Kathy Calvin
Quick Facts
Biography
Kathryn Bushkin Calvin (born July 16, 1949) is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation. She joined the Foundation in 2003, following a diverse career in politics, journalism, public relations, and business. Kathy is one of The B Team B Leaders.
Professional background
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Calvin graduated from Purdue University in 1971. She took a job with Kiplinger's Education Service in Washington, D.C., where she also became involved with a political group called the Democratic Forum, through which she met U.S. Senator Gary Hart. Hart hired her as his press secretary in 1976; she worked for him until 1984 and served as press secretary for his first presidential campaign that year.
Mort Zuckerman subsequently hired her as director of editorial administration for U.S. News and World Report, where she worked for twelve years, during which time the magazine went from third to first among the "big three" American news magazines. She went on to lead U.S. media relations for the public relations company Hill & Knowlton.
In 1997 Calvin joined America Online as senior vice president and chief communications officer. In 2001, following the AOL–Time Warner merger, she became the president of the newly created AOL Time Warner Foundation. In that capacity, she also guided the company's other philanthropic activities and was the chief architect of the company's corporate responsibility initiatives. She reportedly earned millions of dollars from AOL stock and was described as one of the company's "most familiar" executives.
She joined the UN Foundation in 2003 and was promoted to CEO in 2009. She took on the additional role of president of the UN Foundation in February 2013 following the retirement of Tim Wirth.
Calvin has long taken an active role in philanthropic activities. She and her former husband Art Bushkin founded the Stargazer Foundation in 1999 to provide technology support to nonprofit organizations. She currently serves on the boards of Internews and the Newseum.
Recognition
For her work with the UN Foundation, Calvin was recognized in 2011 by Newsweek magazine as one of "150 Women Who Shake the World."
Personal
A resident of the Washington, DC area, Calvin has two adopted children and remarried in 2006. She and her husband John Calvin are avid motorcyclists.