 WonderWoman: Elizabeth ColtonPublished: March, 2007  Elizabeth Colton In the late '80s, when Elizabeth Colton's daughter was young, she wanted to take her someplace that she envisioned was a museum of women's history. Colton wrote letters to everyone she could think of asking, "Where is a museum where I can take my daughter?" Although most wrote back saying "nowhere," one person referred her to the Women's Heritage Museum, run by a group of women in Palo Alto who hoped they would one day see it become a full-scale institution. That organization became the seed of what is now the International Museum of Women (IMOW), a world-class cultural and educational organization that amplifies the voices of women through history, the arts and cultural programs that educate, create dialogue, build community, and inspire action. As Founding President and Board Chair, a position she's held since the San Francisco-based IMOW's inception in 1997, Colton is the driving force behind this visionary new institution. In March 2006, IMOW launched "Imagining Ourselves: A Global Generation of Women," which reaches out to a new generation of women with the question, "What defines your generation of women?" Through an interactive online exhibit (at www.imow.org), a series of global gatherings, and a printed anthology, "Imagining Ourselves" is a platform for young women to create positive change. Born in an affluent family, Colton grew up with men who started a family business that was very male centered. Colton resolved early to live her life differently. After graduating from an all-girls boarding school in New York, she went to college at Florida State University where she earned a degree in sociology. Afterwards, Colton followed her sister to San Francisco and began a career in progressive politics. A campaign consultant for more than twenty years, Colton directed her own political and public affairs consulting firm. Working with many leading museums in San Francisco, she eventually joined the collective running the Women's Heritage Museum. In 1997, in response to growing support, they began plans for a single destination museum in San Francisco. In 2005, the newly named International Museum of Women embarked on a global strategy by leveraging advanced technology, collaborative strategic partnerships, and community-building here and worldwide. Not a major structure like the de Young Museum, the physical site will be a smaller version where community is created with local events and limited-duration exhibits that travels to other communities. What's your favorite quotation? "We have reached a place where it is not a question of 'can we live in the same world and cooperate' but 'we must live in the same world and learn to cooperate."— Eleanor Roosevelt What's the most important thing you learned in school or in the "school of hard knocks?" The combination of perseverance and flexibility and the importance of connecting people globally through art, culture, history and politics. | ||
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