Ploughshares Fund Welcomes New Board Members: Venture Investor Rachel Pike and Noted Journalist/Author Philip Taubman

August 22, 2012

 

San Francisco – Ploughshares Fund is pleased to welcome two new members to its board of directors: Dr. Rachel Pike and Philip Taubman. Pike and Taubman join a group of former officials, philanthropists, academics and public figures including Michael Douglas, former Senator Chuck Hagel, Dr. Gloria Duffy, former Congressman and Admiral Joe Sestak (D- PA) and Dr. Reza Aslan who lead and advise Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation, as the group works towards a world without nuclear weapons.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome these two talented Bay Area professionals to our board of directors,” said Joe Cirincione, President of Ploughshares Fund. “Their passion and expertise in journalism, science, and venture capital will complement the already strong skills and experience of Ploughshares Fund board members.”

“Ploughshares Fund is focused on expanding our portfolio of innovative, venture investments in efforts to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons,” said Philip Yun, the group’s Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. “We look forward to the experience and perspective that Rachel Pike and Phil Taubman will bring to our board.”

About Pike                                                                                            

Rachel Pike is a senior associate at Bay Area investment firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson.  She joined the firm in 2010 and is active in the internet and clean technology sectors. Prior to joining DFJ, Rachel completed her Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry computer modeling at the University of Cambridge.  During her time there, Rachel served as President of the Gates Scholars, worked on a field campaign in Malaysia, and gave a short TED University talk on the scale of scientific research behind climate headlines. Previously, Rachel earned a B.A. in chemistry and a minor in African studies at Northwestern University. As an undergraduate, Rachel was a co-founder of Fusion Dance Company. She also spent a year in Tanzania, where she studied at the University of Dar es Salaam and gained experience working on a Bus Rapid Transit planning project as an assistant consultant.

Rachel is the granddaughter of Ploughshares Fund’s founder, Sally Lilienthal, and was raised in Marin County.

“I’m delighted to join to Ploughshares board and to work with a wonderful, talented team on such a pressing issue,” said Pike. “It means an enormous amount that I can commit to working on the same mission my grandmother set out to achieve over thirty years ago.”

About Taubman

Philip Taubman is a consulting professor at CISAC, where he just completed The Partnership: Five Cold War Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb, a book about nuclear threats and the joint effort of Sid Drell, Henry Kissinger, Sam Nunn, Bill Perry and George Shultz to reduce nuclear dangers. Before joining CISAC in fall 2008, Mr. Taubman worked at the New York Times as a reporter and editor for nearly 30 years, specializing in national security issues, including intelligence and defense policies and operations. At the Times, Taubman served as a Washington correspondent, Moscow bureau chief, deputy editorial page editor, Washington bureau chief and associate editor. He recently began to write a biography on Secretary George P. Shultz.

Taubman also serves as secretary for the Stanford board of trustees as well as Stanford associate vice president for university affairs, working on special projects for Stanford's president, John Hennessy. Taubman was a history major at Stanford, Class of 1970, and served as editor-in-chief of the Stanford Daily in 1969. Before joining the New York Times, he worked as a correspondent for Time magazine and was sports editor of Esquire. He was a member of the Stanford Board of Trustees, 1978-1982. He is author of Secret Empire: Eisenhower, the CIA, and the Hidden Story of America's Space Espionage. (Simon & Schuster, 2003.)

"Ploughshares Fund has played a critical role in advancing the cause of a world free of nuclear weapons,” said Taubman.“I look forward to working with the board and leadership team to help reduce nuclear threats and encourage the abolition of nuclear arms."

About Ploughshares Fund

Since 1981, Ploughshares Fund has led and supported a community of experts, advocates and analysts to implement smart strategies to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. In 2010, Ploughshares Fund spearheaded the successful campaign of over 50 non-governmental organizations to win the Senate approval of the New START treaty. The group is currently concentrating on efforts to right-size the nuclear weapons budget to be more consistent with the needs of our 21st century military; to continue U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons reductions in a way that benefits both nations’ national security objectives; and to promote diplomatic resolution of Iran’s nuclear program.

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Ploughshares Fund is the largest grantmaking foundation in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to security and peace funding.  For more information, please visit www.ploughshares.org.