Press Release

Poetry Foundation Appoints New Member to Board of Trustees  

Originally Published: June 14, 2017
Cropped image of Cecilia Conrad

CHICAGO – The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Cecilia Conrad, PhD, to its Board of Trustees. Conrad is a Managing Director at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Her portfolio includes the MacArthur Fellows Program, the MacArthur Award for Effective and Creative Institutions, and 100&Change, a new program that will make a single grant of $100 million to a project that promises measurable progress in solving a critical problem. Conrad has also guided working groups on the MacArthur Foundation’s open access policy and its investments in people as a mode of philanthropic work.

“Dr. Cecilia Conrad cares deeply about society and how to guide ‘big picture’ progress,” said Henry Bienen, President of the Poetry Foundation. “We are fortunate to have her insights as we continue our work of raising poetry to an ever more influential place in American culture.”

Before joining the MacArthur Foundation in January 2013, Conrad had a distinguished career as both a professor and an administrator at Pomona College. She joined the economics faculty at Pomona College in 1995, and contributed to the curriculum of interdisciplinary programs in women’s studies, public policy, and black studies. In 2002, Conrad was named California’s Carnegie Professor of the Year, a prestigious national award that recognizes faculty members for their achievement as undergraduate professors. She served as Associate Dean of the College (2004–2007), Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College (2009–2012), and Acting President (Fall 2012). From 2007–2009, she was interim Vice President and Dean of the Faculty at Scripps College. She is currently a trustee of Bryn Mawr College.

Dr. Conrad graduated from public schools in Dallas, TX, received her bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College, and earned her doctorate in economics from Stanford University. She is married to Llewellyn Miller, who is Manager of Financing and Business Development at CMF Global. Her son, Conrad Miller, is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Haas School of Business, University of California,Berkeley.

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About the Poetry Foundation

The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs. For more information, please visit poetryfoundation.org.

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