Wendy Mackenzie

Wendy Mackenzie was born in London and graduated from Radcliffe College. She attended Carnegie Tech Drama School, now a department within Carnegie Mellon University; and received a Master of Arts in anthropology from Columbia University. She is a public affairs consultant and the executive director of New York ChoicePac, a bi-partisan committee for New York State. She headed the New York office of the bi-partisan Women’s Campaign Fund for almost 10 years, also serving as its national co-chair. She has recently re-joined the board of the fund, now known as the Women’s Campaign Forum. While bringing up her two children, she worked in the theater as an actress, executive assistant and casting director. As a consultant in public relations and fund raising, she has worked with clients as diverse as Chemical Bank, community development groups, arts groups and Planned Parenthood. She joined the board of Planned Parenthood of New York City in 1991 and served as board chair from 1998 to 2000. She also serves on the Board of Advocates for Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York and on the board of Family Planning Advocates in Albany. She is married to Alexander Cortesi, and is the mother of two children, Alexandra and Ian Jacobus; stepmother of Lafcadio and Vanessa Cortesi; and grandmother of four.