Wendy Schmidt
Wendy Schmidt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wendy Susan Boyle 1955 Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, philanthropist |
| Known for | President of Schmidt Family Foundation; founder of 11th Hour Project; philanthropist in environmental causes |
Wendy Susan Schmidt (née Boyle) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. She is married to Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, whom she met while attending the University of California, Berkeley.
She holds the position of president at the Schmidt Family Foundation, which oversees assets exceeding $1 billion.
Biography
Born in 1955 in Orange, New Jersey, Schmidt grew up in a family that operated Boyle Design Associates, a firm specializing in interior design.
She completed her undergraduate studies at Smith College in 1977 and later obtained a master's degree in journalism from Berkeley in 1981. During her time at Berkeley, she met Eric Schmidt and assisted by editing his doctoral dissertation. After graduation, she joined the marketing team at Sun Microsystems, where Eric was also employed. In 1986, she launched her own interior design company, managing it for 16 years. Wendy and Eric are parents to two daughters, Sophie and Alison; sadly, Alison died in 2017.
Philanthropy
Schmidt became a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 2005 and initiated the 11th Hour Project to increase public understanding of climate change issues. In 2006, together with Eric, she founded the Schmidt Family Foundation with a mission to advance sustainability and responsible resource management. As president, she oversees grant distribution, including programs focused on ocean conservation that align with her passion for competitive sailing.
The foundation’s main philanthropic effort is the 11th Hour Project. In 2007, she established ReMain Nantucket, an initiative aimed at economically and environmentally revitalizing downtown Nantucket.
In 2009, the Schmidts endowed the $25 million Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund at Princeton University to encourage research in natural sciences and engineering disciplines. This fund provided $1.2 million in grants during 2010 and increased to $1.7 million by 2012.
Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Schmidt sponsored the prize money for the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge in 2010, designed to motivate innovations for efficient crude oil removal from seawater.
Her support extends to California political campaigns and measures promoting environmental causes, including a $1 million contribution to Proposition 87 in 2006, $50,000 toward the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, as well as donations to Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial bid.
In 2015, she introduced the Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE, awarding $2 million to encourage development of cost-effective ocean acidification monitoring technologies. That same year, her foundation provided $10 million to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to tackle global fisheries issues.
Collaborating with the Rhodes Trust in 2018, Wendy and Eric launched Schmidt Science Fellows—a $25 million program supporting postdoctoral researchers committed to advancing scientific leadership addressing human and planetary health challenges.
In 2019, they financed the renovation of Princeton’s Guyot Hall into ‘Eric and Wendy Schmidt Hall,’ scheduled for completion by 2026.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute, backed by the Schmidts, achieved notable marine discoveries off Australia's coast in 2020 using remotely operated vehicles deployed from their research vessel Falkor.
Toward the end of 2020, their initiative Schmidt Futures, working alongside Rhodes Trust, introduced Rise—a global talent program providing internships and scholarships for young individuals worldwide.
Additionally in 2020, they established a $5 million endowed chair at Princeton dedicated to Indigenous Studies aimed at promoting interdisciplinary scholarship and education.
Wendy holds a board position at Climate Central and has contributed as a member of San Francisco’s America's Cup Organizing Committee.
External links
- Official site of the Schmidt Family Foundation
- Official website of ReMain Nantucket
- Biography of Wendy Schmidt on the 11th Hour Project website
- Profile of Wendy Schmidt archived version