SIPA’s Women’s Initiative Enters a New Era with a Transformational $15-million Gift

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New York, NY – March 24, 2026  – Columbia SIPA today announced the renaming of its Women’s Initiative at the Institute of Global Politics (IGP) as the Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative, in recognition of a transformational gift from Ann Kaplan’s family honoring her decades-long impact at Columbia University and her commitment to advancing women’s rights and opportunities.

Jennifer Klein, professor of professional practice, and Rachel Vogelstein, associate professor of practice, will direct the Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative. The gift also endows a faculty chair at SIPA, and Jennifer Klein will serve as the inaugural holder of the Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative Professorship. 

With this significant gift, and under the direction of IGP cofounders Columbia SIPA Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative will continue to produce rigorous scholarship, inform and influence domestic and foreign policy – from women’s health, to economic security, to safety and security, human rights, and democracy – and support students to become the next generation of women leaders. The Initiative has published several in-depth reports, including an influential report last September titled, Beijing+30: A Roadmap for Women's Rights for the Next Thirty Years. Most recently, the Initiative published a major report titled, Accelerating Efforts to End Child Marriage. These reports have been accompanied by high-level events at Columbia that bring together students, faculty, Columbia alumni, and the general public. 

“Ann's profound connection to our vision for the Women's Initiative was palpable from the first moment we met,” said Yarhi-Milo. “She had spent so much of her life – professional, personal, as a Columbia Trustee – focused on women. How, why, and when women succeed, what barriers they face, how women drive innovation and change, how the economic empowerment of women benefits society overall.” 

“She intuitively knew that all these issues, in the end, boiled down to policy,” Yarhi-Milo added. “The family’s generosity reflects Ann’s deep belief in equity and empowerment, and in the Women’s Initiative’s singular position at the intersection of the academy, public policy, and women’s rights.”

“This endowment is both a vote of confidence in the work of the Women’s Initiative and a commitment to its future,” said Klein. “It will enable us to build sustained, ambitious programming, deepen our partnership with faculty at other Columbia schools, and drive research that connects academic insight to real-world policy challenges facing women around the world.”

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Kaplan was a trailblazing financial executive and champion for women's leadership in business. Her distinguished financial career began at Goldman Sachs, where she became one of the first female partners in the firm's history and served as the head of the Municipal Bond Department. As founder and chair of Circle Financial Group, Ann helped create an innovative membership-based wealth management group specifically tailored for women. She was also a partner at the investment advisory firm Circle Wealth Management.

“I am one of many who counted Ann as both a mentor and a friend,” said Claire Shipman, acting president of Columbia University. “I had the great pleasure of serving with Ann on the University Board of Trustees and witnessed firsthand her potent combination of intelligence, grace, and generosity. Throughout her decades-long investment in and commitment to Columbia, Ann sought to incubate ideas and support work that changes lives and betters the world, particularly in relation to advancing women’s rights and opportunities. It is deeply fitting, and a great honor, for the IGP Women's Initiative to bear her name.”

Kaplan was devoted to her alma maters, Smith College, where she earned her BA, and Columbia, where she earned multiple degrees, including her MSW and MBA. Ann was a Trustee of both institutions. She served on the boards of Columbia’s Graduate School of Business, the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, and Columbia Global. She created the Women Creating Change initiative at Columbia’s Center for the Study of Social Difference, and was chair of its leadership board. She was the founding donor and advisory chair to the IGP Women’s Initiative that now bears her name.

“Ann’s dedication to Columbia University was deep, broad, and abiding. Of the innumerable non-profit organizations she supported throughout her lifetime, there was none to which she devoted more time, thought, and passion,” said Ann’s family in a statement. “Ann’s superpower was inspiring organizations and their leaders to envision and work together toward common goals.”

They added: “Ann was particularly motivated by issues of women’s inclusion and empowerment, witnessed by her advocacy for female representation in leadership roles. We are honored to dedicate the Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative in her name, celebrating her legacy of passion, brilliance, and tireless innovation for the inclusion and empowerment of women. We are confident that it will resonate over the years and embody Ann’s impact on the University.”