ELIZABETH GILCHRIST

Liz Gilchrist is a progressive political activist who has spent her life working with cutting edge NGO's that are about creating social change. For the first 15 years of her professional life, she worked as a civil rights and Legal Services lawyer in Mississippi, primarily as a federal litigator. She joined the Greenpeace fund raising staff in 1993, and in her capacity as Major Gifts Manager, spent the next seven years leading a team that helped establish the major donor and planned giving programs as vital components of the organization's overall financial health. She is currently Gift Planning Director of the National Organization for Women (NOW), the largest grass roots feminist organization in the country with over 650,000 contributing members.

Liz has been a volunteer activist with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for nearly two decades. She has been a board member of both the Mississippi and Virginia ACLU affiliates, and currently chairs Virginia's Development Committee, which is responsible for a $100,000 annual fund raising campaign. She served several terms on the National Board of ACLU in the 1980's, and is standing for election to another term in May, 2005.

Since leaving the Greenpeace staff in 2000, Liz has remained active in governance issues as a Voting Member, having served four consecutive terms on the Membership Committee, which reviews and recommends applicants for voting membership. She also served one term on the Nominating Committee, representing the voting membership.