Corinne N.C. Whitaker ’83

Cory died Aug. 24, 2021, in a hiking accident. 

At Princeton she co-led Princeton Hunger Action and the Campaign for Jamalpur for low-income people in Bangladesh. She majored in the School of Public and International Affairs and sang in the Glee Club, Chamber Chorus, and Madrigals.

After Princeton Cory was a Fulbright scholar in Togo and then a policy analyst at Bread for the World in Washington, D.C. She earned a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins, where her dissertation on an internationally funded project in Tanzania reported that village men were subverting efforts to empower local women. Cory joined the International Women’s Health Coalition from 1997 to 2008 as senior program officer for Africa and senior adviser for regional programs, and then worked as a consultant for international organizations including the United Nations. Her last evaluation was for a U.N. project in Iraq on reducing gender-based violence.

Cory was an unveiler of uncomfortable truths and a tenacious activist for women and girls. She also devoted her expertise to many volunteer projects and served on the boards of directors of several nonprofits. Her articles and reports will continue to guide human-rights workers. She embodied the ideal of Princeton in the service of humanity. 

Cory is survived by her husband, John Tucker; son David Tucker; mother Suzanne Whitaker; and siblings Priscilla Whitaker and Ben Whitaker. Her warmth and compassion were unforgettable, and she is deeply missed.