Laurie Emrich is a philanthropist and nonprofit management consultant. ¹ She is involved with multiple left-of-center donor networks, including Threshold Foundation, Solidaire, and Women Donors Network. ¹ In addition to providing assistance to such organizations, Emrich has been involved with the  Women Moving Millions campaign and the Washington Area Women’s Foundation. ¹

Early Life

Laurie Emrich was born in 1953 in Colorado. ^{2 1}

After graduate school, she worked for the United Nations and several non-profit organizations for in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). During the mid-1990s Emrich focused on non-profit organizations within the United States. ¹

Women Moving Millions

Emrich is a member of Women Moving Millions, ¹ a left-of-center organization whose members commit to contributing $1 million over ten years to support the organization’s causes through grantmaking. ³ Women Moving Millions supports organizations that directly provide financial support to women in the developing world, organizations that support abortion, and environmentalist organizations. ⁴

Emrich’s directed giving has gone to Washington Area Women’s Foundation, Global Fund for Women, and several international women’s funds. ¹

Political Contributions

Since 1978, Emrich has made 122 Federal Election Commission-reportable contributions to Democratic Party candidates and aligned political action committees (PACs). ⁵ Between 2023 and 2024, Emrich made political contributions to Democratic Party aligned PACs Movement Voter PAC ($5,900) and Everyday People PAC ($500). ⁵

Personal Life

Emrich met her partner, Gael Murphy, while working in in Kinshasa, DRC. ⁶ Murphy is a co-founder of the left-of-center Code Pink (CODEPINK), an anti-war protest group that has been criticized for supporting anti-American governments and groups. ⁷

In 2017, Emrich and Murphy co-wrote a letter opposing the expansion of Latin American Montessori Bilingual (LAMB) Public Charter School from 300 to 600 students in their neighborhood in Washington, D.C. ⁸ The letter called the attempt to expand access to education “too vague to approve” and an “ambitious project for a small and already highly institutionalized neighborhood.” ⁸ The letter’s final page, in opposition to the expansion, states “[f]rom my porch I don’t see Russia, but I do see 3 schools and 4 churches.” ⁸

1. “Laurie Emrich.” Boulder Giving. March 21, 2013. Accessed December 18, 2024. https://boldergiving.org/stories.php?story=Laurie-Emrich_20
2. “Laure Ellen Emrich.” Information.com. https://information.com/reverse-address-lookup/1404-Emerson-Northwest-Street–Washington-DC/
3. “Community.” Women Moving Millions. https://womenmovingmillions.org/community/
4. “Stories of Impact.” Women Moving Millions. https://womenmovingmillions.org/stories/
5. “Individual Contributions – Laurie Emrich.” Federal Election Commission. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Laurie+Emrich
6.  “Gael Murphy.” CODEPINK. https://www.codepink.org/gael_murphy
7. Miller, Amy. “EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Hezbollah Flag Raised at Anti-AIPAC Protest.” Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion. March 08, 2015. Accessed December 18, 2024. https://legalinsurrection.com/2015/03/exclusive-video-hezbollah-flag-raised-at-anti-aipac-protest/
8. Gael Murphy and Laurie Emrich.  “Re: Opposition to Application #19581: Latin American Montessori Bilingual (LAMB) Public Charter School Application to Increase the Number of Students from 300 to 600 at 5000 14th St NW.” Letter. November 13, 2017. Accessed December 18, 2024. https://app.dcoz.dc.gov/Exhibits/2010/BZA/19581/Exhibit88.pdf