Background InformationJoan Edelman Spero, Vice ChairUniversity of Wisconsin, B.A., 1966
Columbia, M.I.A., 1968; Ph.D., 1973Joan Edelman Spero received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin
(1966), an M.I.A. from Columbia's School of International and Public
Affairs (1968), and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate
Faculties (1973). She also attended L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de
Paris (1964-1965) and was a Visiting Scholar with the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York (1976-1977). Spero was an assistant professor at
Columbia from 1973 to 1979. She served as U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations Economic and Social Council from 1980 to 1981. From 1981 to
1993, she was an executive at the American Express Company, where her
last position was Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs and
Communications. In 1993, President Clinton appointed Ms. Spero to the
U.S. Department of State as Undersecretary for Economic, Business, and
Agricultural Affairs.
From 1997 to 2008 Joan E. Spero was President of the Doris Duke
Charitable Foundation in 1997, which makes grants in the performing
arts, environmental preservation, medical research and prevention of
child abuses and also supports several operating foundations created by
Doris Duke and based at her residences. Ms. Spero is currently a
Visiting Fellow at the Foundation Center which conducts research,
education, and training on philanthropy.
Ms. Spero has authored several books, including The Politics of
International Economic Relations (7th Edition, 2009) and The Failure of
the Franklin National Bank (1980). She also has contributed to numerous
professional journals.
Spero is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, the American
Philosophical Society, and the Council of American Ambassadors. She
serves on the board of the Council on Foreign Relations and the
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and is a director of IBM Corp. and
ING Group.
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