Adele Simmons

Adele Simmons is Vice Chair of Chicago Metropolis 2020, a civic action group devoted to the strengthening of the civic and economic life of the Chicago Region. She is currently developing a climate action plan for Chicago, and has completed policy reports on climate and the Midwest. She is president of the Global Philanthropy Partnership which works to strengthen the infrastructure supporting Global giving and social investing, and has overseen the preparation of reports on Blended Value Investing for the World Economic Forum. She is a member of the board of NGOs that focus on the environment and climate. She is a member of the Board of Marsh and McLennan. Ms. Simmons served as president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, one of the nation's largest philanthropic foundations for ten years from 1989 through 1999. Prior to joining the MacArthur Foundation, Ms. Simmons was president of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she was instrumental in developing innovative programs in population and health and in establishing a five-college collaborative program in peace and international security. Previously she was Dean of Student Affairs and Assistant Professor of History at Princeton University. A. Ms. Simmons has served as a member of President Carter's Commission on World Hunger and a member of President Bush's Commission on Environmental Quality. She received her BA from Radcliffe College and earned a D.Phil at Oxford University.