Buntzie Ellis Churchill led the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia as president for almost a quarter century and built a national reputation for the organization. During her tenure, as the Philadelphia Inquirer described, she brought the world to Philadelphia—Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, and Benjamin Netanyahu. American politicians, journalists, and academics were often headliners. She moderated the Council's daily radio show on WFLN-FM for a decade, has conducted educational trips to more than 60 countries, and she now lectures frequently.
She has received numerous awards for her contributions to the community, including being awarded several honorary doctorates. She has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, as well as a trustee of Drexel University and a dozen other non-profits. Buntzie has co-authored two books with the doyen of Middle East studies, Princeton professor Bernard Lewis—Islam: the Religion and the People and “Notes on a Century: Reflections of a Middle East Historian.”
Mrs. Churchill attended Philadelphia High School for Girls and graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in political science and international relations.
