Rebecca Sive white logo
“Advocates like you, Rebecca — dedicated to educating and empowering the next generation of women leaders — make me so confident in our country’s future. I applaud the important work you are doing.”
Cecile Richards
Co-Founder of Supermajority and former president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of America
A woman with curly blonde hair

My HerStory

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I seek to inspire, engage, counsel, and advocate for women and girls in all my work. Every day, I take inspiration from our foremothers; hence, my belief in the power of herstory.

I began my public life as a campus leader advocating for women’s reproductive health services. After graduation, I became a community organizer, studied herstory and received my M.A., and moved to Chicago, where I continued my advocacy for women and girls. I have founded and led organizations; led and organized movements; and advised celebrities, business leaders, public officials, political candidates, philanthropists, and organizational leaders. A seasoned political analyst and strategist, I was among the national decisionmakers who developed women’s issues agendas for presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and a leader of the campaign to elect Chicago’s first Black mayor, Harold Washington.

My professional career has spanned executive positions in philanthropy, the not-for-profit sector, and corporate America, as well as in government; in the latter as a founding gubernatorial appointee to the Illinois Human Rights Commission, which adjudicates matters of discrimination — among other executive governmental appointments. I am the recipient of numerous awards for my public leadership, including from the Illinois General Assembly, the University of Illinois, and Carleton College, my alma mater.

My avocation is supporting the work of women artists. I collect their art; promote it through my writing and speaking; and advocate for its inclusion in institutional collections and exhibitions. “Powerbroker” was the word used to describe my avocation in an article featuring my collector story in American Craft magazine.

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My Teaching at the University of Chicago
I discuss women in politics and public policy with Katherine Baicker, Ph.D., Dean of the University's Harris School of Public Policy.
My Appearances
As Seen on These Trusted Media Outlets
  • Canadian Broadcasting
  • Newsweek
  • Chicago Tribune
  • Chicago Sun-Times
  • WTTW-TV
  • WGN Radio
  • WGN TV
  • Fox 32
  • The Daily Beast
  • Chicago magazine
  • Crain’s Chicago Business
  • WBEZ
  • UChicago News
  • Start Me Up
  • Two Broads Talking Politics
  • Modern Health Care
  • Women’s Enews
  • Politico
  • Cosmopolitan
  • Windy City Times
  • Seattle Times
  • Take the Lead
  • WCIU-TV
  • The 21st
  • The Utne Reader
  • Huffington Post Women
  • Frontiers: Journal of Women’s Studies
  • Cspan
  • MTV Act
  • Newsday
  • Chicago Defender
  • Bust magazine
  • The Stranger
  • IOP TV
  • NPR-KUOW
  • American Craft
  • Rebellious
After Suffrage poster
Activate poster
Politico Magazine logo
Latinas Represent poster
TedX Carleton College logo
A woman talking for a TV show
Feminism in the Age of COVID-19 poster
Chicago Style event poster
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Lilith business card
Stop the Slide tour poster
An animated poster about different books
Eileen & Fisher logo

HerStory from these endorsers of my books:

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Learn More About My Work Here: