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Connie Duckworth founded ARZU, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, in 2004 and serves pro bono as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. She is a retired Partner and Managing Director of Goldman, Sachs, & Co., where she was titled the first woman sales and trading partner in the firmÍs history during her 20 year career from 1981-2001.

Ms. Duckworth is currently a Trustee of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and a Director of Russell Investment Group and Steelcase Inc. In her philanthropic work, Ms. Duckworth is the immediate past Chairman of The Global Heritage Fund in Palo Alto and serves on the boards of The Wharton School in Philadelphia, the Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago and NorthShore University HealthSystem, in Evanston, Illinois, where she was the first woman to be titled Chairman of the Board. She is a member of the U.S.-Afghan WomenÍs Council, a public/private partnership aligned with the U.S. State Department and past Chair of the Committee of 200, the organization of leading women entrepreneurs and corporate business executives in the U.S. She also co-authored a primer on entrepreneurship entitled The Old Girls Network: Insider Advice for Women Building Businesses in a ManÍs World (Basic Books 2003).

The recipient of numerous awards for leadership, advocacy, social impact, innovation and global presence, Ms. Duckworth was awarded the 2011 Wharton School DeanÍs Medal, the schoolÍs highest honor. In addition, Ms. Duckworth was titled a 2008 Skoll Foundation honoree for Social Entrepreneurship. She holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from the University of Texas.