Biographical Sketch
Mary Jean Eisenhower was born in Washington, D.C. during her grandfather, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s first term in office as President of the United States. She was christened in the Blue Room of the White House and grew up in nearby Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Her family had a home with property abutting the Eisenhower Farm, where President Eisenhower eventually retired. The Eisenhowers were a very close-knit family and saw each other every day.
Mary attended several schools in Pennsylvania until her father, John, was named as US Ambassador to Belgium. She lived in Brussels with her family from shortly after her grandfather’s death in 1969 through 1972.
Career endeavors have included Capitol Hill as a receptionist and assistant case worker for a congressman, eight years in the commercial photographic industry as a senior customer service representative and 13 years as the manager of an engineering firm. She has served on numerous Boards; other professional and volunteer affiliations are available upon request. She has also completed a Fellowship at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA.
Since joining People to People International, Mary has traveled extensively throughout the US, Africa, Europe and Asia,including a visit to Morocco to represent her family to the King on the 50th anniversary of the ANFA conference. She also traveled through the lands of the D-day invasion during the centennial anniversary of her grandfather’s birth. There she had the privilege of traveling with and meeting many of the European veterans who served with her grandfather.
Over the last six years she has left US soil more than 70 times and visited more than 40 countries. Missions have included everything from meeting first families to distributing food stuffs in developing countries to cultural and humanitarian exchanges. More information can be found on PTPI’s Web site at www.ptpi.org.
In 1999, Mary started the People to People International Friendship Fund inspired by an orphanage she visited in Morocco. The fund is designed as a way for people to help the friends and facilities they visit throughout the world and to help the PTPI Chapter network assist each other. To date, the fund has provided assistance to causes such as the Global Humanitarian Eradication of Landmines; Children’s Mercy Hospital in London, England; Earthquake relief in India; disaster relief to victims of September 11, 2001 and their families; support of underprivileged schools in China and Sri Lanka; a home for leukemia victims and their families in Cuba; a library project in Viet Nam; and Friends of Egypt, among many others. One hundred percent (100%) of all funds received through the International Friendship Fund go to the efforts and projects as specified by the donors. Funds received for the IFF that are not donor designated serve as applied and matching grants for relief efforts throughout the globe. All IFF funds are distributed by means of the People to People International network, ensuring their distribution to the proper recipients. Mary’s speaker honorariums are donated directly to the International Friendship Fund.
Mary Jean Eisenhower
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After September 11, 2001, Mary’s focus intensified toward getting young people from around the world together to learn about each other and conflict management. Her vision came to fruition with Peace Camp 2003: An Evolution of Thought and Action and The Global Peace Initiative. Both the Peace Camp and Global Peace Initiative brought people from diverse areas, more than 30 nationalities, together in Egypt to discuss issues and reach a better understanding of their unique and individual cultures. Co-hosting this special event was H. E. Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Because of her dedication to promoting international understanding, People to People International initiated the Suzanne Mubarak Pioneer in Peace Scholarship. Other focuses include the global eradication of landmines and disability issues. In 2001, Mary negotiated and acquired the People to People Committee on Disability to rejoin the People to People International umbrella. The Committee was operating apart from the original People to People Program since the program became privatized in 1961.
Mary recently received an Honorary Doctorate in Letter of Humane from Schiller International University in Florida. She made history as the first recipient in this category from the University, which has eight campuses in six countries.
Mary has also been awarded the Knight of Peace Award from the International University in Assisi, Italy. This award is given for a period of 1,000 years. So, in addition to President Eisenhower and Mary receiving the award, it will then go to her son, his offspring, and so forth. Among the prestigious individuals who have received this distinction are Mother Teresa, Mikhail Gorbachev and Bill Gates.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mary’s grandfather, founded People to People International on September 11, 1956. After several years of volunteer work with PTPI, Mary has served as its Chief Executive Officer since January of 2000, currently serving as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mary joined PTPI hoping to carry on her grandfather’s dream, now it has become her life’s work and she carries the mission and the founder’s dream ardently as her own.