Posted on May 23, 2023

New York, N.Y. — We are greatly saddened by the death of our esteemed President and board member, Florence A. Davis, on May 21, 2023 after a long fight with cancer. Florence was a thoughtful and well-respected philanthropist. Her unique combination of warmth, humor, decency, and brilliance greatly benefited Foundation staff and grantees and the many organizations on whose Boards she served. The entire Starr family mourns the loss of a good friend, colleague, mentor, and leader.

She was an accomplished lawyer, starting in private practice at Sullivan and Cromwell, then serving in a number of positions at Morgan Stanley for ten years, before being hired as General Counsel at AIG by Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg. In 1999, he asked her to lead The Starr Foundation, and she served in that role ever since, supporting education, medicine and healthcare, human needs, public policy, culture, and environmental organizations around the world.

Florence served as a trustee of the New York University School of Law and as Vice Chairman of the board. She also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the New York Botanical Garden and chaired its Audit Committee. She was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Dean’s Advisory Council at Weill Cornell Medicine, and formerly on the advisory board of the Newman’s Own Foundation.

Florence will be deeply missed by all those who were fortunate enough to work with her and honored to know her.

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