Mary Jean Eisenhower

Mary Eisenhower was born in Washington, D.C., during her grandfather's first term and christened in the Blue Room of the White House. She grew up on Eisenhower estate in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where President Eisenhower retired after leaving office. Ms. Eisenhower attended Schuylkill Consolidated School in fifth grade and Westtown School in Pennsylvania until her father, John Eisenhower, was appointed United States Ambassador to Belgium. She lived in Belgium from 1969 to 1972. Eisenhower began her career working on Capitol Hill and then managed an engineering firm. She also has served as a Fellow at Stanford University.[2]

In 1973, Mary Jean Eisenhower was presented as a debutante to high society at the prestigious International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. All of her sisters and many other members of the Eisenhower family have been presented as debutantes at the International Debutante Ball in New York City.[3]

Eisenhower has worked to develop and expand the mission of People to People International.[4] She became the chief executive officer of People to People International in January 2000 and its president in 2003. Eisenhower served as chief executive officer until June 2013. She currently holds the title of chairman emeritus. In February 2016, Eisenhower resumed her position as CEO of People to People International and President in October 2016.

During her work with People to People International, Eisenhower visited Morocco to represent her family to the King on the 50th anniversary of the Casablanca Conference. She also traveled to the beaches of Normandy to meet many of the veterans who served with her grandfather on the D-Day invasion. In the last six years, Eisenhower has left United States soil over 70 times and visited over 40 countries. Missions have ranged from meeting first families to distributing foodstuffs in developing countries to cultural and humanitarian exchanges.

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.[5]

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.

People to People International filed for bankruptcy on March 22, 2022, in Missouri Western Bankruptcy court.[6]

Mary Jean Eisenhower and Army 2nd Lt. James Brewton Millard married in May 1976 at a private military ceremony in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, attended by her grandmother, former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower.[7] Her son is Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, who became chief operations officer and then chief executive officer of People to People International in 2018.[8][9][10][11]

Eisenhower has been awarded the Knight of Peace Award from the International University in Assisi, Italy. She also holds Honorary Doctorates in Humane Letters from Schiller International University, Park University and William Jewell College. She also holds an Honorary Doctorate in Law from York College, in York, Nebraska. She was awarded the Medal of Honor from the Slovak Republic as well as Friendship Ambassador from the People's Republic of China, The Award of Excellence from the Consular Corps, Membership in the OSS Society, among others.