Ms. Melinda Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Along with Bill, she shapes and approves the foundation’s strategy, reviews results, and sets the overall direction of the organization. Together, they meet with grantees and partners to further the foundation’s goal of improving equity in the United States and around the world.
Through her work at the foundation over the last fifteen years, Ms. Gates has seen first-hand that empowering women and girls can bring transformational improvements in the health and prosperity of families, communities and societies. Her work has led her to increasingly focus on gender equity as a path to meaningful change.
She received a bachelor’s degree in computer science and economics from Duke University in 1986 and a master’s in business administration from the Fuqua School of Business in 1987.