Statement on the Passing of Alma Powell

Our hearts are heavy today with the passing of our dear friend, Board Chair Emeritus, and lifelong advocate for young people, Alma Powell. 

Throughout our 25-year history, Mrs. Powell was not only a champion of our work, but a central figure in our success.  

Having long recognized that the challenges facing young people are too complex and interrelated for any one organization or institution to solve alone, the Powells were instrumental in launching America’s Promise Alliance in 1997. The late retired General Colin Powell served as founding Chairman and remained board chair until 2001, when he stepped down to become U.S. Secretary of State. Mrs. Powell became Board Chair in 2004.  

The daughter of educators—her father was a high school principal, and her mother ran a day care—and a trained audiologist herself, Alma Powell spent much of her life working to improve the lives of families and young people. Over the course of her husband’s military career and decades of active-duty service, during which the Powells moved more than 20 times with their own young children, Mrs. Powell became known for helping other military families prepare and make similar adjustments. 

As the Powells transitioned from military to civilian life, Mrs. Powell’s passion for education and the welfare of children came into greater focus and she officially joined the Board of Directors of America’s Promise Alliance in March 2001. Her decades of service helped to mobilize the youth-serving sector around big, shared goals, including high school graduation, national service, and youth employment.  

Mrs. Powell’s enduring commitment to supporting and investing in young people can be felt throughout our Alliance community, which has grown to include more than 100 leading national nonprofits working to improve outcomes for young people.  

Alma Powell also authored two children’s books, “America’s Promise” and “My Little Red Wagon,” published by HarperCollins, that reinforce the values and spirit that inspired Mrs. Powell and the late Ret. General Colin Powell to found America’s Promise Alliance.  

Gregg Petersmeyer, Board Chair of America’s Promise Alliance, shared,

“Because Alma Powell was a private person, those outside of the rooms she was in may have not known how wise and strong a leader she was; how clear she was about right from wrong; how committed she was to individuals helping one another; and how especially devoted she was to education and the welfare of children to achieve their promise in life. It is no accident that Colin and Alma Powell together began America’s Promise Alliance, with Colin as the Founding Chair, and Alma later as the long serving outstanding Chair in her own right.” 

Our thoughts are with the Powell family today, and all those who were lucky enough to know Mrs. Powell. We will continue to honor her legacy through our work, guided by the vision she and her husband set out to achieve more than 25 years ago. 

** For those wishing to honor Mrs. Powell’s legacy in some way, the Powell family has requested that donations be directed to America’s Promise Alliance in her memory.