Gail Furman
Gail Furman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gail Gorman |
| Died | April 17, 2019 |
| Nationality | United States |
| Spouse | Jay Furman (divorced) |
| Children | Jason Furman Jesse Furman |
Gail Furman (dead April 17, 2019) was a psychologist[1] and a wealthy Democratic party activist and donor. Furman is President of the Furman Foundation, Inc. The foundation is a major donor to the Tides Center and the Media Matters for America, a left-leaning center for journalism founded by author David Brock.[2]
Biography
Furman was born to a Jewish family, the daughter of Martha and David Gorman.[3] Her mother was a performer who used the stage name Marny Frances.[3] She graduated from the University of Michigan and has a PhD in Psychology from New York University.[4] In 1973, she worked as the psychologist at the Ivy Preparatory School League Fieldston and the Dalton Schools until 1990.[4][5]
Role in Democracy Alliance
In December 2003, Furman attended a gathering in New York City put together by Erica Payne in order to watch a screening of Democracy Alliance founder, Rob Stein's PowerPoint presentation, The Conservative Message Machine Money Matrix. After the presentation, Furman agreed in front of the group to donate more than $25,000 to fund Stein to conduct a research project to determine "what kind of groups the Left needed to fund".[6]
At the second meeting of the Democracy Alliance in October 2005, Furman "demanded to know why the alliance wasn't creating a 'nerve center' that could book progressives on TV news shows".[7]
Furman along with George Soros and other Democracy Alliance members John R. Hunting; Paul Rudd; Pat Stryker; Nicholas Hanauer; Rob Stein; Drummond Pike; Robert Bowditch; Scott Wallace; Susie Tompkins Buell; Albert Dwoskin; and Rob McKay funded the Secretary of State Project, an American non-profit, 527 political action committee focused on electing reform-minded progressive Secretaries of State in battleground states, who typically oversee the election process.[8] The Alliance was critical in getting California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie re-elected.
Personal life
She was married to real estate developer Jay Furman; they had two children: Barack Obama's chief economic advisor Jason Furman and federal judge Jesse Furman.[9] They later divorced.
External links
Notes
- ^ Jewish Daily Forward: "Wesley Clark Jumps in With Kosher-Style Kickoff - Whirlwind Week Sees General Angling for Dean’s Voters, Dollars" By E.J. Kessler September 26, 2003
- ^ Once a liar, always a liar
- ^ a b "Deaths Gorman, Martha". The New York Times. October 25, 2001.
- ^ a b "Gail Furman Psychologist". Human Rights First. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ Kuper, Peter (November 24, 1997). This Is Your Child. New York Magazine. p. 52.
- ^ The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics p. 37
- ^ op cit, p. 118-119
- ^ Neubauer, Chuck (June 23, 2011). "Soros and liberal groups seeking top election posts in battleground states". Washington Times.
- ^ "In Memoriam: Jay Furman, 1942-2015". New York University School of Law News. January 5, 2015.
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