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Person

Julie Packard

Nationality:

American
Occupation:

Philanthropist, environmental activist, marine biologist

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Julie Packard is an environmentalist activist and philanthropist whose father, David Packard was the co-founder of Hewlett Packard. Packard has been the executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium since it was founded by her family in the 1970s, and she is the vice-chair of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which controls over $7 billion in assets. Packard is an ardent environmental activist and supports efforts at population control and has supported Planned Parenthood in both her personal and professional capacity. 1 2 3

Career

Julie Packard’s career has been heavily focused on marine and coastland habitat preservation, especially the California coast. She holds both a bachelor and master’s degree related to marine biology and has been the executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium since it was founded by her family the 1970s. 4 5

Packard is very active in both international and domestic environmentalist activism and has spoken, written, and facilitated funding for environmental causes and projects around the world. 1 Areas of activism include reforming global seafood consumption, carbon reduction with the goal of net-zero carbon emissions, wetland protection and restoration, and business involvement in the environmental projects she favors. 6 7 8 9

Philanthropy

Julie Packard is extensively involved in philanthropy. She is the vice-chair of the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, which was founded by her parents and controls $9 billion in assets. In 2022, Julie and her two sisters were named as “stewards” in the Inside Philanthropy listing of “the most powerful heirs in philanthropy”. 10

The Packard Foundation is very involved in environmental activism, including population control. Julie’s sister, Susan Packard Orr who is also chairman of the foundation, stated in 1997 that “if you’re really concerned about the future of the human race, what it comes down to is that there are too many people. We’re not shy about stepping up to the plate and talking about the importance of family planning.” 11 The foundation provided a $10 million loan to the pharmaceutical company Danco Laboratories to develop the chemical abortion pill mifepristone 12 and has provided over $65 million in funding to Planned Parenthood since 2000. 13 Julie Packard has personally donated at least $400,000 to Planned Parenthood’s PAC, Planned Parenthood Votes. 2

In addition to her role as the executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Packard is the chair of the board of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, is a former trustee of the World Wildlife Fund and the California Nature Conservancy, and was a member of the 2004 Pew Oceans Commission. 1

Political Views

Julie Packard holds left-of-center views, especially regarding environmentalism and abortion. Her reported political giving is entirely directed towards Democratic and left-of-center candidates and PACs. After she and her sisters assumed control of the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, grants to right-of-center organizations almost entirely ceased, despite their father having been on the board of both the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute and the right-leaning Hoover Institution at Stanford. 3

Political and Advocacy Contributions

Packard has made numerous financial contributions to left-of-center candidates and PACs. Recipients include the 2000 Hillary Clinton senate campaign, the 2000 Al Gore presidential campaign, the 2004 Joe Lieberman presidential campaign, various 2008 Obama campaign funds, the 2016 Clinton presidential campaign, and the 2020 Biden presidential campaign, in addition to contributions to numerous other congressional candidates and state-level Democratic parties. 2

Packard has also made very large contributions to various entities. This includes $400,000 to Planned Parenthood Votes since 2012, over $75,000 to the 2012 Obama Victory Fund, $50,000 to the 2016 Hillary Victory Fund, and over $44,000 to the 2018 Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund and another $35,500 in 2019. Since 2016, she has contributed over $200,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and an additional $200,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. 2

References

  1. World Wildlife Fund. “Julie Packard | Leaders | WWF.” Accessed April 4, 2022. https://www.worldwildlife.org/leaders/julie-packard.
  2. FEC.gov. “Browse Individual Contributions: Julie Packard.” Accessed April 4, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Julie+Packard&min_date=01%2F01%2F2000&max_date=12%2F31%2F2022
  3. Valerie Richardson, “The New Packard,” Philanthropy, November/December 2000, Archived from the original March 14, 2013. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20130314040633/https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/topic/excellence_in_philanthropy/the_new_packard
  4.  The Proust Nature Questionnaire. “Julie Packard – The Proust Nature Questionnaire,” Archived from the original  March 26, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20190326032859/http://proustnaturequestionnaire.com/julie-packard/.
  5. Townsend, Peggy. “Julie Packard: Philanthropy and Pragmatism.” UC Santa Cruz News, September 11, 2014. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://news.ucsc.edu/2014/09/julie-packard-profile.html.
  6. Pong Pesca. “Press Release: 2010 SEAFOOD SUMMIT,” February 9, 2010. Archived from the original March 26, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20190326230513/https://pongpesca.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/press-release-2010-seafood-summit/.
  7. Packard, Julie. “Julie Packard: It’s Time for Courageous Climate Action.” Conservation & Science, October 11, 2018. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://futureoftheocean.wordpress.com/2018/10/11/julie-packard-its-time-for-courageous-climate-action/.
  8. Packard, Julie. “Opinion: Coastal Wetlands Can Provide Our next Climate Solution.” The Mercury News, March 29, 2022. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/03/29/opinion-californias-coastal-wetlands-provide-our-next-climate-solution.
  9. Inside Philanthropy. “What Did Julie Packard Say at the World Ocean Summit?,” March 11, 2014. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2014/3/11/what-did-julie-packard-say-at-the-world-ocean-summit.html.
  10. Callahan, David. “The Most Powerful Heirs in Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy, January 19, 2022. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/1/19/the-most-powerful-heirs-in-philanthropy.
  11. Jennifer Reese, “Susan Packard Orr on Philanthropy,” Stanford Business, December 1997.
  12. Nancy Gibbs, Ann Blackman, and Dick Thompson, “The Pill Arrives,” Time, October 9, 2000.
  13. Jeanne Mancini, “Planned Parenthood Under Fire,” Organization Trends, October 2015, Accessed April 4, 2022, http://www.capitalresearch.org/article/planned-parenthood-under-fire
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