October 6, 2016

Steve and Connie Ballmer got in on the ground floor of the technological revolution centered on the rise of the personal computer. Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980. He met Connie Snyder Ballmer when she joined the fledgling company, and they married in 1990. Steve Ballmer rose steadily at Microsoft, succeeding Gates as CEO from 2000 until his retirement in 2014.

The pair are once again key players at the forefront of a new age, this time as the power of technology is injected into the child welfare system in hopes of improving the lives of children, youth and families. The Ballmers underwrote the creation of the UW School of Social Work-affiliated Partners for Our Children in 2007 with a hefty contribution of $10 million, and have continued to fund the organization’s operating expenses as well as large projects. Initially a research center, POC soon evolved to engage in more direct involvement in the field by making use of tools and technology available to child welfare through the use of data science. Connie Ballmer is the chair of the board of directors.

Source: 
The Chronicle of Social Change