Joan Abrahamson

Joan Abrahamson is president of the Jefferson Institute, a public policy institute that brings creative thinking to practical problems. The Institute identifies innovative approaches to current policy problems and works to implement these solutions. A major emphasis of the Jefferson Institute is the future of cities. Other areas of activity are international security and economics, health, and the study of the creative process.

Prior to her work with the Jefferson Institute, Dr. Abrahamson was assistant chief of staff to Vice President George Bush from 1981-85. She accompanied the vice president on his international travels and advised him on legal and foreign policy matters. From 1980-81, she was a White House Fellow, serving as special assistant and associate counsel to Vice Presidents Walter Mondale and George Bush.

Dr. Abrahamson is president of the Jonas Salk Foundation. She also is the founding chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She was appointed by President Bush to serve on the Commission of Fine Arts in Washington DC. She has been a consultant to many organizations, including the Harvard University Center for Urban Affairs, the Rockefeller Commission on the Arts and Education in America, the National Endowment for the Arts, the United Nations University, the Executive Office of the President, and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. She has served on the boards of National Geographic Society, California Institute of the Arts, and the American Architectural Foundation, among others.

In June 1985, Dr. Abrahamson was named a MacArthur Prize Fellow by the MacArthur Foundation.