Eileen Rockefeller Growald

Who is Eileen Rockefeller Growald?

Eileen Rockefeller is an American philanthropist. She is the youngest daughter of David Rockefeller and Margaret "Peggy" McGrath. Eileen is a member of the fourth-generation of the Rockefeller family widely known as "the Cousins". Her elder siblings are Abby, Richard, Neva, Peggy, and David Jr.

Growald is a graduate of Oldfields School in Maryland and she received her bachelor's degree from Middlebury College in 1974 and her master's in Early Childhood Education from Lesley College in association with the Shady Hill School in 1976.

In 1982, she founded and was president of the Institute for the Advancement of Health, dealing principally with the scientific understanding of mind-body interactions in health and disease; this subject has evolved into what is now called Emotional Intelligence. She co-founded The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning in 1992.

In 2000, she and her husband, Paul Growald, founded The Champlain Valley Greenbelt Alliance, a local non-profit organization to protect greenbelts along major corridors in Vermont. They have two sons, Daniel and Adam.

Growald, who describes herself as a venture philanthropist, is also the founding chair of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, set up in New York by various members of the family in 2002. The largest advisory service of its kind, its current chair is Kevin Broderick, who served on the board of Rockefeller Financial Services and took over as chairman from Rockefeller in 2005. Its mission is to create thoughtful, effective philanthropy throughout the world.