Remarkable Women project by Armelle Falliex: #9 Melinda Gates

For this 9th Remarkable Project, Armelle Falliex chose, Melinda Gates:
Melinda Ann French was born August 15, 1964, Dallas, Texas. She is the wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and the co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

After brilliant studies at Ursuline Academy in Dallas where she discovers the computer, she joined the prestigious Duke University. In five years, she obtained a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Computer Science and Economics and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke.

In 1987, she was hired as a marketing manager at Microsoft.
She then meets Bill Gates CEO of the company she married in 1994.

In nine years in the business, she reached the position of Executive Director of the division responsible for developing multimedia products including Publisher, digital encyclopedia Encarta and Microsoft Bob Microsoft Bob software, Encarta, and Expedia.

In 1999, Melinda and Bill Gates create and fund the “Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation“, the largest private foundation in the world. As of 2014, Melinda and Bill Gates have donated more than US$30 billion to the Foundation. (sources Wikipedia)

Melinda Gates, who endorsed over the years the role of a public figure in the foundation, makes several trips a year to countries in Africa and Asia. She particularly invested in the cause of women. In 2012, she launched an action to provide contraceptives to 120 million women worldwide.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is also very invested in reducing mortality at birth for both mother and child. They encourage effective practices in nutrition and breastfeeding, in collaboration with the maternal health program, newborn, and child.

The foundation also works with the enteric and diarrheal diseases program and the Water program, hygiene and sanitation to better understand how clean water, sanitary facilities of good qualities enable a healthy digestive system to improve child nutrition.

Her commitment to the poorest makes obviously Melinda Gates a “Remarkable Woman.”

The Painting by Armelle Falliex:

Art Critic of Melinda Gates’s painting, by Beatrice Chassepot:

Look how nice and sweet is that little child, holding and protecting her mother’s future newborn. “Life” appears as a statement, upper right, in red. At the bottom right we see the title of Melinda’s book “Mother & Child” that was the source of inspiration for the painter. Falliex shows there a great ability to bring out hope through the eyes of the little boy. Great job!