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Board
of Directors
Wendy D. Puriefoy
President
Public Education Network
 Wendy
D. Puriefoy is a nationally recognized expert on issues
of school reform and civil society. Ms. Puriefoy is well
known for her passionate advocacy of education equity
for poor and disadvantaged children and has written and
spoken extensively on the issues.
Ms. Puriefoy has been president of Public Education
Network (PEN), the nation’s largest network of
community-based school reform organizations, since PEN
was founded in 1991. Under her visionary leadership,
PEN has grown into a national network of local education
funds reaching more than 11 million children in 1,220
school districts and 18,000 schools nationwide.
Ms. Puriefoy has been deeply involved in school reform
since the 1970’s when she served as a special monitor
of the court-ordered desegregation plan for Boston’s
public schools. As president of PEN, Ms. Puriefoy has
been the leading force behind systemic reform initiatives
in school finance and governance, curriculum and assessment,
parent involvement, school libraries and school health.
With support from national foundations, PEN launched
multi-million dollar public engagement initiatives focused
on teacher quality, standards and accountability, and
schools and community services.
Ms. Puriefoy is also a noted leader in the philanthropic
world. Prior to being recruited as president of PEN,
Ms. Puriefoy was executive vice president and chief operating
officer of The Boston Foundation, a community foundation
with an endowment of over $750 million supporting public
health/welfare, educational, cultural, environmental,
and housing programs in Boston, Massachusetts. Ms. Puriefoy
serves on the boards of numerous high-profile national
organizations including DEMOS, Hasbro Children’s
Foundation, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation
(LISC), and the National Center for Family Philanthropy.
In the past, Ms. Puriefoy served on the boards of FairTest,
Jobs for the Future, Milton Hershey School, Ms. Foundation
for Women, The PEW Forum on Standards-Based Reform, Women
and Philanthropy, the National Charities Information
Bureau, the Council on Foundations, Teach for America,
Children’s Express, Hobart and William Smith Colleges,
and the Boston Annenberg Challenge.
Ms. Puriefoy received a Bachelor of Arts degree from
William Smith College and holds three Master of Arts
degrees in African American Studies, American Studies,
and American Colonial History from Boston University.
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