Children's Defense Fund

The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) was created in 1973 and is a "private, nonprofit organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations." They note that they "have never taken government funds." They go on to note that they provide "a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves" and "pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities." 

Marian W. Edelman is the founder and president and "a lifelong advocate for disadvantaged Americans and is the Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund." 

In 2006 they received some funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Board of Directors

 * Carol Oughton Biondi - Child Advocate/Commissioner, Los Angeles County, Commission for Children and Families, Los Angeles, CA
 * Angela Glover Blackwell - Vice Chair - Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PolicyLink, Oakland, CA
 * Reverend Kirbyjon Caldwell - Senior Pastor, The Windsor Village, St. John’s United Methodist Churches, Houston, TX
 * Geoffrey Canada, Vice Chair - President and Chief Executive Officer, Harlem Children's Zone, Inc., New York, NY
 * Leonard Coleman, Jr. - Cendant Corporation, New York, NY
 * Leslie Cornfeld, Esq. - Director, Mayor's Task Force on Child Welfare and Safety, New York, NY
 * Marian Wright Edelman - Founder and President, Children’s Defense Fund, Washington, DC
 * James Forbes, Jr. - Senior Minister, The Riverside Church, New York, NY
 * James Forman, Jr. - Associate Professor, Georgetown Law School, Co-Founder, Maya Angelou Charter School, Washington, DC
 * Henry Louis Gates, Jr. - Chair, Department of African and African American Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
 * Winifred Green - President, Southern Coalition for Educational Equity, New Orleans, LA
 * Dr. Dorothy Height - President Emerita and Chair of Board, National Council of Negro Women, Inc., Washington, DC
 * Ruth-Ann Huvane - Child Advocate, Los Angeles, CA
 * Michael Klein - Chief Executive Officer, Global Banking, Citigroup, New York, NY
 * William Lynch, Jr. - President, Bill Lynch Associates, LLC, New York, NY
 * Katie McGrath - Child Advocate, Los Angeles, CA
 * Wendy Puriefoy - President, Public Education Network (PEN), Washington, D.C.
 * Dennis Rivera - President, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, New York, NY
 * J. Michael Solar, Esq. - Solar & Associates, LLP, Houston, TX
 * Thomas A. Troyer, Esq. - Partner, Caplin & Drysdale, Washington, DC
 * Robert F. Vagt, Chair - President, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
 * Laura Wasserman - Movie Music Supervisor, Los Angeles, CA
 * Reese Witherspoon - Actress, Los Angeles, CA
 * Deborah Wright, Esq. - President and Chief Executive Officer, Carver Bancorp, Inc., New York, NY


 * Source

Contact

 * Web: http://www.childrensdefense.org

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Jim Weill - was with the Children's Defense Fund for 16 years, as Program Director and then as General Counsel.
 * Donna E. Shalala - former director and chair
 * Taj James - former staff
 * Kenneth Jaffe - former consultant
 * Marjorie Newman-Williams - former COO
 * Deborah Weinstein - former staff
 * Laura Rockefeller Chasin