Who

One of the most influential philanthropic professionals in the country, Judith Rodin is head of the Rockefeller Foundation, where she hands out millions of dollars to various worthy causes.

Backstory

Born Judith Seitz in Philadelphia, Rodin went to the University of Pennsylvania and started out her professional career in psychology research, studying the relationship between the psychological and biological processes of human health and behavior. She spent nearly two decades at Yale before the university named her provost, a position she held for two years until she was picked by her alma mater, UPenn, to become the institution's president. (She was the first woman ever to head an Ivy League university.) She expanded and upgraded Penn's physical plant during her decade-long tenure and greatly increased the university's endowment—both of which boosted Penn's ratings in college rankings—before stepping down in 2004. She became president of the Rockefeller Foundation in March 2005, succeeding Gordon Conway.

Of note

John D. Rockefeller Sr. founded his eponymous foundation in 1913—two years after the Carnegie Foundation had been established—with the goal of promoting "the well-being of humanity" (or using some of the family's mountain of money for good and having the tax breaks to show for it). Historically, the foundation has supported major educational and medical organizations; Rodin has since broadened the Foundation's focus, directing millions to improve health care and agriculture in third-world nations. In 2006, Rodin partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in a $150 million effort to fight hunger in Africa.

Keeping score

During her last year at Penn, Rodin earned nearly a million dollars a year. She now earns a base salary of $577,000 at the foundation.

Board game

Chuck Prince of Citigroup tapped Rodin to sit on the board of the company in 2004 and Larry Fink invited her to join the board of BlackRock. She's also on the board of the Pennsylvania-based cable giant Comcast.

Personal

Rodin is married to legal scholar Paul Verkuil, the former president of the College of William and Mary and the chief executive officer of the American Automobile Association. Rodin has one child from a previous marriage, Alex Niejelow, who is a student at UPenn's law school. She and Verkuil live on Park Avenue in the 50s.