Laura Spelman Rockefeller (October 11, 1936 – November 17, 2015) was an American philanthropist. She was the eldest child of Laurance Spelman Rockefeller (1910–2004) and Mary French (1910–1997), and a fourth generation member of the

Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family ( ) is an American Industrial sector, industrial, political, and List of banking families, banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the History of the petroleum industry in th ...

. She has two younger sisters, Marion, Lucy Aldrich Rockefeller, and a younger brother, Laurance Spelman Rockefeller Jr. Her patrilineal great-grandfather was

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

's co-founder

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

and her matrilineal great-grandfather was Frederick H. Billings, a president of

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

. Both of her grandmothers, Mary Billings French and

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Abigail Greene Aldrich Rockefeller (October 26, 1874 – April 5, 1948) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was a prominent member of the Rockefeller family through her marriage to financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller ...

, were important to the early development of YWCA USA. Chasin is known as the founder, former executive director, and former board member of the Public Conversations Project in

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Sq ...

. She died in 2015 age 79

Early life and education

Chasin was raised in New York City. She graduated from the Brearley School in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is a private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843 in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from many of the 50 U.S. states, as well as from abroad. International students comprised 14% i ...

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The populati ...

. She received a B.A.

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

in Art History from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

, an M.A. in Government from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and an M.S.W. from

Simmons College (Massachusetts) Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by clothing manufacturer John Simmons (clothing manufacturer), John Simmons. In 2018, it reorganized its ...

School of Social Work. She was trained in couple and family therapy and psychodrama.

Personal life

In 1956, she married James H. Case, with whom she had three children and whom she later divorced. In 1971, she married psychiatrist Richard Chasin, who had three children from prior marriages. A leader in

family therapy Family therapy (also referred to as family counseling, family systems therapy, marriage and family therapy, couple and family therapy) is a branch of psychotherapy focused on families and couples in intimate relationships to nurture change and ...

, he was president of the American Family Therapy Academy and an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

. He served for 12 years as president of the Rockefeller Family Fund and was a trustee of the

Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was founded in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothe ...

Board memberships

Chasin served on the boards of the Rockefeller Family Fund, the

, and

Spelman College Spelman College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia ...

. She also served on the boards of the Children's Defense Fund, the Conflict Management Group, and the Institute for Faith and Politics, and on the steering committee of the Common Ground Network for Life and Choice. She was described as a

radical centrist Radical centrism, also called the radical center, the radical centre, and the radical middle, is a concept that arose in Western nations in the late 20th century. The '' radical'' in the term refers to a willingness on the part of most radical ...

thinker and activist. Chasin was known as the founder, former executive director, and board member of the Public Conversations Project in

.Herzig, M, Chasin, L, "Constructive Conversations about Controversial Issues: The Public Conversation Project's Nuts and Bolts Guide to Dialogue," printed by Public Conversation Project, 2005. This non-profit organization fosters constructive conversations about divisive public issues that involve clashing values, world views, and identities. Public Conversations' methods are designed to dissolve stereotypes, create trust, generate fresh ideas, and promote collaboration among those who have been chronically embattled. She also worked closely with

No Labels No Labels is an Politics of the United States, American political organization whose stated mission is to support centrism and Bipartisanship in United States politics, bipartisanship through what it calls the "commonsense majority". No Labels w ...

and the National Institute for Civil Discourse, founded after the shooting of Congresswoman

Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun violence prevention advocate. She served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when ...

Publications

*Chasin L, Chasin R, Herzig M, Roth S, Becker C., "The Citizen Clinician: The Family Therapist In The Public Forum." AFTA Newsletter (American Family Therapy Academy). 1991; Winter:36-42. *Becker C, Chasin L, Chasin R, Herzig M, Roth S., "Fostering Dialogue on Abortion." PCP Website. 1992. *Chasin R, Herzig M, Roth S, Chasin L, Becker C, Stains R Jr., "From Diatribe To Dialogue On Divisive Public Issues: Approaches Drawn From Family Therapy." Mediation Quarterly. 1996; 13(4). *Chasin L, "Asking Wise Questions." PCP Website, 2001. *Chasin, L, "How to Break the Argument Habit," in a series of articles on polarization called "Talking with the Enemy" published in the Christian Science Monitor, October 26, 2004. *Chasin, L, "From Shouting Heads to Shared Concerns: An Interview with Laura Chasin," Leverage Points for a New Workplace, New World, e-newsletter of Pegasus Communications, Inc., July 18, 2006(76). *Chasin, L, "Civic Social Work for the 21st Century," Gestalt International Study Center e-Newsletter, Issue Number 2, 2008.

References

External links