December 03, 2008
Ex-Gates Foundation Head to Write "Do-Gooding" Advice Column
Patty Stonesifer, who stepped down earlier this year as chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has found a new calling — advice columnist.
Ms. Stonesifer’s daughter, Sandy, has announced that she and her mother plan to start a weekly column at the beginning of next year for Slate, the online news magazine, called “My Goodness.”
“Most of us — and not just recent college grads — struggle to find ways to help others without ruining our own lives,” she writes. “Given my student loans, can I really afford to work for that African aid group? Should I take a high-paying job and make larger charitable donations? Or earn less and volunteer my time?”
When the younger Ms. Stonesifer — identified as project manager of a national study of the consequences of unintended pregnancy in San Francisco — asks questions like that, she turns to her mother for help. “Sometimes I take her advice, and sometimes I don’t, but I always value her opinion,” she writes. Now, she says, she’d like to give others the same option.
She invites readers to send their “real-life-do-gooding dilemmas” to ask.my.goodness@gmail.com.
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Doesn’t this just sound a little too noblesse oblige for the 21st Century? Sort of the Batman and Robin of philanthropy.
— /carlos Dec 4, 01:14 AM #
I do volunteer for the arts heavily throughout the year. However, during the colder months, I might donate to my local energy company to help those who need heat. I remember living in an apartment, living on very little and turning the heat way down. I know how tough is is to sleep with two pairs of socks, a hat and mittens.
— Barb Dec 4, 01:51 PM #