Female Faces of Philanthropy: Dr. Dorothy Green

A lifelong educator, much of Dr. Dorothy Green’s work over the last 40 years has focused on improving the lives of women and girls, both in the U.S. and abroad.

As a K-12 teacher, principal and assistant superintendent, Dr. Green’s personal mission was to empower her female students and open up new horizons to them in non-traditional careers. She mentored hundreds of teachers, primarily women, encouraging them to seek leadership positions within their profession.

In the 1980’s and 1990’s, Dr. Green provided international women’s leadership activities in Africa, Europe and South America through the Lutheran World Federation. Prior to the end of apartheid, the South African government denied her a visa to enter the country to facilitate meetings on women’s and girls’ issues in townships. Undaunted, Dr. Green arranged to hold her meetings at the Johannesburg airport, so that she did not have to “officially” enter the country! Dr. Green has worked with amazing activists including Desmond Tutu, Reverend A.D. King and Nelson Mandela.

A member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority since 1993, Dr. Green has been actively involved in the Delta Academy, which encourages middle school girls to consider careers in math, science and technology.

Dr. Green has been an exemplary leader on the WFSA Board of Trustees since 2003. She chaired the Grant Allocations Committee for the last two years, and facilitated WFSA’s strategic planning process in 2004. Dr. Green was recently elected to the Women’s Funding Network (WFN) Board of Trustees. The WFN is an association of over 100 women’s funds worldwide. Her work at the international level allows her to bring a unique perspective to the WFSA board, and her election to the WFN board brings national visibility to WFSA.