Pat Stryker

Pat Stryker
Born (1956-04-06) April 6, 1956 (age 68)
Kalamazoo, Michigan, US
EducationUniversity of Northern Colorado (dropped out)
OccupationBusinesswoman
Known forInheritance of one-third of the family shares in Stryker Corporation
Children3
RelativesJon Stryker (brother)
Ronda Stryker (sister))
Homer Stryker (grandfather)

Patricia A. Stryker[1] (born April 6, 1956)[2] is an American billionaire businessperson, philanthropist, and political activist. Stryker is the granddaughter of Homer Stryker, founder of Stryker Corporation, a medical technology company.

Since the early 2000s, she has become more active in civic life. In 2001, she founded the Bohemian Foundation, which focuses on music, arts and the community through grantmaking, programs, and events. She donated $3 million to defeat a 2002 ballot initiative to limit bilingual education in Colorado. In 2004, she gave $20 million to Colorado State University, mostly to benefit its football team.

Stryker bought Sonoma's Sommer Vineyards in 1999, which she rebuilt, replanted, and rechristened as Stryker Sonoma.[3] It covers 32 acres (129,000 m²) in Alexander Valley, California, producer of classic vinifera varieties Bordeaux and Zinfandel. In May 2016, she sold the winery to focus on her foundation work.[4]

As of 2021, Stryker ranks #340 on the Forbes Women 400.[5]

Early life

Patricia A. Stryker was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on April 6, 1956. Stryker enrolled at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley but did not complete her degree. In 1976, Stryker's father, Lee, died in an airplane accident in Wyoming. Four years later, in 1980, Stryker relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado, where she had attended summer camp as a child.[2]

Bohemian Foundation

Stryker has funded the Bohemian Foundation[6] which, in addition to national and international programs, funds music and other initiatives in Larimer County, Colorado, the Fort Collins, Colorado area,[7] notably the annual Bohemian Nights at New West Fest.[8] She has also donated a substantial amount to Colorado State University, which is located in Fort Collins.[6]

Political donations

In 2006, Stryker gave $500,000 to the Coalition for Progress, a political action committee that donated heavily to support Democratic party candidates in Michigan elections.[9]

In 2008, Stryker gave $87,500 to the Presidential Inaugural Committee for President-Elect Barack Obama.[10]

Stryker donated $3 million to defeat a 2002 ballot initiative regarding bilingual education in Colorado.[6]

Stryker donated $1.5 million to Priorities USA Action, a Super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.[11] She was among the largest donors in the 2016 election.[12][13]

Political allies

Stryker, Jared Polis, Tim Gill, and Rutt Bridges are known in Colorado political circles as "The Four Horsemen" (aka "Gang of Four" or "The Four Millionaires") who have donated to liberal causes, fought against gerrymandering, and promoted progressive initiatives.[6][14] Significant political contributions from the four to favored Democratic candidates has played a role in electing a Democratic majority in Colorado's house and senate.[15][16] Stryker has been frequently represented at political meetings by Al Yates, former president of Colorado State University.[6]

Democracy Alliance

According to New York Times reporter Matt Bai, Stryker attended the April 2005 meeting of the Democracy Alliance near Scottsdale, Arizona. Stryker along with George Soros and other Democracy Alliance members Gail Furman; Paul Rudd (co-founder of Adaptive Analytics); John R. Hunting; Nicholas Hanauer; ex-Clinton administration official Rob Stein; Drummond Pike; real estate developer Robert Bowditch; Pioneer Hybrid International-heir and congressional candidate Scott Wallace; Susie Tompkins Buell; real estate developer Albert Dwoskin; and Taco Bell-heir Rob McKay, funded the Secretary of State Project, an American non-profit organisation, 527 political action committee focused on electing reform-minded progressive Secretaries of State in battleground states, who typically oversee the election process.[17] The Alliance was critical in getting California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie re-elected.

Personal life

Stryker is divorced, with three children, and lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, US.[18]

References

  1. ^ SEC regarding Stryker Corp. Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b "Pat Stryker". Colorado Encyclopedia. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  3. ^ "CloudAccess.net Message". www.strykersonoma.com. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Pat Stryker sells Sonoma, California winery". Fort Collins Coloradoan. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Pat Stryker". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  6. ^ a b c d e Stuart Steers (May 2005). "The Gang of Four". 5280 The Denver Magazine. Archived from the original on 2015-10-13. In 2002 an initiative placed on the ballot by a group called English for the Children would have eliminated most bilingual programs in Colorado. Fearing the law would destroy her daughter's school, Stryker donated $3 million to the successful campaign to defeat the initiative. Her donation was widely credited with turning voters against it.
  7. ^ "The Bohemian Foundation". bohemianfoundation.org. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  8. ^ Vendegna, Michelle (2017-07-29). "New West Fest boasts all Colorado lineup and band reunion". Longmont Times-Call. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  9. ^ "Jon Stryker Strikes Again in Michigan - Human Events". humanevents.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  10. ^ "The Inauguration of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden - Inaugural Committee Bundlers". 20 February 2009. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  11. ^ "The Top Donors Backing Hillary Clinton's Super PAC". Forbes. May 27, 2016.
  12. ^ Lichtblau, Eric; Confessore, Nicholas (2015-10-10). "From Fracking to Finance, a Torrent of Campaign Cash". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  13. ^ "Pat Stryker is 'megadonor' to presidential race". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  14. ^ Healy, Rita (4 April 2007). "The Gay Mogul Changing U.S. Politics". TIME. Archived from the original on April 8, 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2013. An hour south of Laramie, in Ft. Collins, lives medical equipment heiress Pat Stryker, who is, along with Gill, known in local political circles as one of 'The Four Millionaires.' (Actually Stryker is a billionaire; her brother Jon is gay and both give generously to gay causes.)
  15. ^ "Denver Best Behind-the-Scenes Political Power Brokers - Jared Polis, Tim Gill, Rutt Bridges and Pat Stryker". Best Of Denver. Westword. 24 March 2005. Retrieved 8 March 2013. While Republicans made gains in most states across the country (especially the red ones), Democrats achieved majorities in both houses of the Colorado Legislature for the first time in forty years. It wouldn't have added up that way without this fearsome foursome.
  16. ^ "Democrats' Colorado Gold Rush Turns Into a Bust". RealClearPolitics. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2013. In this decade, a group of liberal multimillionaires -- Tim Gill, Rutt Bridges, Jared Polis and Pat Stryker -- developed "the Colorado model," not only funding candidates, but setting up think tanks, advocacy groups and public relations operations designed to oust Republicans and install Democrats.
  17. ^ Neubauer, Chuck (June 23, 2011). "Soros and liberal groups seeking top election posts in battleground states". Washington Times.
  18. ^ "Forbes profile: Pat Stryker". Forbes. Retrieved 29 September 2020.