Infobox_Person
name = Silda Wall Spitzer
imagesize = 180px
caption = deletable image-caption
birth_date = birth date and age|1957|12|10
birth_place = Chapel Hill, North Carolina
education =Meredith College
Harvard Law School
occupation = Attorney
predecessor =
successor =
nationality = American
residence = Manhattan, New York
spouse = Peter Stamos (1982)
Eliot Spitzer (1987 - present)
children = 3
parents =
religion =
Silda Alice Wall Spitzer [ [https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/attorney/AttorneyDetails?attorneyId=5430633 Attorney Directory - Attorney Details] ] (born December 10, 1957 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina [ [http://www.wnbc.com/newsforum/9859741/detail.html "Eliot Spitzer, Wife Discuss Run For Governor On 'News Forum' (9/17/06)"] , "WNBC", September 17, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.] ) is the founder and chair of the board of Children for Children, a not-for-profit organization that fosters community involvement and social responsibility in young people. As the wife of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, she was the First Lady of New York State from January 2007 until March 2008.
Early life
Wall grew up in Concord, North Carolina.[cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/10/nyregion/10silda.html?ex=1320814800&en=7728e1154316f5da&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |title=Her Next Job: First Lady of New York |accessdate= 2008-03-10 |last=Konigsberg |first=Eric |date=November 10, 2006 |work=N.Y. / Region |publisher= The New York Times ] Her father, Robert, was a hospital administrator and her mother, Trilby, was a homemaker. She was raised as a Southern Baptist. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336691,00.html Silda Wall Spitzer's Friend: Take the Kids and Run] ] [ [http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/eliot-spitzers-good-baptist-wife/ Eliot Spitzer’s ‘Good Baptist Wife’] ] Wall graduated in 1980 with a B.A., "summa cum laude", from Meredith College. She received a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1984.]Personal life
She married Eliot Spitzer on October 17 1987 [ [http://marriage.about.com/od/politics/p/eliotspitzer.htm Silda Wall and Eliot Spitzer Marriage Profile] ] and together they have three daughters. Spitzer stated that when her husband decided to pursue his political career, she turned her focus more towards the raising of their children, which also allowed her to focus on her work with non-profit organizations.
Marital issues
On March 10, 2008, it was reported that Gov. Spitzer had been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute on February 13, 2008, at a Washington, D.C., hotel. Governor Spitzer held a press conference where he apologized for a "private matter" that violated obligations to his family but did not go into any detail regarding the charges [Chan, Sewell [http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/i-apologize-to-the-public "‘I Apologize to the Public’"] , "New York Times", March 10, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-10] . Spitzer resigned on March 17.
Career
Silda Wall Spitzer began her legal career with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, specializing in mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance. She then joined The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. as a member of its International Legal Group. She is a founding co-chair of Project Cicero, the annual New York City book drive building classroom libraries in under-resourced schools and serves as trustee for her children's school. She served on the NY Blue Ribbon Commission on Youth Leadership as well as the board of the Children's Museum of Manhattan from 1995 until January 1999, where she was a member of its executive committee and chaired its program committee. In 1996, she co-founded Children for Children a not-for-profit organization promoting community involvement and civic engagement in youths.
References
External links
* [http://www.ny.gov/governor/firstfamily/sildabio.html First Lady Silda Wall Spitzer Biography]
* [http://www.02138mag.com/lists/PC/1105.html "Power Couples"] profile of Silda Wall and Eliot Spitzer in "02138", October 2006.
* [http://www.childrenforchildren.org/ Children for Children official site]
* [http://www.observer.com/node/38774 New York Observer - Mrs. Spitzer Suits Up]
