Anne Firth Murray

Founding President of The Global Fund for Women (1987-1996)

The Global Fund for Women was born out of a dinner party with co-founders Laura Lederer and Frances Kissling, when the discussion turned to the lack of funding for women’s issues

While women make up 51% of the world’s population, very little development money goes to fund programs developed by women for women. First as a volunteer, then as the first President of the Global Fund, Anne led the organization to become the only foundation in the world serving to improve the lives of women, their families, and their communities internationally.

Anne, a New Zealander, was educated at the University of California and New York University in economics, political science, and public administration, with a focus on international health policy and women's reproductive health. She has worked at the United Nations as a writer, taught in Hong Kong and Singapore, and spent several years as an editor with Oxford, Stanford, and Yale University presses. Her consuming mission to help the women of the world gain control over their lives was set in motion by her international upbringing as a diplomat’s daughter, her own experience as a woman and 10 years guiding philanthropy for the Hewlett Foundation from 1978 to the end of 1987.

For the past twenty-five years, she has worked in the field of philanthropy, serving as a consultant to many foundations. Prior to founding the Global Fund she directed the environment and international population programs of the Hewlett Foundation in California. Currently, she is a scholar/activist at the Union Institute and a Consulting Professor in Human Biology at Stanford University.

Honored by the Global Fund for Women