Wendy Abrams

Last updated
Wendy Abrams
Born1965 (age 59–60)
Nationality American
OccupationEnvironmentalist
SpouseJim Abrams

Wendy Abrams (born 1965) is an American environmentalist. She is the founder of the non-profit organizations Cool Globes and the Eleven Eleven Foundation. In 2010 she was designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Abrams grew up Wendy Mills [2] in Highland Park. [3] She received a bachelor's degree from Brown University (1987) [4] and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. [5]

Career

In 2006, Wendy Abrams founded Cool Globes, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of climate change through public art and education. [6] [7] [8]  The first exhibit, "Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet" premiered in Chicago in 2007 and since then the exhibition has been in 24 cities and translated into nine languages- from Arabic to Spanish. [6] [7] [9] [8]

Abrams is on the board of Climate Reality Project and serves on the Board of Trustees for Northwestern University. [10] [11] Abrams is a 2019 Ripple of Hope laureate, along with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , and J. K. Rowling, among others. [12] [13]

In 2011, she helped establish The Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School. [14] It was the first step of the Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic expansion which intends to guarantee clinical experience to all law students. [15]

Philanthropy

Abrams is co-founder and CEO of the private foundation, Eleven Eleven Foundation. Priorities for the organization include sustainability, education, medical research and building community.

In 2020, Abrams helped support the creation of the California Climate Action Corps , who recently led a campaign to plant 90,000 trees in honor of Dr. Jane Goodall’s 90th birthday. [16] [17]

In 2024, Eleven Eleven Foundation launched The Abrams Research Center on Neurogenomics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, with a mission to drive scientific innovations and develop effective interventions for Alzheimer’s disease. [18]

Abrams created Invisible Words, which was recently on display at Saatchi Gallery in London as part of the Reframed exhibit. [19] [20] [21]

Eleven Eleven announced the creation of the Abrams Climate Academy an innovative fellowship at Kellogg designed to address the urgent challenges of the climate crisis. [22]

Politics

Abrams expressed a hope that President Obama would initiate divestment from oil. [23] Abrams was a substantive critic of the Keystone Pipeline and urged voters to oppose it, claiming that it would impact American energy independence. [24] Abrams is a major donor to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel. [25]

Personal life

She is married to Jim Abrams; [26] they have four children. [3] They live in Highland Park, Illinois. [27] [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwestern University</span> University in Evanston, Illinois, US

Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest chartered university in Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daryl Hannah</span> American actress and environmental activist (born 1960)

Daryl Hannah is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film The Fury (1978). She has starred in various films across the years, including as Pris Stratton in Ridley Scott's science fiction thriller Blade Runner (1982) and as Cathy Featherstone in Randal Kleiser's romantic comedy Summer Lovers (1982), as the mermaid Madison in Ron Howard's fantasy-romantic comedy Splash (1984), Roxanne Kowalski in the romantic comedy Roxanne (1987), Darien Taylor in Oliver Stone's drama Wall Street (1987), and Annelle Dupuy Desoto in the comedy-drama Steel Magnolias (1989). In 2005, Hannah won a Saturn Award for her role as one-eyed assassin Elle Driver in Quentin Tarantino's martial arts action film Kill Bill: Vol. 2. In 2015, she appeared in the Netflix series Sense8 as Angelica Turing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barack Obama</span> President of the United States from 2009 to 2017

Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African-American president in U.S. history. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oceanic climate</span> Climate classification

An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as Cfb, typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool to warm summers and cool to mild winters, with a relatively narrow annual temperature range and few extremes of temperature. Oceanic climates can be found in both hemispheres generally between 40 and 60 degrees latitude, with subpolar versions extending to 70 degrees latitude in some coastal areas. Other varieties of climates usually classified together with these include subtropical highland climates, represented as Cwb or Cfb, and subpolar oceanic or cold subtropical highland climates, represented as Cfc or Cwc. Subtropical highland climates occur in some mountainous parts of the subtropics or tropics, some of which have monsoon influence, while their cold variants and subpolar oceanic climates occur near polar or tundra regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TC Energy</span> Canadian energy company

TC Energy Corporation is a major North American energy company, based in the TC Energy Tower building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The company operates three core businesses: Natural Gas Pipelines, Liquids Pipelines and Energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Obama</span> First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States.

Lynn Sweet is an American journalist and in October 2013, became the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. She has been with the Sun-Times, for over four decades, joining in 1976. Sweet is also a columnist for The Hill and The Huffington Post. She has appeared on CNN and MSNBC as a political analyst and has been a frequent guest on C-SPAN and Charlie Rose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Council on Global Affairs</span> Foreign affairs think tank in Chicago, Illinois, USA

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is an American international affairs think tank located in Chicago, Illinois, with a stated mission of "increasing knowledge and engagement in global affairs and empowering more people to help shape our global future."

Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet is a public art project dedicated to increasing awareness of global warming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keystone Pipeline</span> Oil pipeline in North America

The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and, as of March 2020, the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta to refineries in Illinois and Texas, and also to oil tank farms and an oil pipeline distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humid subtropical climate</span> Transitional climatic zone

A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical-temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents, generally between latitudes 25° and 40° and are located poleward from adjacent tropical climates, and equatorward from either humid continental or oceanic climates. It is also known as warm temperate climate in some climate classifications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Steyer</span> American businessman (born 1957)

Thomas Fahr Steyer is an American climate investor, businessman, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, and liberal activist. Steyer is the founder and former co-senior-managing-partner of Farallon Capital, and the co-founder of OneCalifornia Bank, which became Beneficial State Bank, an Oakland-based community development bank. Farallon Capital manages $20 billion in capital for institutions and high-net-worth individuals. The firm's institutional investors include college endowments and foundations. Steyer served on the board of trustees at Stanford University from 2007 to 2017. He was formerly a partner and member of the executive committee at Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco–based private equity firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Schneider</span> American politician (born 1961)

Bradley Scott Schneider is an American businessman and politician who is the U.S. representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district since 2017 and from 2013 to 2015. The district includes many of Chicago's northern suburbs in the Chicago metropolitan area. Its most populous city is Waukegan, an industrial suburb on Lake Michigan.

Rayid Ghani is a Distinguished Career Professor in the Machine Learning Department and the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. Previously, he was the director of the Center for Data Science and Public Policy, research associate professor in the department of computer science, and a senior fellow at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. He was also the co-founder of Edgeflip, an analytics startup that grew out of the Obama 2012 Campaign, focused on social media products for non-profits, advocacy groups, and charities. Recently, it was announced that he will be leaving the University of Chicago and joining Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science and Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy.

<i>Years of Living Dangerously</i> American documentary television series

Years of Living Dangerously is an American documentary television series, spread over two seasons, focusing on climate change. The first season, consisting of nine episodes, was broadcast on Showtime in 2014. The second season, consisting of eight episodes, was broadcast on the National Geographic Channel in 2016. Executive producers included James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and series creators Joel Bach and David Gelber. Joseph Romm and Heidi Cullen were the chief science advisors. The series won an Emmy Award as Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barack Obama Presidential Center</span> Planned library in Chicago, Illinois

The Barack Obama Presidential Center is a planned museum, library, and education project in Chicago to commemorate the presidency of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. The center will also include community and conference facilities and will house the nonprofit Obama Foundation. Construction on the 19.3 acre campus began in 2021, the tower topped out in mid-2024, and the center is expected to open in the first half of 2026.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Les Turner ALS Foundation</span>

The Les Turner ALS Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Chicago that provides amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient services; supports events, education and awareness about ALS; and funds ALS research. Since it was founded, it has raised over $64 million.

The Barack Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in 2014. It oversees the creation of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, runs the My Brother's Keeper Alliance, and operates a scholarship program through the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy.

References

  1. ↑ "Honorees: 2010 National Women's History Month". Women's History Month. National Women's History Project. 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  2. ↑ "THE WATCHDOGS: Daley's Michael Reese Hospital deal still costing taxpayers millions". chicago.suntimes.com. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 "The Wendy City". chicagomag.com. June 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "President's Leadership Council - Office of the President - Brown University". brown.edu. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Wendy Abrams | HuffPost". www.huffpost.com. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  6. 1 2 Pickett, Debra. "The Wendy City". Chicago magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  7. 1 2 McQuaid, Cate (15 August 2013). "'Cool Globes' presents real world ideas - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  8. 1 2 "'Cool Globes' eco-spheres bring artful climate change awareness to Battery Park". 7 October 2015. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  9. ↑ "Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet". Clean Air Carolina. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  10. ↑ "Who we are". The Climate Reality Project. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Northwestern names new trustees". Northwestern Now. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  12. ↑ "Our 2019 Ripple of Hope Awards Gala is December 12!". Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  13. ↑ Podder, Api (2019-08-13). "U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Writer J.K. Rowling, Environmental Activist Wendy Abrams, and Livongo Health Executive Chairman Glen Tullman to Receive 2019 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award". My Social Good News. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  14. ↑ "Wendy Abrams" . Retrieved 2015-05-27.
  15. ↑ "Law School launches new environmental law clinic | UChicago News". news.uchicago.edu. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 2015-05-27.
  16. ↑ "With Philanthropic Dollars, Five States Will Recruit Young Adults to Fight Climate Change" . Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  17. ↑ "In Honor of Dr. Jane Goodall's 90th Birthday Year, California Commits to Planting 90,000 Trees and Native Plants" . Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  18. ↑ "Northwestern Medicine Announces New Center to Foster Breakthroughs in AI and Neurogenomics" . Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  19. ↑ "MLK library to exhibit homeless signs as D.C. struggles with encampments". Washington Times. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  20. ↑ "Look at the homeless through a different lens". The Times. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  21. ↑ "Homelessness: Reframed". Saatchi Gallery. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  22. ↑ "Announcing the Abrams Climate Academy". Northwestern. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  23. ↑ Wendy Abrams (24 October 2011). "Keystone Is Obama's Energy Test - Huffington Post". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  24. ↑ Wendy Abrams (2 April 2013). "Why Keystone Matters - Huffington Post". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  25. ↑ "Mills family". Forbes . Retrieved 2015-05-27.
  26. ↑ "From One Highland Park Estate to Another". chicagomag.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  27. ↑ "Suburban mansion sells for nearly $11 million". Chicago Tribune. September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  28. ↑ "Friends of the Earth: Three Eco-Conscious Families". familycircle.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Wendy Abrams at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.