Teresa Heinz Kerry is Chairman of the Howard Heinz Endowment and the Heinz Family Philanthropies. The foundations she oversees are widely known for developing innovative strategies to protect the environment, improve education, enhance the lives of young children, broaden economic opportunity and promote the arts.

Following on the work of her late husband, Teresa has championed the education of women regarding the importance of pensions, savings, and retirement security. Products of her support in this area have included the publication of a nationally-acclaimed book, Pensions in Crisis.

Heralded by the Utne Reader in 1995 as one of 100 American visionaries, Teresa Heinz has long been recognized as one of the nation's premier environmental leaders. In 1995, she announced one of the largest grants ever made to the environment, a $20 million gift to create the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment. In addition to serving on the Center's board, she serves on the board of Environmental Defense and was one of ten representatives from non-governmental organizations attached to the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in Brazil in 1992.

An advocate for human rights and economic, scientific and creative freedom, Teresa Heinz was an original member and later a co-chair of Congressional Wives for Soviet Jewry. Guided by a belief in thoughtful problem-solving and the power of informed debate, she has served on the board of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is a trustee of the Brookings Institution. She also sits on the Visiting Committee for Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and serves on the board of the American Institute for Public Service (Jefferson Awards). In addition, in 2001, she was elected to be a Fellow for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been active in the past as a board member and trustee of schools in Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., and elsewhere, including Georgetown University, Phillips Exeter Academy and St. Paul's School.

Teresa Heinz, formerly Teresa Simoes-Ferreira, is now married to U.S. Senator John Kerry. She has three sons, John, Andre and Christopher Heinz.

Born and raised in Mozambique, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in romance languages and literature (French, Portuguese and Italian) from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1963, she graduated from the Interpreters School of the University of Geneva.  Teresa has received numerous awards and 10 honorary degrees.