Patricia Bauman, a longtime leader and devoted champion of the Brennan Center, passed away on Tuesday morning. She co-chaired our board of directors for 12 years, first alongside Lawrence Pedowitz and then with Bob Atkins until December.
Committed to advancing justice and democracy, she helped shape the vision for the Brennan Center. She was at the forefront of the organization’s strategic planning in 2013 and remained consistently engaged with senior leadership to offer her valuable insights. Ever forward-looking, she was instrumental in expanding our advocacy to cover census and redistricting issues that have grown increasingly critical in recent years. She cared passionately about abuses of presidential power, a fair criminal justice system, and ensuring free elections.
She also supported this pro-democracy work through her position as president of the Bauman Foundation, which for years has backed initiatives to bolster civic participation, voter registration and outreach, and election protection.
The Brennan Center was far from the only organization to benefit from Patricia’s wisdom and passion for wide-ranging progressive causes — she also played a leading role on the boards of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Democracy Alliance, Catalist, and the Montefiore Medical Center.
Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center, said, “Patricia was a fierce, funny, devoted, tough, savvy, and loving leader for this organization. She cared tremendously about justice and democracy, and had a vision for how an organization like the Brennan Center could advance them. We will miss her.”
The Brennan Center is proud to have benefited from Patricia’s guidance and will continue to champion the issues that she cared so deeply about.