FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 5, 2008

[NEW YORK, NY] – Michael Sandler, Board President of the Global Justice Center, died this past Saturday. He was the founding President of the Board and he will be missed by his family, friends, and colleagues. 

Anne Firth Murray has accepted the role of Interim Board President. Ms. Murray joins the Global Justice Center with an impressive breadth of knowledge and experience in human rights advocacy.  A New Zealander, she was educated at the University of California and New York University in economics, political science, and public administration, with a focus on international health policy and women’s reproductive health.  For the past twenty-five years, she has worked in the field of philanthropy. From 1978 to the end of 1987, she directed the environment and international population programs of the Hewlett Foundation in California. She is the Founding President of The Global Fund for Women and is currently a Consulting Professor in Human Biology at Stanford University.

Ms. Murray serves on several boards and councils of non-profit organizations, including the African Women’s Development Fund, Commonweal, GRACE (a group working on HIV/AIDS in East Africa), Hesperian Foundation, and UNNITI (a women’s foundation in India). She is the recipient of many awards and honors for her work on women’s health and philanthropy, and in 2005 she was nominated as one of a group of 1,000 women for the Nobel Peace Prize. Her recent books are: Paradigm Found: Leading and Managing for Positive Change and From Outrage to Courage: Women Taking Action for Health and Justice.

The Global Justice Center heartily welcomes Ms. Murray to the board. 

About Michael Sandler
Michael Sandler was born in South Africa and immigrated to the United States at the age of 19.  He received his JD and MBA from the University of Iowa and co-founded Focused Investors, an investment management firm based in Los Angeles.  Michael was a great humanitarian, philanthropist and strong advocate of human rights. He was the founding President of the Global Justice Center Board and served on the Board of the Iowa Law School Foundation.  He was also a Trustee of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Michael embraced life with passion, and loved nature, traveling and wildlife photography.  His generous spirit enriched the lives of countless people throughout the world.