Our Governing Board

Chair Emeritus & iCivics Founder, U.S. Supreme Court (Retired)


Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (ret.) was born in El Paso, Texas, March 26, 1930. She married John Jay O’Connor III in 1952 and has three sons - Scott, Brian, and Jay. She received her B.A. and LL.B. from Stanford University. She served as Deputy County Attorney of San Mateo County, California from 1952–1953 and as a civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center, Frankfurt, Germany, from 1954–1957. From 1958–1960, she practiced law in Maryvale, Arizona, and served as Assistant Attorney General of Arizona from 1965–1969. She was appointed to the Arizona State Senate in 1969 and was subsequently reelected to two two-year terms. In 1975, she was elected Judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court and served until 1979, when she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. President Reagan nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat September 25, 1981. Justice O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court on January 31, 2006. In 2009, President Obama awarded Justice O’Connor America’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Since stepping down from the bench, Justice O’Connor has dedicated her time and energy to civics education in the U.S. She serves as Chairperson of the iCivics Board of Directors.

Chair & President, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation


Larry Kramer has been President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation since 2012. Under his leadership, the foundation has maintained its commitment to areas of enduring concern, while adapting its approaches and strategies to meet changing circumstances and seize new opportunities. He has, at the same time, been instrumental in launching new efforts to respond to pressing and timely problems, such as challenges related to political polarization and cybersecurity. Since joining the Hewlett Foundation, he has written and spoken about issues related to effective philanthropy, including the importance of collaboration among funders and the need to provide grantees with long-term support. He frequently lectures and writes about broad societal issues, from global climate change to the challenge of maintaining democratic government in the 21st century. Before joining the foundation, Larry served from 2004 to 2012 as Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of Stanford Law School. During his tenure, he spearheaded significant educational reforms, pioneering a new model of multidisciplinary legal studies while enlarging the clinical education program and incorporating a public service ethos. His teaching and scholarly interests include American legal history, constitutional law, federalism, separation of powers, the federal courts, conflict of laws, and civil procedure. At the start of his career, Larry served as law clerk to U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Henry J. Friendly of the Second Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Following his clerkships, Larry served as professor of law at the University of Chicago and University of Michigan law schools. He joined the faculty of New York University School of Law in 1994, where he served as Associate Dean for Research and Academics and Russell D. Niles Professor of Law until leaving for Stanford in 2004. Before joining Stanford, he also served as a special consultant for Mayer Brown, LLP. Larry is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Law Institute. He serves as a director on the boards of a number of nonprofit organizations, including the National Constitution Center, Independent Sector, and the ClimateWorks Foundation. Larry received an A.B. in Psychology and Religious Studies from Brown University, graduating magna cum laude in 1980, and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, magna cum laude, in 1984. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including “The People Themselves: Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review.”

Immediate Past Chair & Partner, Hartline Dacus Barger Dreyer LLP


Wendy May-Dreyer, Esq. serves as the Board Chair for iCivics, the nation’s largest civic education provider, founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Wendy has worked with iCivics for over a decade to grow its national leadership, pursue reinvigoration of civic education in our schools, and inspire a new generation toward responsible civic engagement. She is a recently retired Partner from Hartline Dacus Barger Dreyer LLP in Dallas, Texas, where Wendy spent over 25 years as a trial lawyer representing national and Fortune 500 companies in litigation, crisis management services, policy directives and national product recall campaigns. In addition to iCivics, Wendy now devotes her time to child advocacy work through Dallas CASA and World Vision. She also co-founded the Texas Civic Education Coalition, the first comprehensive bi-partisan coalition to bring together educators, policy makers, content providers, and other key stakeholders with a joint goal of bringing back effective and equitable civic education in Texas.

Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States


Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice, was born in Bronx, New York, on June 25, 1954. She earned a B.A. in 1976 from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the university's highest academic honor. In 1979, she earned a J.D. from Yale Law School where she served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. She thereafter served as Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office from 1979–1984. She then litigated international commercial matters in New York City at Pavia & Harcourt, where she was an associate and then partner from 1984–1992. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992–1998. She then served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1998–2009. President Barack Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2009, and she assumed this role August 8, 2009.

Managing Partner, Silver Tree Associates


Jay O’Connor is senior software industry executive with a track record of driving extremely rapid growth, helping transform young businesses into industry leaders, and helping create two multi-billion dollar businesses.   O’Connor currently serves as Managing Partner at Silver Tree Associates, as a venture partner at Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, and as an entrepreneur.   Previously, as SVP of Worldwide Marketing at NetSuite (NYSE: N), he led the marketing team that grew revenues nearly sevenfold in less than 4 years, and helped NetSuite become one of the world’s leading software as a service companies and go public with a valuation of $1.6 billion.   Earlier, at Intuit (INTU) he led the marketing and product management team that acquired the first million QuickBooks customers, grew revenues from zero to $80 million in 4 years, grew market share to 72%, and built the foundation for what became a multi-billion dollar business.   O’Connor has a passion for driving rapid growth, creating a “wow” product and customer experience, and building outstanding teams.

General Counsel, DeepMind


Tom Lue is General Counsel at DeepMind, a leading artificial intelligence company headquartered in London with offices in Paris, Montreal, Edmonton, and Mountain View, California. Previously, Tom was Deputy General Counsel at Waymo and Senior Counsel at Google where he advised emerging technology teams. Tom has also served in the federal government in various roles, including as Acting and Deputy General Counsel at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Attorney-Advisor at the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) at the U.S. Department of Justice. He served as a law clerk for Justice Sotomayor on the U.S. Supreme Court and graduated from Harvard Law School.

Founder and CEO, Foggy Paxton Consulting


The founder and CEO of Foggy-Paxton Consulting, Andrea Foggy-Paxton, has devoted her career to expanding excellence and equity in education in the non-profit sector, including hands-on experience with translating theory into practice and implementing innovative new curricula in the classroom. She served as the Managing Director for Partner Strategy for the Broad Center and oversaw the L.A. Promise Fund Schools Committee. Previously, she was the executive vice president at Reasoning Mind, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing first-rate math instruction for all students and worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, developing and managing innovations in professional development, high-school transformation, college completion and personalized-learning grants. Previously, she worked for L.A. Youth at Work, Rock the Vote, and Freedom Schools.

Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution Co-chair, Election Officials Legal Defense Network


Managing Director and COO (Retired), Blue Meridian Partners


Chuck Harris planned and oversaw the execution and advancement of Blue Meridian Partners’ strategy and operations while leading efforts to engage new philanthropic Partners and to support their engagement. In his previous role as an EMCF Portfolio Manager and its Director of Capital Aggregation, Chuck managed relationships with various grantees and oversaw the Foundation's capital aggregation activities, notably the True North Fund. Before joining the Foundation, Chuck co-founded and served for five years as Executive Partner of SeaChange Capital Partners, a financial intermediary designed to enhance the flow of capital to outstanding nonprofits serving children and youth in low-income communities in the United States. Chuck spent 23 years in the banking business before retiring in 2002 from his position as a partner and managing director at Goldman Sachs, where he served as co-head of Corporate Finance in the Americas. He has served extensively on the boards of nonprofit and philanthropic organizations as well as privately held and publicly traded for-profit corporations. He is a graduate of Harvard College and holds a master's degree in finance from MIT's Sloan School of Management.

Partner and Managing Director (retired) Goldman Sachs


Mary C. Henry spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs, primarily as a communications technology analyst in the Firm’s Investment Research Division. A top-ranked analyst for many years, she was named a Partner and Managing Director of the Firm in 1996. During her tenure at Goldman Sachs, Mary was personally involved in company financings that totaled tens of billions of dollars and well as strategic projects. She collaborated with research, investment banking and private equity colleagues to evaluate companies in technology and communications services worldwide and worked extensively with major institutional investors around the world. She retired from the Firm in 2004. Since then, she has served on corporate and educational boards and has devoted time to education philanthropy. She is a trustee of Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton, chairs the Investment Committee and is a member of the Woodside High School Foundation board. Mary graduated from Northwestern University with an undergraduate degree in economics and a graduate degree in journalism.

Senior Partner (retired) Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy


Arnold B. Peinado, III is a retired partner of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, an international law firm headquartered in New York City. He was a senior member of the firm’s Capital Markets Group. During his 35 year tenure with Milbank, Arnold advised on general securities law matters, and a wide range of domestic and international debt and equity capital markets offerings. He also specialized in global aircraft and satellite finance transactions. In addition to his work at Milbank, Arnold has substantial experience with nonprofit entities. He has been an advisor to boards on corporate governance policies, conflicts of interest, and financial statements and internal controls. He currently serves as a Director of the Urban Justice Center, an organization which provides legal advocacy services to homeless and disadvantage groups in New York City, as well as a Director of the Alleluia Fund of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, New Jersey which directs grants to nonprofit entities in New Jersey. Arnold also serves as a Trustee of The Nature Conservancy, New Jersey Chapter. Arnold is a graduate of Harvard College as well as both Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School.

Professor, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law


Ms. Ravel is a Fellow at New America working on issues of Civic Engagement, as well as Professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law. Former Commissioner Ann M. Ravel was nominated to the Federal Election Commission by President Barack Obama on June 21, 2013. After her appointment received the unanimous consent of the United States Senate, Ms. Ravel joined the Commission on October 25, 2013. She served as Chair of the Commission for 2015 and Vice Chair for 2014. From March 2011 until her appointment to the Commission, Ms. Ravel served as Chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), to which Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. appointed her. At the FPPC, Ms. Ravel oversaw the regulation of campaign finance, lobbyist registration and reporting, and ethics and conflicts of interest related to officeholders and public employees. During her tenure at the FPPC, Ms. Ravel was instrumental in the creation of the States' Unified Network (SUN) Center, a web-based center for sharing information on campaign finance.   Before joining the FPPC, Ms. Ravel served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Torts and Consumer Litigation in the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice. Ms. Ravel also worked as an attorney in the Santa Clara County Counsel's Office, ultimately serving as the appointed County Counsel from 1998 until 2009. Ms. Ravel represented the County and its elected officials, provided advice on the state Political Reform Act, and initiated groundbreaking programs in elder abuse litigation, educational rights, and consumer litigation on behalf of the Santa Clara County government and the community.   Ms. Ravel has served as an elected Governor on the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California, a member of the Judicial Council of the State of California, and Chair of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation. In 2014, she was named a California Attorney of the Year by California Lawyer magazine for her work in Government law, and in 2007, the State Bar of California named Ms. Ravel Public Attorney of the Year for her contributions to public service.     Ms. Ravel received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Community Advocate


In 2015, Lindsay became co-lead Partner for SVP Connecticut Investee, Horizons National. Side by side with her husband Art, they have been community advocates and social sector change agents for many years. For more than 13 years, Lindsay has worked with Fairfield County’s Community Foundation Fund for Women and Girls (FWG), the largest women’s fund in New England. Lindsay is a former co-chair of FWG and a co-author of the study Holding up Half the Sky: A Report on the Status of Women and Girls in Fairfield County. She currently serves on FWG’s advisory Board and Executive Steering Committee and previously served a 6-year term on the Board of Directors for the community foundation. Prior to becoming a full time mother of three girls, Lindsay was a commercial banker at both Continental Bank and First Chicago Bank. She holds a BA degree from American University and has completed coursework towards her MA from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Vice President for Education, Advanced Study in Culture Foundation


Gerard Robinson served as Commissioner of Education for the State of Florida and Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia. His other leadership roles have included Executive Director of the Center for Advancing Opportunity and Director and President of the Black Alliance for Educational Options. Robinson also was a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is coeditor of Education for Liberation: The Politics of Promise and Reform Inside and Beyond America’s Prisons (2019) and Education Savings Accounts: The New Frontier in School Choice (2017). In addition, he cohosts The Learning Curve: National Education Podcast. Robinson has been published or quoted in AEI Ideas, Gallup News, Newsweek, The Hedgehog Review, the Hill, the New York Times, the Washington Examiner, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and US News & World Report. He earned a BA and EdM from Harvard University and an AA from El Camino Community College.

Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell


Mr. Shah is a partner in Davis Polk’s Corporate Department, practicing in the Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions Group. His practice focuses on providing advice and strategic counseling to technology, media and telecommunication companies, consumer product and fashion companies, FinTech companies, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and private equity and other investors on the intellectual property, data privacy, and technology aspects of a wide variety of transactions, including in connection with strategic commercial and licensing agreements, acquisitions/divestitures, mergers, spinoffs, joint ventures, and other development and collaboration arrangements. His experience includes drafting, negotiating and advising clients on a wide variety of intellectual property, data privacy and technology related transactions, including software, algorithm and mobile application development, licensing and distribution agreements, data monetization and exploitation arrangements, AI and machine learning agreements, research and collaboration agreements, product manufacturing, supply and distribution arrangements, web traffic and web search agreements, e-commerce and website operation agreements, information technology outsourcing and services arrangements, mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) and IoT connectivity agreements, franchise and agency agreements, sponsorship and marketing arrangements, cable distribution and affiliation agreements, trademark license and co-existence agreements, patent acquisition and cross-license arrangements, copyright and programming rights agreements and other strategic intellectual property, data privacy and technology related commercial exploitation arrangements.

Of Counsel, Jones Day


Judge Ann Claire Williams (Ret.), a trailblazer and leader, heads Jones Day's efforts in advancing the rule of law in Africa. Devoted to promoting the effective delivery of justice worldwide, particularly in Africa, she has partnered with judiciaries, attorneys, NGOs, and the U.S. Departments of Justice and State to lead training programs in Ghana, Indonesia, Liberia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. She also has taught at the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. President Ronald Reagan nominated her in 1985 to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, making her the first woman of color to serve on a district court in the three-state Seventh Circuit. In 1999, President William Clinton's nomination made her the first and only judge of color to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the third woman of color to serve on any federal circuit court. She brings her vast experience on the bench to serve as a resource for the Firm's leading trial and appellate practices. Judge Williams has served on many judicial committees and, as treasurer and president of the Federal Judges Association, was the first person of color to become an officer. Committed to public interest work she helped found Just The Beginning — A Pipeline Organization, the Black Women Lawyers' Association of Chicago, Minority Legal Education Resources, and the Public Interest Fellowship Program for Equal Justice Works. She serves on the boards of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, University of Notre Dame, National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), Weinstein International Foundation, and Museum of Science & Industry Chicago.