Teresa C. Younger

Teresa C. Younger, president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women, has been on the front lines of some of the most important battles for women's health, safety and economic security. She is a tireless advocate and well-respected feminist leader, with a proven track record in nonprofit management and fundraising.

Younger previously served as the executive director of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW). During her tenure there, Younger was instrumental in campaigns that resulted in state legislation to raise the minimum wage and provide paid sick leave in Connecticut. Younger successfully safeguarded women’s access to reproductive health care during hospital mergers. She also helped strengthen sexual assault legislation to hold college campuses accountable for the prevention and reporting of sexual assaults.

Younger has a deep history of national leadership that empowers women. She is a board member of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University, whose mission is to increase the number and influence of women in elected and appointed office in the United States and around the globe. She serves on the National Advisory Board on Religious Restrictions on Care, which works to protect hospital-based health care services, such as birth control, that are threatened by mergers between secular community hospitals and religious-based health systems.

Younger was the first woman and the first African-American to serve as executive director of the ACLU of Connecticut. She subsequently served as director of affiliate organizational development at the American Civil Liberties Union National Office, where she spearheaded affiliate growth nationwide.

Younger has deep experience in nonprofit governance and philanthropy. She has recently concluded her role as two-term president on the board of the Girl Scouts of Connecticut, which serves 46,000 Connecticut girls and 20,000 volunteers. Younger also serves on several other boards — including the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut — and she previously served on the board of the National Association of Commissions for Women.

A noted speaker, advocate and activist, she has been recognized with numerous awards for her commitment to civil rights and civil liberties, including in 2013: Liberty Bank’s Willard M. McRae Community Diversity Award, the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame Education and Empowerment Honoree, and the Girl Scouts of Connecticut Breakfast Badge Award.

In 2013, she was also named a Henry Toll Fellow by The Council of State Governments, one of the nation's premiere leadership development programs, as well as a fellow in the William Caspar Graustein Courageous Community Fellowship. In 2010, Younger went to Saudi Arabia as part of The Global Women’s Leadership Institute, a networking and economic development project. In 2009, she was chosen to participate in the National Council of State Legislatures Legislative Staff Management Institute.