Jean Case to Speak at 29th Annual Scholars Banquet

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation is honored to host Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation, as keynote speaker at its 29th annual Scholars Banquet, where she will address over 900 attendees, including the new class of Coca-Cola Scholars, on April 20, 2017.

Committed to investing in people and ideas that change the world, Jean is a perfect match for these 150 young Scholars, who are each receiving a $20,000 college scholarship in recognition of the positive impact they are making in their communities.

“Jean Case and our Coca-Cola Scholars share the same passion to make our world a better place, and we are thrilled she is our keynote speaker,” said Mark Davis, President of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.

She is an actively engaged philanthropist, investor and a pioneer in the world of interactive technologies. Her career in the private sector spanned nearly two decades before she and her husband, Steve Case, created the Case Foundation in 1997. The Case Foundation is recognized for its innovative efforts to address significant social challenges, harnessing the best impulses of entrepreneurship, innovation, technology and collaboration to drive exponential impact. Jean and Steve joined The Giving Pledge, started by Melinda and Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010, and publicly reaffirmed their commitment to give away the majority of their wealth to fund worthy charitable causes.

Before co-founding the Case Foundation, Jean spent her career as a technology executive in the private sector. As a senior executive at America Online, Inc. (AOL), Jean directed the marketing and branding effort that launched the AOL service, directed the communications strategy for taking the company public, and helped establish AOL as a household utility. Before joining AOL, she held strategic marketing positions at GE’s Information Services Division and at The Source, the nation’s first online service.

In addition to her role as CEO of the Case Foundation, Jean is Chairman of the National Geographic Society Board of Trustees. National Geographic has grown to become one of the most iconic household brands in the world reaching more than 700 million people a month through its media platforms, products, events and experiences.  She sits on the advisory boards of the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative, the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society and Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact & Innovation. Jean was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016. She has also received honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Indiana University and from George Mason University.