10 Facts About Maria Eitel

Maria Eitel is the founder and Chair of the Nike Foundation, which supports the work of The Girl Effect, of which she is the founder and Chair.

Maria Eitel holds an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Babson College and is a Visiting Fellow of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University.

Maria Eitel began her career as a journalist, serving as a producer for television stations in Seattle and Washington, DC before entering public service as a producer for Worldnet, a project of the United States Information Agency.

In 2004, Maria Eitel became founding President of the Nike Foundation.

Maria Eitel is credited with creating the theory "The Girl Effect" - based on the idea that adolescent girls have the unique potential to stop poverty before it starts.

Maria Eitel leads the Foundation's efforts to put girls on the global agenda with the goal of eradicating global poverty.

Since taking on the role at Nike, Maria Eitel has become a recognized voice on gender equality, featuring in Fast Company's League of Extraordinary Women.

Maria Eitel has worked with numerous partners to support the work of the Nike Foundation, including the Novo Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative.

Maria Eitel was a signatory of an open letter that Time's Up published on January 1,2018 in the New York Times and Spanish-language paper La Opinion in response to a letter of support from the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas.

Maria Eitel is a member of the Executive Committee to the Seattle Kraken and NHL team.