Joan Abrahamson is President of the Jefferson Institute, a public policy institute that brings creative thinking to practical problems. The Institute identifies innovative approaches to current policy problems and works to implement these solutions. A major emphasis of the Jefferson Institute is the future of cities. Other areas of activity are international security and economics, health, and the study of the creative process.

Life

Prior to her work with the Jefferson Institute, Dr. Abrahamson was Assistant Chief of Staff to Vice President George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

. As a White House Fellow, she served as Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to Vice Presidents Walter Mondale

Walter Mondale

Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...

 and George Bush. Prior to this, she worked for the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva and for UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

’s Division of Human Rights and Peace in Paris. She planned and implemented the Vienna International Congress on the Teaching of Human Rights and the International Symposium on the Political Participation of Women.

From 1973-1976, Dr. Abrahamson redesigned the Fort Mason Pier Area in San
Francisco, converting an army base for use as a community-based arts center and learning environment. Fort Mason has since been designated a model urban park by the National Park Service. She is currently involved with the transformation of the Presidio of San Francisco from an Army base to a National Park.

She is also President of the Jonas Salk Foundation and was Founding Chairman of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Abrahamson was appointed by President Bush to serve on the Commission of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C., and she serves on the boards of: the National Geographic Society

National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...

, the American Architectural Foundation, the California Institute for the Arts, and UNICEF, among others. She has been a consultant to many organizations, including the Harvard University Center for Urban Affairs, the Rockefeller Commission on the Arts and Education in America, the National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...

, the United Nations University

United Nations University

The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...

, the Executive Office of the President and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a premier independent, non-profit, scientific research institute located in La Jolla, California. It was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among the founding consultants were Jacob Bronowski and Francis Crick. Building...

.

Dr. Abrahamson earned a B.A. from Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, M.A. from Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

, a doctorate in Learning Environments from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. She also served as a law clerk for the Supreme Court of California

Supreme Court of California

The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...

. In June 1985, Dr. Abrahamson was named a MacArthur Prize Fellow.
She is married to Professor Jonathan Aronson

Jonathan Aronson

Jonathan Aronson is Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California as well as Professor of International Relations at USC....

and they have two sons, Adam and Zachary.