Sally Bowles, former head of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, served on the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation’s board of directors from 2001 until her untimely death in June of 2011. Her insights and contributions to the Foundation’s work in education and learning differences were invaluable. Her warmth, generosity, and dedication to serving others will always be remembered. 

Ms. Bowles helped to establish and served as president of the Tremaine Foundation, a $115 million family foundation based in Connecticut which funds programs in learning disabilities, arts and the environment. The Tremaine Foundation originated the idea of the Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities, the first national public education campaign to inform Americans about learning disabilities. Since 2007, she served as chair of the board of directors of the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST).

Ms. Bowles began her distinguished career in public service as a member of the core working group that drafted the executive order to establish the Peace Corps and later served as assistant to its director. She went on to become Mayor John Lindsay's principal advisor on the New York City school system during its transition to decentralization.

During a decade of service with the state of Connecticut, she was the state's Medicaid director, as well as the commissioner overseeing AFDC, General Assistance, Food Stamps and other income maintenance programs. Ms. Bowles subsequently became the executive director of the Rockefeller Foundation-funded Committee for South African Development, working on behalf of Nelson Mandela on post-apartheid economic issues.

Prior to joining the Tremaine Foundation, Ms. Bowles served as a consultant to the Rockefeller Foundation on its $45 million program to build international leadership concerning the global environment and sustainable development.