Kathy Fitchey Calvin

Selected as one of Newsweek’s 150 Women Who Rock the World in 2011, Kathy Fitchey Calvin, president and CEO of the United Nations Foundation, said the confidence to make a difference in the world began with her public education at Oakwood City Schools. “I have many memories of an idyllic high school experience loaded with friends, community, sports, music and, of course, homework,” Calvin said. “But my greatest lesson from my experience at Oakwood High School was that I could do anything that I put my mind to.” Calvin grew up in the Dayton area with a brother, Cary, who is three years her junior, and her parents, Fred and Dotty Fitchey. Fred was a General Electric executive and Dotty was a volunteer/stay-at-home mom. The family moved to Indiana around the time Calvin graduated from high school. “The school and its teachers challenged us — girls and boys — to dream big and think outside our community,” Calvin said. “The fact that I now lead an organization supporting the U.N. and helping everyday Americans to connect to its work is a direct result.” At the U.N., Calvin is a passionate advocate for multi-sector problem-solving, U.S. leadership on global issues and the inclusion of women at all levels and sectors. The U.N. Foundation, created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support U.N. causes, advocates for the organization and connects people, ideas and resources to help it solve global problems. Before joining the U.N. Foundation as CEO in 2003, Calvin served as president of the AOL Time Warner Foundation. A graduate of Purdue University, she previously served in senior positions at AOL, Hill and Knowlton, and U.S. News & World Report. From 1976 through 1984, she was U.S. Sen. Gary Hart’s press secretary. Calvin was also listed in Fast Company magazine’s League of Extraordinary Women in 2012. Her innovative work in philanthropy and international development has been featured in the The New York Times and The Washington Post. She now lives in Maryland with her husband, John, and they each have two children from previous marriages. Even though Calvin hasn’t lived in Ohio for many years, she returns regularly to visit her father. On one of those trips home in 2012, she spoke to the Oakwood High student body. “The community was truly a village — everyone knew each other's children and parents, it was safe, sports were a shared experience for team members and fans and the teachers were involved in our lives,” Calvin said. “I have very special gratitude for the educational experience. It was a privilege to attend a first-rate school.”