Hello and Welcome

Before you go any further, I’d like to thank you for taking an interest in me, my life and my work. I hope my digital home will be an inspiration and an invitation to you to join me in any aspect of my work that speaks to your heart, your mind and your desire to make a difference and move humanity forward.

It’s in my DNA to strive for a life of purpose and meaning, but as we all know, figuring out your passion and purpose can be a challenge. Sometimes when you do find your way, the path can change, leaving you to question yourself, doubt yourself, and have to start all over again.

My own journey has been full of twists and turns. At times, I have felt certain, and then uncertain. Strong, then insecure. Powerful and powerless. Fearless and also racked with fear. But throughout it all, one thing has always been constant: My faith and my passion to make a difference and be of service to my family, my community and to the world.

I grew up in a family that was driven to serve. My uncle John F. Kennedy was president. My uncles Bobby and Teddy Kennedy served in the U.S. Senate and also ran for president. My father Sargent Shriver served as founding director of the Peace Corps and led the nation’s war on poverty and ran for president as well. My mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, started the Special Olympics and was an amazing mother to my four brothers and myself.

So, I have always been surrounded by extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. At times, it’s been challenging. But more often than not, it’s been motivating.

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I’ve always been deeply curious about everything, so a career in journalism seemed like the perfect fit for me. I’ve had a great career, working my way up from writer to producer to anchor at both CBS News and NBC News, and traveling around the world interviewing presidents, kings, activists and humanitarians. I’ve found something interesting and inspirational in everyone and everything I’ve covered. I believed then — and I still believe now — that journalism can not only inform, but also inspire us.

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In addition to my journalism career, one of the greatest opportunities of my life was the seven years I served as First Lady of California. Along the way, I built the world’s largest Women’s Conference to empower women from all walks of life. I started the Minerva Awards to honor women who were making a difference on the frontlines of humanity. I worked on behalf of families struggling on the brink of poverty. I championed service and our state’s history’s museum. I was honored to represent my adopted state and I loved meeting its diverse, innovative and imaginative people. It was the role of a lifetime.

Like all women, I’ve worn many hats throughout my life: journalist, activist, sister, daughter, wife and – most importantly – mother. My family is, and always will be, everything to me. Arnold and I have four extraordinary children and no matter what I might be doing professionally, they have always been my focus and my priority. Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher are amazing human beings. I’m so proud of them and like any proud mom I love to share whatever they are up to – but only with their permission!

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Today, my mission is clear. I want to challenge what is, imagine what can be, make a difference and move humanity forward in all areas of human endeavor. That’s what Architects of Change do — I consider myself one, and I work to shine a light on others.

I also believe my mission is to wipe out Alzheimer’s disease once and for all because it is destroying millions of lives. Young and old. Patients and caregivers. And, it’s bankrupting our country. In 2003, my own father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Since that time, I haven’t stopped fighting for a cure. Along the way, The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Takes on Alzheimer’s reported for the first time that two-thirds of brains that develop Alzheimer’s belong to women! Why does Alzheimer’s discriminate against women? No one seems to know. That’s not acceptable to me. That’s why I started The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement – to raise the stakes for women-based research and to use my voice to inform people of the facts and galvanize communities so we can answer that question.

Moving humanity forward. That is my ministry. That is my mission. I hope you will join me.

Join Me in My Advocacy

THE WOMEN’S ALZHEIMER’S MOVEMENT

The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement™, founded by Maria Shriver, is a global alliance of individuals, organizations, researchers, foundations, influencers and industry leaders committed to finding out why Alzheimer’s discriminates against women. We believe that by answering the question of why women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s, we will unlock the other mysteries surrounding this mind-blowing disease and that will lead to a cure for all.

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SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Founded by Maria’s mother Eunice Kennedy Shriver and now led by her brother Timothy Shriver, the Special Olympics transforms lives through the joy of sport, every day, everywhere. It is the world’s largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities: with more than 4.7 million athletes in 169 countries — and over a million volunteers.

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BEST BUDDIES – TEAM MARIA

Team Maria rides to raise awareness and support for Best Buddies International, an organization founded by her brother, Anthony Kennedy Shriver, and that’s dedicated to creating opportunities for one-on-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Maria Shriver’s team participates in the annual Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle to ride and walk each year in memory of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver. Since the inaugural challenge in 2004, Maria has served as the event’s honorary chairwoman. In total, Team Maria has raised over $2 million and recruited over 500 riders. The team has been honored to have the support of fantastic friends and fabulous companies over the years – many of which are California-based. Some of the top sponsors have included Safeway, Shell, Pfizer, Bayer Healthcare, MY Skincare, and The California Endowment. Some, like Chevron, have even left the team to form their own corporate ride teams, which we couldn’t be happier about. Above all else, it’s about inspiring others to support people with intellectual disabilities.

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Women's Empowerment

Maria Shriver has worked tirelessly on behalf of women and girls since the start of her career. As First Lady of California, she addressed the emerging needs of women and spearheaded what became the nation’s premier forum for women, The Women’s Conference. Under Shriver’s direction and vision, it grew into the world’s premier forum for women and directly funded more than $5.5 million in charitable programs that served women on the frontlines of humanity. In 2004, Shriver also created The Minerva Awards and Minerva Prize to recognize and reward remarkable women who stepped forward and changed the world with their courage, wisdom, and strength. Since 2009, Shriver has also produced the groundbreaking Shriver Report Project, a series chronicling and exploring seismic shifts in American culture and society affecting modern women and their families today.

Shriver’s WE Connect program linked millions of low-income working families, many of whom had never before needed help, with financial resources such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, foreclosure assistance, job placement, resume assistance, and other important money-saving programs. The program also provided more than 2 million healthy meals to families in need. Shriver’s The Modern House Call for Women, a groundbreaking three-day health and financial services clinic, provided 5,000 free medical, dental and financial services to nearly 2,500 people. Through Shriver’s WE Invest program and partnership with Kiva.org, hundreds of women entrepreneurs in the U.S. received micro-loans totaling more than $1 million.

THE ENVELOPE PLEASE

The Envelope Please™ enabled hotel guests to express their gratitude by leaving tips and notes of thanks for hotel room attendants in designated envelopes provided in their rooms. Hotel room attendants, predominately women, live on modest wages and work in physically demanding jobs. Yet, unlike other hospitality jobs, they often go unnoticed as they silently care for the millions of travelers who are on the road at any given time. Their hard work is many times overlooked when it comes to tipping. The Envelope Please™ makes leaving gratuity simple and secure.Our gratuity envelopes have been used in over 225,000 hotel rooms in the U.S. and Canada, and more than 4.3 million envelopes have been distributed. Feedback from room assistants and hotel guests has been overwhelmingly positive. We were privileged to have had Marriott International as our inaugural partner. The initiative is credited with inspiring similar gratuity programs to be adopted in hotels around the country. The Miami Dade County Board of Commissioners recognized The Envelope Please for its potential to boost the incomes of women working as hotel housekeepers, and in early 2016 the Commission passed a resolution that encouraged Miami hotels to join the initiative.

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