Silda Wall Spitzer

Silda Alice Wall Spitzer[2] (born December 30, 1957) is an American businesswoman and lawyer who was the First Lady of New York from January 2007 until March 2008, when her then husband, Eliot Spitzer, was governor. She has worked in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors in the areas of green/sustainability issues, youth service/education, and human rights and women's financial and other empowerment.[3]

Silda Wall Spitzer
Silda Wall Spitzer in Rochester, 2006
First Lady of New York
In role
January 1, 2007 – March 17, 2008
GovernorEliot Spitzer
Preceded byLibby Pataki
Succeeded byMichelle Paige Paterson
Personal details
Born
Silda Alice Wall

(1957-12-30) December 30, 1957
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.[1]
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 2013)​
Children3
Residence(s)Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Alma materMeredith College (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
OccupationLawyer
private equity
entrepreneur

Currently, she is director and principal at NewWorld Capital Group, a private equity firm investing in environmental and energy-related products and services.[4] She is also co-founder and CEO of woman-owned New York Makers, a digital magazine and marketplace covering New York State.[5]

Early life

Born Silda Alice Wall, she grew up in Concord, the county seat of Cabarrus County in south-central North Carolina.[6] Her father, Robert, was a hospital administrator, and her mother, Trilby, was a homemaker. She was raised as a Southern Baptist.[7][8] She graduated summa cum laude from Meredith College in 1980 with a B.A. in English and history.[9][10] She received a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1984.

Personal life

She married Eliot Spitzer on October 17, 1987,[11] and had three daughters: Elyssa, Sarabeth, and Jenna.[12] At the close of 2013, Wall and her husband announced the end of their marriage.[13][14]

Career

Wall began her legal career with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, specializing in mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance. She next joined The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. as a member of its international legal group. She is a founding co-chair of Project Cicero, the annual New York City book drive that builds classroom libraries in under-resourced schools. She served on the New York Blue Ribbon Commission on Youth Leadership and the board of the Children's Museum of Manhattan from 1995 until January 1999, where she was a member of its executive committee and chaired its program committee.

In 1996, she co-founded Children for Children, a not-for-profit organization, to engage children from an early age in volunteering and service. She served as its president and chair until 2007. CFC has become the youth service division of Points of Light and is now called generationOn.

As the wife of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, she was the First Lady of New York from January 2007 until March 2008. From 2008 to 2011, she was managing director at Metropolitan Capital Advisors, a woman-owned hedge fund.[15]

Currently, she is director and principal at NewWorld Capital Group, a private equity firm investing in growth equity and infrastructure project finance environmental opportunities, including energy efficiency, clean energy, water, waste-to-value, and environmental products and services. She is also co-founder and CEO of a woman-owned New York Makers, a digital magazine and marketplace covering New York State.

Among her not-for-profit activities, Spitzer serves as the vice-chairperson of Urban Green Council, is on the Ceres president's council, and the Sustainable Endowment Institute's advisory board. She also served on the boards of Points of Light and generation until 2015. She is a board member at Meredith College and the Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior, and is an honorary trustee of No Bully.

Honors
  • She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Meredith College in 2012.

Further reading
  • Paterson, David "Black, Blind, & In Charge: A Story of Visionary Leadership and Overcoming Adversity." New York, New York, 2020

References
  1. "Eliot Spitzer, Wife Discuss Run For Governor On 'News Forum' (9/17/06)", WNBC, September 17, 2006. Retrieved on March 11, 2008.
  2. "New York State Unified Court System-eCourts-Attorney Detail". NYCOURTS.GOV. New York State Office of Court Administration. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  3. Johnson, Rebecca (March 1, 2009). "The Survivor: Silda Spitzer". Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  4. "BUYOUTS-Ex-NY State 1st Lady on board, private equity shop targets $300M". Reuters. July 11, 2012.
  5. Grynbaum, Michael M. (July 16, 2013). "As Spitzer Pursues a Comeback, His Wife Chooses to Stay Offstage". The New York Times.
  6. Konigsberg, Eric (November 10, 2006). "Her Next Job: First Lady of New York". N.Y. / Region. The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2008.
  7. "Silda Wall Spitzer's Friend: Take the Kids and Run". FoxNews.com. March 11, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  8. Chan, Sewell (March 12, 2007). "Eliot Spitzer's 'Good Baptist Wife'". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  9. Meredith College
  10. "Meredith College graduates 477 | Politics | NewsObserver.com". Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  11. "Silda Wall and Eliot Spitzer Marriage Profile". Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  12. Callahan, Maureen. "Silda Spitzer still with husband Eliot five years after 'Luv Guv' scandal". New York Post.
  13. "Eliot Spitzer and his wife announce the end of their marriage". CNN. December 24, 2013.
  14. "Former NY gov Eliot Spitzer announces end of his marriage". Fox News. December 25, 2013.
  15. "Silda Wall Spitzer Jumps to a Hedge Fund". The New York Times. November 24, 2008.
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