Adele Simmons is President of Global Philanthropy Partnership, which promotes global giving and strengthens the infrastructure that assists global donors. GPP is focusing on climate change, global poverty, and security. Adele is a member of the Board of the Synergos Institute and chairs the Synergos Program and Planning Committee. She co-chaired the Task Force that developed a Climate Action Plan for the City of Chicago and is a member of the Green Ribbon Committee that oversees its implementation. She helped found the Urban Sustainability Directors Network that links 120 cities in the U.S. and Canada. Ms. Simmons is currently on the board of the Field Museum, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Union of Concerned Scientists, The Weil Foundation, Ceres, and The Synergos Institute. She is also on the Advisory Board of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. She has served on a number of Commissions, including: President Bush’s Commission on Sustainable Development, the Commission on Global Governance, and the UN High Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development.
Ms. Simmons is a co-founder of the Energy Foundation. She was a member of the Marsh & McLennan Board from 1977-2015. She was President of the MacArthur Foundation between 1989 and 1999, launching their global work on climate change and overseeing grants of over $1.5 billion. The Foundation’s international programs focus on the environment, population, international peace and security, understanding inequality within and among nations, and climate change. Before joining the MacArthur Foundation, Simmons was President of Hampshire College, Dean of Students and Assistant Professor of History at Princeton University, Dean of Jackson College at Tufts University, and a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers. She has lived in England, Mauritius, Kenya, and Tunisia.