The Ploughshares Fund was founded in Sally Lilienthal's living
room in 1981. Under her leadership, it set out to prevent the
use and spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. In
the Fund's first year, Lilienthal raised $100,000 to distribute
to individuals and small organizations to study and educate
others about arms proliferation issues. Ploughshares was a major
supporter of the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines, which
led to the treaty that was signed by 122 countries and won the
campaign a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. By 2006, Ploughshares had
distributed more than forty million dollars and had been
instrumental in questioning the effectiveness of Patriot
missiles during the Persian Gulf War, fighting the use of
landmines, and in facilitating agreements on how to verify
nuclear test bans. Born in Portland, Oregon, Sally Lowengart
grew up in San Francisco. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence
College in 1940. During World War II, she worked in Washington
D.C. in the Office of War Information wr