Blazing Trails and Changing Lives
“The first thing I plan to do is run my business well. Then, in my mind, a true legacy is what you leave behind.”
After graduating from Georgia Tech, Jean Marie Richardson, MGT 2002, began building an impressive career in the technology field that included a series of leadership positions at Microsoft, Oracle, and Mastercard before she founded iFOLIO — a cloud-based digital marketing platform.
As a woman-owned business, “iFOLIO is unique in the tech industry,” Richardson said.
But blazing trails doesn’t intimidate Richardson, who has made a seven-figure bequest to support women’s athletics scholarships, merit-based scholarships in the Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business, and the Dean’s Innovation Fund in the Scheller College.
“My intent is to benefit bright students, women athletes, and future Tech entrepreneurs.”
Richardson became aware of gaps in private philanthropic support for men’s vs. women’s sports through her work with the Alexander Tharpe Fund, so she turned her philanthropic attention to athletics.
“My first focus was volleyball, then softball, and then women’s basketball — and then I realized that I wanted to build up all women’s sports.”
Her support for the Scheller College reflects her own student experience at Georgia Tech.
A President’s Scholarship recipient, Richardson benefited from “being part of a cohort through the President’s Scholarship Program, I already had a network as a first-year student,” she said. “I want to give back to programs like that.”
And she isn’t stopping there. “This is a fraction of what I plan to give away in my lifetime, and I want to encourage other Georgia Tech alumni to make bold gifts to support the Institute,” she said.
“Much of the innovation in the world is designed at Georgia Tech. This is where the future is being built.”
A gift to Georgia Tech — like Richardson’s — can help deserving students reach their potential while strengthening the school’s reputation as one of the nation’s leading research universities. To learn how your legacy can change the future for current and future Yellow Jackets, contact Gift Planning at 404.894.4678 or giftplanning@dev.gatech.edu today.