Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D.

Senior Scholar

Jean Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on alcohol and tobacco advertising and the image of women in advertising, and has won a number of awards for activism in these fields. Her films, slide lectures, and television appearances have been seen by millions of people throughout the world. She was named by The New York Times Magazine as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses, and was profiled in Feminists Who Changed America 1963-1975.

She is the co-author of So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids (Ballantine, 2008).  Her earlier book Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel (Simon & Schuster, 2000) was called by Publishers Weekly “a profound work that is required reading for informed consumers.” It won the Distinguished Publication award from the Association for Women in Psychology.

The award-winning films based on her lectures include Killing Us Softly, Spin the Bottle, Deadly Persuasion, and Slim Hopes. She has been interviewed by many magazines and newspapers, and is a frequent guest on radio and television programs, including The Today Show, 20/20, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Dr. Kilbourne has served as an advisor to the Surgeon General and has testified for the U.S. Congress. She is a senior scholar at the Wellesley Centers for Women. She received her B.A. from Wellesley College, and her M.Ed. and Ed.D from Boston University. She has received many awards, including the Lecturer of the Year award from the National Association for Campus Activities. The presenter of an award from the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said, “No one in the world has done more to improve the image of women in the media than Jean Kilbourne.”