Experience: Barbara Lee is a national leader in the effort to promote women's political leadership and powerful participation in our democracy. She brings energy and enthusiasm to social justice activism. Boston Magazine includes Barbara Lee among “The 100 People Who Run This Town” and she is listed as one of their 50 most powerful people in Boston (May 2008). She was also recognized by Women's eNews as one of their “21 Leaders for the 21st Century.” Lee has leveraged her belief in empowering young women by endowing the Barbara Lee Women in US Politics Training Program and Lecture Series at Harvard Kennedy School, which serves to train women for electoral office in the United States, and the Barbara Lee Political Intern Fellowship Program at Simmons College. The Barbara Lee Family Foundation, which Lee created and leads, is recognized nationally for investing in change. Lee is the driving force behind the groundbreaking “Governors Guidebook” series. Lee was co-chair of the Martha Coakley for US Senate campaign and serves as advisory council chair for Emerge Massachusetts, a training program for Democratic women in the Commonwealth. Lee is also a devoted advocate for Boston’s cultural life. Her leadership on the board of trustees for the Institute of Contemporary Art helped to bring the museum to its landmark new home on the Waterfront. Lee earned a master’s degree from the Boston University School of Social Work and her BA from Simmons College.