Irene Pritzker became a founding member and President of the IDP Foundation, Inc. in 2008. The mission of the IDP Foundation is to develop and support innovative programs devoted to improving the quality of life for people and organizations in need particularly as it relates to poverty alleviation.

The Foundation developed and is currently running the IDP Rising Schools Program, a microfinance venture targeting existing but very poor non-government schools in Ghana. This unique program encompasses an inextricably linked bundle of services that addresses four of the eight millennium development goals. The IDP Foundation, along with its partner Opportunity International, hopes to build a sustainable educational model that can be supported through microfinance loans and capacity building then replicated throughout Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa and the developing world.

Irene Pritzker has presented this work within the United Nations at events sponsored by the UN Office for Partnerships, UN Development Program, UN Economic and Social Council and the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in addition to frequently appearing as a featured panelist in other forums. In creating the IDP Foundation, Inc., Irene Pritzker hopes to embrace and facilitate the creation of truly groundbreaking programs that address the world’s most menacing dilemmas. Mrs. Pritzker is a Trustee of the Foreign Policy Association as well as being actively involved in many Chicago community initiatives.

Mrs. Pritzker is also a Managing Director of the IML Group, LLC, a Chicago based family investment office. She was trained as a teacher at The University of Western Australia and also holds a Master of Arts Degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago.

To learn more, please visit www.idpfoundation.org.