Aileen Adams

Aileen Adams Chair, The Women's Foundation of California.

"For the past year, Aileen Adams has served as the Vice Provost for Strategic Alliances and the Director of Arts and Culture Outreach at the University of Southern California. She also chairs the Women's Foundation of California, which provides comprehensive support for hundreds of programs benefiting poor women and girls around the state. From 1999-2003, she served in the Governor's Cabinet as Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency, overseeing twelve state departments, a budget of $1.1 billion, and 15,000 employees in areas ranging from civil rights enforcement to state building projects and consumer protection. From 1994-1997, Ms. Adams was a presidential appointee in the United States Justice Department where she headed the Office for Victims of Crime and served as the nation's chief advocate for crime victims' rights and services.

"Ms. Adams also has worked as a prosecutor, a Los Angeles City Fire Commissioner, a Los Angeles Police Reserve Officer, and as the legal counsel to the UCLA Rape Treatment Center. She co-founded and served as Director of Stuart House, a nationally recognized center for sexually abused children and played a major role in reforming California's sexual assault laws. She co-authored Sexual Assault on Campus: What Colleges Can Do.

"Ms. Adams is a graduate of Howard University Law School and Smith College, which honored her as its outstanding alumna. Her public service activities include participation on numerous boards and commissions, such as the State Consumer Advisory Council, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, the National Judicial Education Program, the Committee to Implement the Christopher Commission Reforms, and Bet Tzedek Legal Services. She also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Brazil.

"Ms. Adams has received many major awards for her accomplishments. They include the Advocate of the Year Award from the National Association of Business Women Owners; the Women of Courage Award from the Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women; the National Network of Children's Advocacy Center Award for Outstanding Leadership; the National Organization for Victim Assistance Leadership Award; the Smith College Distinguished Alumnus Award; the Humanitarian Award from the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women; and the West Los Angeles Police Reserve Officer of the Year Award from the Los Angeles Police Department.

"Ms. Adams is married to attorney and author Geoffrey Cowan, who is the Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California." 


 * Director, Center for Governmental Studies
 * Director, Common Sense Media