Andrea Taylor

Andrea L. Taylor, a Boston University alumni (COM 1968), and former trustee (2009 – 2020) was appointed as the inaugural Senior Diversity Officer at BU following a career in philanthropy, technology and social justice activism that spans more than five decades. Previously she served as President & CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (2015 – 2020). She was also one of several community leaders who encouraged then President Barack Obama to designate the BCRI and surrounding civil rights historic district as the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument in 2017, now part of the National Park Service.

During a robust career in philanthropy, she has distributed more than a billion dollars to foster economic and community development while working as the founding director of the Media Fund at the Ford Foundation and later as Director, North America, Citizenship for Microsoft Corporation. She has served as a trustee for numerous civic boards, including the Cleveland Foundation, The HistoryMakers, the Council on Foundations, and New York Public Radio, where she’s an honorary trustee after 22 years of service.