Clothing support but also childhood care and afterschool care to ensure opportunity for those in our community and washington, d. C. What area do you serve . All over the city. We want to meet people where they are. Hunger is everywhere. We go into the public schools. We know food stamps and families bills are challenging. Food, we are everywhere. 14 different locations. In terms of childcare and afterschool, we are at the corner of 14th. You came from a diverse career. How long did you serve microsoft in the state of washington . I was in the tech field for 20 years and 10 of those at microsoft. The other washington. How did you get into tech . I was also fascinated by journalism and the written word. I was a letter writer. I loved to write in my family encourage my writing. , putting out of school a husband through school and having two children and got off of journalism track. The tech world was booming. The combination of being great at math and technology and writing and communicating brought me the opportunity to move into this new era of micro computing early on. Andst gravitated toward it the opportunities were so great. How do somebody who is one of nine children, indianapolis, get into writing . Who spurred it on . My parents were very good at keeping us busy. In addition to School Activities and social service at tiffanys, i was always writing relatives. My mother encouraged that it greatly. Relatives would write back. Beautiful letters. Cousins across the country. I just got to where that was something i was encouraged. I was always a chatty child. They called me chatty patty. Putting that chattiness into writing and encouraged and reinforced through the ongoing communication i had. How about those eight siblings . Where are they . My family is all over the country. They are tied together by one thing my family is roman catholic. Everybody took Something Different from that experience. Justice, ourocial family was very tied to that. I have two brothers that are lawyers and a brother that is a physicians assistant. A lot doing teaching and academia. A sister to social services. A whole range of ways that each of them found to return to society some of the benefits and they have been given. Word did the idea where did the idea come from . A came out of my parentss faith. We live a few blocks from the local church. It was part of what we did. We do not think of as volunteerism would went to the soup kitchen and did the dishes why while the adults did the cooking. We did not end of as social services when my dad whats been a few hours after working two jobs driving the bus to pick up the deaf children for sunday mass. This was part of what they perceived. They passed that on to us. I was probably in college before i even thought about this in a more abstract way. Being a citizen and returning back to society. We saw it as you took care of your siblings and family and neighbors. And you took care of the broader community. You were the six of nine . In the sauce. Say we did not like to use that phrase. Mom and dad did what . A salesperson. My mother was trained as a physical therapist. There were nine a buzz at home. She did stop working for a few years. There were nine of us at home. Somewhere a soup kitchen named after your father . In partood pantry is named after my father because he was a very, very active a volunteer for that he helped turn around what had been a series of churches doing a great into a the back door grocery style pantry after seeing one in seattle and realizing it provided more dignity and choice and opportunity for better self respect. Instead of heading handing folks a bag they could come in a shop. Thousands of dollars a month are beingly at the pantry able to shop into the same ways that marthas table enshrined to achieve here in washington, d. C. Knocked down anything you want to say. I would assume your father never made a lot of money . He often worked two jobs to make enough money to keep those nine children in school. He never made a lot of money. We never really thought we had enough but there was never asked her. Did you go to butler . You dropped out and went to Indiana University . That is right. I went to butler. It was a few blocks away from where my parents were staying on a journalism scholarship. Sportswriter it was in his name. When i dropped out and got married, i returned to school after my first child was born. He would go to the daycare acted the at the iu purdue. The reason i asked, there were nine kids and foster kids, all of a sudden Patty Stonesifer made a lot of money with microsoft. What happened to your head when it happened . It was a great surprise. I went to microsoft and moved my family to seattle because i thought it was a beautiful place to raise children. And also theeattle opportunity to experience the outdoors in a new way. I saw microsoft as a way really committed and passionate about what the two values i hold dearest. Social justice and increasing knowledge. As a student who did not get to a computerhis idea on every desk and every home. Access to theving encyclopedia and taking away the data from the main frame and put you on the desktop of everyone was extremely exciting to me. I was working at a book publisher when microsoft went working for grownups. Mid to late 1980s, they were realizing they were going to be a very Large Organization in a short time. I was a 30yearold with a great track record. As a cambric routing and i thought it was an opportunity they were recruiting and i thought it was a great opportunity. And moved to an environment i thought would be wonderful to raise children. What was your first job there . The editor of microsoft press. I only did that for maybe a year before moving to Microsoft Canada to become the general manager. And he did that for another year and moved back to worldwide Technical Support and ended in my last job which was Senior Vice President of interactive media. I like to say i was in charge of development, research and development and marketing for a whole range of products. Using have a good time microsoft, that was probably one of the mind. If you were getting a lot of work done, that belonged to office. I had everything in that group and the joystick to encarta Small Business product. All that wonderful multimedia and the internet. The timeroduct over you were there at microsoft would we know about and the average person know about, what would it be . , the encyclopedia that change the dynamics and wikipedia came and changed once again. At the time i joined microsoft, and cardinal was an idea on a white board. The idea you could get a encyclopedia on a pc and it could be accessible to everybody was a crazy idea. We see something even bolder and braver and more ubiquitous and wikipedia. One product i am very proud of is because it is having such an was in this slate idea from Michael FinleyMichael Kinsley who became my husband and sold the idea to Steve Ballmer and the rest of the interview loop that there was an opportunity for those interested in politics and culture, but would have more availability on the internet would improve the economics and improve the numbers of people engaged in these ideas. We have a video of your husband and for those most of us will know is Michael Kinsley. Here he is. [video clip] slate, the founding editor. What did you like best about your job . Right now, i am writing a column. I like that because you can read something in the paper and instead of calling cspan, you can write it up. You have a megaphone . Yes. Editing which i miss a little idea, if you get an you can assign a them all. What is the back story on this relationship . How did you get together . I got divorced after 20 years of a great relationship that started in my Early College days. Microsoft was really entering this new world of fulltime peoplelooking for talented at content. Michael wrote a letter to his old friend Steve Ballmer saying hey, i hear youre looking for journalists, i am thinking about a new idea. Steve encouraged him to come out. I met mike when he came out and was literally going doortodoor doing an interview loop. He had all the stuff interviewers. Process wast rhetorically demanding. Asking the tough questions and trying to narrow in. Id. Afterthis special the end idea after the end called as appropriate person. That person is not your schedule when you start interviewing. If Everybody Loves you, they said and somebody who turns on the charm and talks about how wonderful if you came to microsoft and were to move across the country. I was mikes as appropriate. Beingdoing my job abide the charming person versus all the people when bennett tough. That beget versus all the people who had been tough. That began the relationship. Headdition to his writing, is a marvelous man. The opportunity to spend time with him in seattle and eventually we never did and have been married for the past 11 years. He had a rough time with parkinsons. Much better in 2012. How is he doing . Developmentted from in the pharmaceutical industry and also medical devices. Six years ago now, he had deep brain stimulation surgery which is not used, only what frick will lead to address other and y which is not used commonl but used freakily to address to address neurological problems. He is the first person on the bike and in the gym to maintain his health and keep his energy high. Were really lucky. Years diagnosed over 20 ago. His story is one of great success. He is writing some the best stuff hes ever written. Republic,the new he would say he got lucky in that he was diagnosed with isidore at a time that medical improvements was rapidly increasing. You were his boss . Of time. Brief period he likes to joke that he ran off a lot of bosses. I left about six months after slate was launched. I had been there for a long time. I knew that that the job had run its course. I was eager to see what the next single was. I had two teenagers and was eager to spend more time with them. Are you melinda frenchs boss . Ismelinda french gates probably the best manager who ever worked for me. She ran a wide range of products including expedia publisher, en carta, a range of great products and was the general manager that was in my division. She had come right out of college. She got her masters and undergraduate work at duke. She likes to tease she was the one in the family with two degrees. Evil one. Ever got he has gotten a couple of honorary. They dated during the time. Ability never even got bill never even got one. She quit when her first child in part because of bills leadership and they were beginning to realize between raising the children and dealing with the business busy life and being part of the microsoft juggernaut at started on philanthropy. Do you remember the publicity that bill gates was getting that criticized him for not giving his money away . I that have an impact on him . The first time i heard him talk about philanthropy was years before we started the foundation. Before his father started the William Gates trust which was the predecessor. I started the Library Foundation in 1996. His father started back in 1994 or 1995. The first time i heard bill talk about philanthropy was at a retreat in his cabin in the state of washington. A lot of the Senior Executives were there talking about the and we would hang out late at night. That evening, it was clear the. Tock was increasing we got into a conversation about how much was enough. The bill was the first to say you can only have so many stocks and shirts at a certain point you have to take the access and return it to society in the smartest way possible. We had extended discussion about how much was enough. At what point do you return to that number bill, was low. That was when he was still getting lots of feedback about why he was not more generous. He was still in his 30s. To takeht he wanted philanthropy very seriously and do it right. That would be something he would do later in his career. When i quit microsoft and windows senior was doing all of bill senior was doing all of this great work, a both a bill and melinda became aware that it can start a lot earlier and got engaged on these issues. The big issue that drives their philanthropy and now. It on how long were you there . I am still very committed to the issues and they are pursuing. I was there from the very beginning i left microsoft at the end of 1996. 1997 and two when a bill left in 2008. How much money did you have when you started . To bill andd spoke melinda about the ideas they had we could connect every library in the country to the internet. It could cost 100 million. If you want to do a lot of international work, you are ready and if you need more you can come back. It started with a large amount of money at that time. 200 million to ensure every library was connected with the hardware and software and the hardware and software and knowledge and training to ensure everyone in the country that wanted access to the knowledge of the internet could get it. Thewon access to the tools personal computer could provide it. Every library in the country . What did you spend the money on . Personal computers. Every library ordered a series of computers depending on their population. We started off training. We trained tens of thousands of librarians. Libraries have their hands up saying this about what we stand for. That about the idea knowledge and access is important for all citizens. There was a large group of citizens that were being locked out because of the cost of computer andd the the complexity. We had a Younger Group of internet peace corps that went out across the country whether in alabama or idaho or new york city and connected computers to the internet and trained librarians to ensure their Public Libraries became part of increasing knowledge. From the time you had 200 million to today, how much money now . Over 35 billion. It is actually understated because we Warren Buffett has committed his wealth which is an equal amount if not higher now gates work of the foundation. He transfers that what every year to the foundation and they spend in the following year. Isir actual giving up our many billions of dollars. When i left, the philanthropy, went out in society and organizations, it was 3. 5 billion a year. Why did you leave . Had a wonderful opportunity at the foundation to start with a blank sheet of paper and think of the big problems in the world and what we wanted to do. We ended on Global Health. Whether vaccination or research and development on a malaria vaccine or reproductive health. States, u. S. Education reform. I was very proud of the work. I performed that job as a volunteer. I had been lucky enough to make more than i ever dreamed i would and was looking to return what i had to society and use the skills i built in the technology world. I had to skills to offer. I did understand the Way Technology was changing the world whether biotech or information and how we might be able to stand on the shoulders of all of the progress to see what could be done to address the needs of the poor in the world. That was one advantage. I knew how to run a business. The second is ahead of the trust of bill and Melinda Gates to the partnership that they needed. The same as a bills data. And thisd help them early stage. I cannot have any experience of the letter three philanthropy at that scale. I did it while the children were little and melinda could focus on the children and increasingly taking on a bigger role. The bill was able to focus on microsoft. And decisionmous making through email. When i worked in the archive all wasa decision we made, he across the lake at microsoft and she was bouncing raising three Young Children and the work as a foundation. There came a moment when bill was ready to leave microsoft and the children were growing up. You can see the two of them were ready to be the daily presence, guiding force. Best jobs inthe the world, theres a time when you say i am not as needed. Tot was a good time for me pass the baton completely to them. When did you last get a salary . Guess probably microsoft was my last. What the year . 1996. I have been enriched beyond what i deserve not only by microsoft. When i announced i was leaving, one of the early calls was from a guy named jeff bezos. We are starting a board, would you like to join me and this Organization Called amazon . I joined the board of directors of this Little Company called amazon. Com which was across the lake in seattle. I have been on that board for 17 years. I have been able to participate in the marketbased growth based on technology and innovation. And thate of prosperity has allowed me to make decisions that other people might not be able to. I want to turn to education. You graduated from a midwestern state school. Bill gates did not graduate. Did jeff bezos . No. Steve jobs . I do not think he did. Mr. Zuckerberg did not graduate from college . Not because they cannot get in because they got distracted. About the ivyear League Schools being so important. You made the microsoft crowd and apple crowd and made a lot of money, given a lot of money away. You do not need a fancy degree. What good is a education degree . I would not underestimate how much of those fancy degrees and the people who went to cornell and harvard were part of the engine of microsoft. We were able to recruit on the best campuses and find people like melinda french. Those folks and their knowledge not only help society and how history has worked and technology can work, it really did feel the engine at apple and microsoft. That said, i do believe there are multiple ways of learning. I am still learning now. By nature i am someone who was too absorbed as much information as possible and try to problem ve and understand proposal whether poverty and washington, d. C. Are Global Health issues in bangladesh. Those kind of puzzles are interesting. The same was true of steve jobs and bill gates. That kind of problem solving passion is what has fueled so much innovation in this country. I am lucky. Lets go back to money. What happened to you here as you be