washington. His brother is Adrian Hanauer, ...

; ex-Clinton administration official Rob Stein;

Drummond Pike Drummond MacGavin Pike (born October 11, 1948) is an American philanthropist and Progressivism in the United States, progressive political activist. He founded the Tides Foundation in 1976 and served as its president until 2010. He currently serve ...

; real estate developer Robert Bowditch;

Pioneer Hybrid International Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. is a U.S.-based producer of seeds for agriculture. They are a major producer of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), including genetically modified crops with insect and herbicide resistance. As of 2019, Pi ...

-heir and congressional candidate Scott Wallace;

Susie Tompkins Buell Susie Tompkins Buell (née Russell; born 1943) is an American entrepreneur, businesswoman and a donor to progressive causes. Tompkins Buell co-founded the Esprit clothing and The North Face brand with her first husband, Doug Tompkins whom she met ...

; real estate developer Albert Dwoskin; and

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

-heir Rob McKay, funded the

Secretary of State Project Formed in the fall of 2006 by Becky Bond, Michael Kieschnick and James Rucker, ...

, an American non-profit organisation, 527 political action committee focused on electing reform-minded progressive Secretaries of State in battleground states, who typically oversee the election process. The Alliance was critical in getting California Secretary of State

Debra Bowen Debra Lynn Bowen (born October 27, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as the Secretary of State of California from 2007 to 2015. Previously, she was a member of the California State Legislature from 1992 to 2006. In March 200 ...

and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie re-elected.

Personal life

Stryker is divorced, with three children, and lives in

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, Colorado, US.

References

External links

Bohemian Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stryker, Pat 1950s births Living people American billionaires Female billionaires American philanthropists American activists Stryker family