Stephanie Blank

Stephanie Blank has a passion for making a difference. A North Carolina native, she grew up believing that education and community involvement are twin pathways to creating a just and more inclusive society.

A longtime champion of children and education, Stephanie serves as the founding chair of the governing board of GEEARS, the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, an independent successor group to the United Way's Early Education Commission, formed in August 2010. GEEARS helps business, government leaders, providers and parents maximize the economic return on the state's investments in early care and learning.

Stephanie served as chair of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation Board of Trustees until 2010, and is now a member of the CHOA System Board. She chaired the capital campaign for the Imagine It! Children’s Museum of Atlanta and is co-founder of Mothers & Others for Clean Air. She also serves on the Georgia State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care. Other board memberships and board committees include the Atlanta Falcons Women’s Association.

Both Stephanie and her husband, Arthur M. Blank, are well-known as community leaders and philanthropists. Stephanie is a trustee of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Together, Arthur and Stephanie were named the 2000 Georgia Philanthropists of the Year by the National Society of Fundraising executives. In 2001, they were joint recipients of the Anti-Defamation League’s Abe Goldstein Human Relations Award. Stephanie received the Girls’ Opportunity for Adventure and Leadership “Going for the GOAL” Award in 2001. In 2002, she was named to the YWCA of Greater Atlanta’s Academy of Women Achievers. In 2007, she received the Big Voice Award from Voices for Georgia’s Children. In 2010, she and Arthur were the honorees for the Page Foundation.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. Stephanie and Arthur Blank are the parents of three children, a son and boy-and-girl twins.