Jean Case

Jean Case (born 1959) is an American businesswoman. She is Chairman of the Board of National Geographic, CEO of Case Impact Network, CEO of the Case Foundation, and a philanthropist, leading impact investor, technology industry pioneer and author of the national bestseller "Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose" (2019). She, along with her husband, AOL co-founder Steve Case, created the Case Foundation in 1997 and they joined the Giving Pledge in 2011, committing to give away a majority of their wealth.
Civic service.
In June 2006, Jean was appointed by President George W. Bush to chair the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.
In 2007, Case was asked by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to serve as a co-chair of the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership to promote economic opportunities for the Palestinian people, prepare Palestinian youth for the responsibilities of citizenship and good governance, and marshal new private investment in the West Bank.
In 2016, Jean gave a TedxMidAtlantic talk where she highlighted the importance innovators have played in the history of the United States and examined the state of entrepreneurship today. Case argued there is a tremendous opportunity to seize by expanding access to capital by investing in women and entrepreneurs of color and set forward a series of steps for all to join in on building an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem that would give everyone an equal chance at unlocking the American Dream. In 2016, under Case’s leadership, the Case Foundation launched the first-ever #FacesofFounders campaign inviting entrepreneurs — particularly women founders and entrepreneurs of color — to share their photos and stories of entrepreneurship. Launched at the White House’s South by South Lawn festival, in partnership with Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Google for Entrepreneurs and UBS, along with Fast Company, #FacesofFounders sought out and lifted up America’s dynamic entrepreneurs who are key to driving innovation and job growth. The winners of the crowdsourced contest were featured in Fast Company.
In 2017, the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the Case Foundation, Jean and husband Steve, launched a year-long “Get In The Arena” campaign, calling on citizens to embrace the ethos of President Theodore Roosevelt “Man In The Arena” speech and to “Get In The Arena” by taking action on issues and challenges that mattered most in their lives and communities.
In 2018, in reference to the under-representation of woman-founded and African-American-founded companies as recipients of venture capital, Case stated, "One thing we know for sure is talent is evenly distributed. Opportunity is not."
Board service.
In February 2016, Case was elected as Chairman of the National Geographic Society's board of trustees, the first woman to hold the position, and also serves on the boards of Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure, the White House Historical Association and Brainscope, as well as the advisory councils of the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and the Civil Society, Georgetown University's Beeck Center for Social Impact & Innovation, and the Brain Trust Accelerator Fund. Past board and advisory council leadership includes the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative, the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, and Malaria No More.
Biography.
Case grew up in Illinois and Florida, and attended high school at the Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, graduating in 1978.
Jean was at the forefront of the emergence of the interactive technology field, starting as a marketing manager with online information services Source Telecomputing Corporation (The Source) and joining a General Electric “team trying to drive disruptive innovation within a big company” at General Electric Information Services (GEnie). Case then joined America Online (AOL) when it was a small startup and was at the table as it grew into the company that provided Internet services to about half of all U.S. homes with Internet access, serving as Director of Marketing (October 1988), then Vice President, Marketing (August 1989) and Vice President, Corporate Communications (April 1993). She left AOL in 1996.
Jean Villanueva and Steve Case married in 1998 in a ceremony officiated by the Rev. Billy Graham. They previously resided in McLean, Virginia, in a mansion that was the childhood home of Jacqueline Bouvier, which they sold in 2018.
Awards and recognition.
Jean and Steve Case were named by "Barron's" as one of the "25 Best Givers" in 2011 and one of the "9 Most Generous Tech Entrepreneurs" by "Fast Company" in 2013. They received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship in 2001. The award was given out by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.. Jean and Steve Case were honored with the Lifetime of Idealism Award by City Year in 2009 and honored as Citizens of the Year by the National Conference on Citizenship in 2011
Case was named the "Washington Business Journal"s Corporate Philanthropist of the Year in 2011. In 2013 she received the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award from Wake Forest University and was a finalist for the "Washington Business Journal"s "Most Admired Nonprofit CEO." That same year she as a mentor for the "Wall Street Journal"s "Startup of the Year."
In 2014, Case received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy for her philanthropic work, and in 2015 she received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from George Mason University.
In 2016, Case was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 2020, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) presented Jean, and her husband Steve, with the 2020 American Spirit Award recognizing their philanthropic leadership and outstanding contribution to society.
Investments.
Case has long been a "leader in impact investing" and was a cofounder of The ImPact, a membership network of family enterprises (family offices, foundations, and businesses) that are committed to making investments with measurable social impact and was a member of the U.S. NAB to the G7 Task Force on Impact Investing.
Case has been profiled for her impact investments by the New York Times, Financial Times, and Bloomberg. Jean and Steve Case have personally invested in and leveraged new online platforms for social good, such as Network for Good, Causes, and MissionFish. In 2011, she opened Early Mountain Vineyards, a 300-acre property in Virginia whose wines have won awards from Wine Enthusiast and USA Today. In 2018, Washington Post wine columnist Dave McIntyre wrote “Early Mountain is a Virginia winery riding a rocket.”