Helene L. Kaplan

Helene L. Kaplan is Chair of Carnegie Corporation of New York Board of Trustees.

"Elected to a second term as chair in 2002, Helene L Kaplan’s distinguished service on the Corporation’s board of trustees spans more than two decades. Having previously completed two ten-year terms as trustee, two terms as vice-chair, and a term as chair from 1985-1990—the first woman to serve as chair of the board of Carnegie Corporation—Kaplan brings a vast knowledge of social issues, wise counsel, and extensive public service to her second term as board chair.

"Kaplan is Of Counsel to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. A director of several major corporations, including JP Morgan Chase & Co., Inc., Metropolitan Life Insurance Corporation, ExxonMobil Corporation, May Department and Verizon Communications, Kaplan currently serves as counsel or trustee of numerous scientific, arts, charitable, and educational institutions and foundations, including the American Museum of Natural History, The Commonwealth Fund, The J. Paul Getty Trust and The Institute for Advanced Study. She has also served as a trustee of The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, The MITRE Corporation, and the New York Foundation and was chair of the New York Council for the Humanities and vice-chair of the New York City Public Development Corporation.

"A member of the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, Kaplan chaired the Commission’s Task Force on Judicial and Regulatory Decision Making. Kaplan served as a member of the U.S. Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on South Africa from 1985-1987, and was a member of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo’s Task Force on Life and the Law, which explored the legal and ethical implications of advances in medical technology.

"A graduate of Barnard College, where she is chair emerita, and of New York University School of Law, Helene L. Kaplan was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from Columbia University in 1990 and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2001. Kaplan is a fellow of the American Philosophical Society and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences." 


 * National Council, Human Rights First