Person

Alicia Wittink

Nationality:

American

Occupation:

Vice President at Park Foundation

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Alicia Wittink is vice president of the left-of-center Park Foundation and the daughter of Adelaide Park Gomer, heiress to the Duncan Hines fortune and president of the Park Foundation. 1 In additional to her activism with the foundation, Wittink has sat on the board of directors for many prominent left-of-center environmentalist groups. Wittink is also a regular donor to left-progressive political causes and Democratic candidates.

Background

Wittink is the daughter of Adelaide Park Gomer, president of the Park Foundation, a funder of environmentalist and anti-natural-gas causes and groups, and heiress to the Duncan Hines and Park Communications media fortunes. 2 Wittink is a 1997 graduate of Cornell University, to which her family and the Park Foundation have made substantial gifts. 3 Wittink has been vice president of the Park Foundation since 1998. 4

In 2000, Wittink was named to the board of directors for Center for a New American Dream, a left-of-center group that promoted environmentalist and liberal social policies. 5 Winnick was appointed to the board of directors of Friends of the Earth in 2002. 6 In addition to advocating for left-wing environmental policies, Friends of the Earth pushes economic redistribution, restricting campaign speech, and opposition to free trade. 7

From 2004 through 2009, Wittink was on the board of directors for Mother JonesFoundation for National Progress. 8 From 2005 through 2012, Wittink was co-founder of the nonprofit DC EcoWomen, a group of environmentalist-activist women in Washington, D.C., that hosted speakers, hikes, and networking events. 9 For four years beginning in 2007, Wittink sat on the board of directors of Environmental Working Group. 10

Park Foundation

Since graduating college, Wittink has been vice president of the board of trustees at the left-of-center Park Foundation, based in Ithaca, New York. 11 As of 2020, the Park Foundation had over $400 million in assets 12 that it uses to fund left-of-center environmentalist organizations. 13

Among its activities, the Park Foundation funds efforts to end the extraction of natural gas and supports media interests sympathetic to this issue. 14 As vice president, her mother and president touted that the Park Foundation “helped fuel an army” of environmental activists for bans on natural gas drilling. 15 The Park Foundation states it will continue to promote the decline of fossil fuel production, oppose all pipelines and oil and gas infrastructure, and stop all new drilling. 16

Other Activities

Wittink is a regular donor to left-of-center and left-progressive organizations, such as Moveon.org, Let America Vote, Progressive Turnout Project, End Citizens United, ActBlue, DNC Services Corp., Stop Republicans PAC, Occupy Democrats Election Fund, and America Coming Together. 17 Wittink has also donated to left-of-center politicians including Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden; U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA); former New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon (D); and New York State Senate candidate Leslie Danks Burke (D). 18

In 2020, Wittink and her family attempted to travel to seven continents and 20 countries in 6 months until the trip was cut short due to COVID-19. 19 Wittink justified the “pollution” from her travels by donating to the Finger Lakes Climate Fund to offset her carbon footprint. 20

References

  1. Alicia Wittink LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-wittink-bb31824/.
  2. Saxon, Wolfgang. “R.H. Park, 83, Media Executive and Promoter of Duncan Hines.” New York Times. October 27, 1993. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/27/obituaries/rh-park-83-media-executive-and-promoter-of-duncan-hines.html; North Carolina State website. “Park Scholarships.” www.park.ncsu.edu. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://park.ncsu.edu/2016/06/24/dorothy-dent-park/.
  3. Cornell S.C. Johnson College of Business website. “Roy H. Park and the Triad Foundation.” www.johnson.cornell.edu. Accessed February 4, 2022. https://www.johnson.cornell.edu/programs/full-time-mba/two-year-mba/curriculum/leadership/leadership-opportunities/park-leadership-fellows-program/roy-h-park-and-the-triad-foundation/.
  4. Alicia Wittink LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-wittink-bb31824/.
  5. Alicia Wittink LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-wittink-bb31824/.
  6. Alicia Wittink LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-wittink-bb31824/.
  7. Friends of the Earth profile. www.influencewatch.org. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/friends-of-the-earth/.
  8. Alicia Wittink LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-wittink-bb31824/.
  9. DC EcoWomen website. www.dc.ecowomen.org. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://dc.ecowomen.org/about-us/; Alicia Wittink LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-wittink-bb31824/.
  10. Alicia Wittink LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-wittink-bb31824/.
  11. Alicia Wittink LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-wittink-bb31824/.
  12. Park Foundation, Form 990, 2020, Part II.
  13. Park Foundation website. www.parkfoundation.org. Accessed February 4, 2022. https://parkfoundation.org/about-us/.
  14. Park Foundation website. www.parkfoundation.org. Accessed February 4, 2022. https://parkfoundation.org/grants-awarded/.
  15. Markay, Lachlan. “Environmentalist Foundations Fund Anti-Fossil Fuel Echo Chamber.” Washington Free Beacon. April 3, 2014. Accessed February 5, 2022. https://freebeacon.com/issues/environmentalist-foundations-fund-anti-fossil-fuel-echo-chamber/.
  16. Park Foundation website. www.parkfoundation.org. Accessed February 4, 2022. https://parkfoundation.org/grants-awarded/.
  17. Center for Responsive Politics. “Donor Lookup: Alicia Wittink.” www.opensecrets.org.  Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=Alicia+wittink.
  18. Center for Responsive Politics. “Donor Lookup: Alicia Wittink.” www.opensecrets.org.  Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=Alicia+wittink.
  19. Fully Live Life website. www.fullylive.life. Accessed February 5, 2022. https://www.fullylive.life/new-page.
  20. Fully Live Life website. www.fullylive.life. Accessed February 5, 2022. https://www.fullylive.life/new-page.
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