Mary Jean Eisenhower

Mary Jean Eisenhower, the granddaughter of Dwight D. Eisenhower, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of People to People International & former President and Chairman Emeritus. In her roles, Eisenhower has worked to develop and expand the mission of People to People International.

During her work with People to People International, Eisenhower has met first families and distributed foodstuffs in developing countries to cultural and humanitarian exchanges. She has visited Morocco to represent her family to the King on the 50th anniversary of the Casablanca Conference. As well, she has traveled to the beaches of Normandy to meet many of the veterans who served with her grandfather on the D-Day invasion.

Inspired by an orphanage she visited in Morocco, Eisenhower launched the People to People International Friendship Fund in 1999. The Fund is designed to enable individuals to support the service-oriented facilities they visit throughout the world and to provide a mechanism through which the network of PTPI Chapters can assist one another. Today, the fund has supported causes ranging from the Global Humanitarian Eradication of Landmines, Children's Mercy Hospital in London, England, United Kingdom, earthquake relief in India, disaster relief to victims of September 11 attacks, and their families, support of under-resourced schools in China and Sri Lanka, a home for leukemia victims and their families in Cuba, to a library project in Vietnam and the Friends of Egypt organization. One hundred percent of all funds received by the International Friendship Fund are allocated in support of the projects specified by donors.

After the September 11 attacks, Eisenhower became intently focused upon bringing young people from around the globe into contact with one another in order to expose them to diverse cultures and conflict management tools that might facilitate the amelioration of long-standing disputes. Her vision came to fruition with Peace Camp 2003: An Evolution of Thought and Change and the Global Peace Initiative. Both the Peace Camp and the Global Peace Initiative brought participants from over 30 nationalities together in Egypt to discuss contemporary issues and gain nuanced insights into the varied and unique cultures represented among the participants. Suzanne Mubarak, former First Lady of Egypt co-hosted this event.