Amy Siskind

{{short description|American liberal activist and writer (born 1965)}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Amy Siskind

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| image = Amy siskind 4280052.jpg

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| caption = Siskind in April 2018

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|12|16}}

| birth_place = Marblehead, Massachusetts, U.S.

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| occupation = Activist, author

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| education = Marblehead High School

| alma_mater = Cornell University (BA)
NYU Stern School of Business (MBA)

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| subjects = Politics, women's rights

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| notablework = The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump’s First Year (2018)

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| children = 2

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| years_active = 2008–present

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| website = {{URL|amysiskind.com}}

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}}

Amy Siskind (born December 16, 1965) is an American activist and writer. She is the author of The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump’s First Year (2018) and organizer of the We the People March.

Early life and education

Siskind was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, to Jewish parents, Bernard Siskind and Selma Lipsky Siskind, and is the youngest of five siblings.{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wickedlocal-marblehead/obituary.aspx?n=bernard-siskind&pid=162012574&fhid=5818|title=Obituary of Bernard Siskind|website=The Marblehead Reporter|date=December 29, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.itemlive.com/2018/04/17/marblehead-native-amy-siskind-turned-online-trump-list-book/|title=Marblehead native Amy Siskind has turned her online Trump 'List' into a book - Itemlive|date=April 17, 2018|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.org/2016/10/13/letter-to-the-editor-happy-with-tribute/|title=Letter to the Editor: Happy with Tribute|website=jewishjournal.org|date=October 13, 2016}} She attended Marblehead High School, graduating in 1984.{{cite web|url=https://www.allhighschools.com/school/marblehead-high-school/422757|title=Marblehead High School Virtual Yearbook|publisher=}} She earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Cornell University in 1987,{{cite web|url=http://eship.dyson.cornell.edu/blog/2015/03/10/what-i-learned-from-what-i-wish-i-knew-at-22/|title=What I Learned from What I Wish I Knew at 22|website=eship.dyson.cornell.edu}} and a Master of Business Administration in finance and international business from the New York University Stern School of Business in 1992.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/to-the-contrary/panelists/3326/siskind-|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017040258/http://www.pbs.org/to-the-contrary/panelists/3326/siskind-|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 17, 2014|title=To The Contrary Panelists|website=www.pbs.org|language=en|access-date=July 6, 2018}}

Career

=Early career=

As a Wall Street executive, Siskind was a pioneer and expert in the distressed debt trading market. She became the first female Managing Director at Wasserstein Perella & Co. in 1996, at the age of 31, and later ran trading departments at Morgan Stanley and Imperial Capital, where she was also a partner.{{Cite web|url=https://theweeklylist.org/about-amy/|title=About Amy|website=The Weekly List|access-date=July 6, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://events.cornell.edu/event/what_i_wish_i_knew_at_22|title=What I Wish I Knew at 22|last=University|first=Office of Web Communications, Cornell|website=Cornell|language=en|access-date=July 6, 2018}} Siskind worked 20 years on Wall Street before retiring in 2006.

=The New Agenda and political activism=

Siskind was an early supporter of Hillary Clinton during the 2008 United States presidential election cycle, having previously supported Clinton's re-election bid to the United States Senate, and having taken her daughter to meet Clinton at an event in 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.larchmontgazette.com/2006/articles/20060608hillary.html|title=Senator Clinton Reviews Mamaroneck 3rd Grader's Report|publisher=Larchmont Gazette|first=Judy|last=Silberstein|date=June 8, 2006|access-date=March 9, 2019|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305013155/http://larchmontgazette.com/2006/articles/20060608hillary.html|url-status=dead}} Siskind has drawn criticism from liberals for voting for John McCain over Barack Obama.{{cite web |last1=Sales |first1=Ben |url=https://www.jta.org/2018/08/16/politics/amy-siskind-has-been-called-a-face-of-the-anti-trump-resistance-liberal-critics-claim-she-is-an-impostor |title=Amy Siskind has been called a face of the anti-Trump resistance. Liberal critics claim she is an impostor |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |access-date=December 18, 2018 |date=August 16, 2018}}

In August 2008, Siskind co-founded The New Agenda in her living room with 30 Hillary Clinton supporters who alleged sexism and misogyny were at play during the 2008 election.{{Cite news|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/08/its_no_longer_just_about_hilla.html|title=It's No Longer Just About Hillary|publisher=RealClearPolitics|access-date=July 6, 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://thenewagenda.net/about-us/|title=About Us - The New Agenda|date=October 12, 2012|publisher=}} The New Agenda is a non-profit organization "dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls by bringing about systemic change in the media, at the workplace, at school and at home". {{As of|August 2019}} she is president of the organization.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniefine/2019/02/07/the-incredible-symbolism-of-that-sea-of-white-at-the-state-of-the-union/#6ad1740e653c|title=The Incredible Symbolism Of That Sea Of White At The State Of The Union|work=Forbes|first=Melanie|last=Fine|date=February 7, 2019}}{{cite web |title=2017 Board of Directors and Officers |date=November 11, 2012 |url=https://thenewagenda.net/about-us/board-of-directors/ |publisher=The New Agenda |access-date=August 15, 2018}} It focuses on issues that affect the success of women, including pay discrimination, sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Siskind was reported to be one of the earliest supporters of the Me Too movement, sparked by a tweet from Alyssa Milano on October 15, 2017, for which Siskind tweeted her own support within the first hundred minutes.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/15/entertainment/me-too-twitter-alyssa-milano/index.html|title=#MeToo: Social media flooded with personal stories of assault|first=Lisa Respers|last=France|website=CNN|date=October 15, 2017}} In October 2018, in the days following the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, Siskind posted on Facebook that she was organizing an anti-hate vigil in her Westchester County community. After a local newspaper ran a story about it, Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and his family, who lived in the nearby community of Larchmont, New York, appeared at Siskind's door without invitation or forewarning; she called the police.

Weill, Kelly (November 13, 2018) [https://www.thedailybeast.com/gavin-mcinnes-whines-his-fellow-rich-neighbors-dont-like-him "Gavin McInnes Whines His Fellow Rich Neighbors Don’t Like Him"] The Daily Beast
Rom, Gabriel (October 29, 2018) [https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2018/10/29/amy-siskind-warns-far-right-leader-gavin-mcinnes-lives-here-proud-boys/1810446002/ "Amy Siskind warns that far-right leader Gavin McInnes lives here"] The Journal News
Campbell, Andy (January 4, 2019) [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/proud-boys-gavin-mcinnes-neighbors_us_5c2f843ae4b0e755f65c38bc?6mm "Proud Boys Founder Gavin McInnes Can Get Back To Antifa After He Battles His Neighbors"] HuffPost
Doughtery, Owen (January 4, 2019) [https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/423986-proud-boys-founder-asked-neighbors-to-take-down-anti-hate-yard "Proud Boys founder asked neighbors to take down anti-hate signs: report"] The Hill
Sommer, Will (January 4, 2019) [https://www.thedailybeast.com/gavin-mcinnes-writes-letters-to-neighbors-to-take-down-anti-hate-signs "Gavin McInnes Writes Letters to Neighbors to Take Down Anti-Hate Signs"] The Daily Beast
Campbell, Andy (January 8, 2019)[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gavin-mcinnes-emily-mcinnes-neighbors-over-anti-hate-signs_us_5c34c117e4b05d4e96bcc88d "Gavin McInnes’ Wife Threatens Neighbors Over ‘Hate Has No Home Here’ Signs"] HuffPost

=The List=

File:We the People March (48779288006).jpg

In November 2016, Siskind started keeping a weekly list of not-normal events of the Trump administration, and posting the lists on social media.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/trump-won-and-amy-siskind-started-a-list-of-changes-now-its-a-sensation/2017/06/23/cdba2b12-575e-11e7-b38e-35fd8e0c288f_story.html|title=Perspective: Trump won, and Amy Siskind started a list of changes. Now it's a sensation.|last=Sullivan|first=Margaret|date=June 25, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=April 29, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/politico50/amy-siskind/|title=#37 Amy Siskind - POLITICO 50 2017|work=Politico|access-date=April 29, 2018}} Siskind indicated that she did not intend to merely recite normal political disputes, but to catalogue "things that are uncharacteristic of our democracy". In September 2017, she was named in Politico's 2017 "Politico 50". In March 2018 she compiled the first year of weekly lists and published them as The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year. In June 2018, Siskind started The Weekly List podcast to accompany the lists;{{Cite news|url=https://patch.com/new-york/larchmont/mamaronecks-siskind-continues-documenting-trump-era|title=Mamaroneck's Siskind Continues Documenting The Trump Era|date=July 9, 2018|work=Larchmont-Mamaroneck, NY Patch|access-date=July 28, 2018|language=en-US}} writing in Forbes in July 2018, Jo Piazza listed this as one of the "Podcasts Created by Women You Need to Be Listening To Right Now".{{cite news|last1=Piazza|first1=Jo|title=Podcasts Created by Women You Need to Be Listening To Right Now|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jopiazza/2018/07/18/podcasts-created-by-women-you-need-to-be-listening-to-right-now/ |access-date=August 14, 2018 |work=Forbes |date=July 18, 2018}} In July 2017, the United States Library of Congress began archiving her weekly reports. Siskind acknowledged in an interview the following year that a downside of taking such a highly public stance is that "I can tweet things that are inarticulate and be attacked for months and get death threats".{{cite web|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/01/amy-siskind-list-donald-trump-mamaroneck-twitter/1421613002/|title=Author Amy Siskind brings her list on Donald Trump to Eastchester|publisher=Rockland/Westchester Journal News|first=Mark|last=Lungariello|date=October 1, 2018}}

In 2018, The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year was called one of the best books of 2018 by Carlos Lozada of The Washington Post.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/book-party/wp/2018/03/16/think-you-remember-every-outrage-of-the-trump-presidency-so-far-a-new-book-will-test-you/|title=Review: Think you remember every outrage of the Trump presidency so far? A new book will test you.|last=Lozada|first=Carlos|date=March 16, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=April 29, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}} Her podcast was also recognized by Marie Claire in 2019.{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Alexis |title=The 15 Podcasts by Women That Need to Be on Your Playlist |url=https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/g27457905/best-podcasts-by-women/ |publisher=Marie Claire |date=May 22, 2019}} Siskind also organized the 2019 We the People March, a national march advertised as an event to remind elected officials that they work for the American people.{{cite news |last1=Fuller |first1=Bonnie |title=We the People March Organizer AmySiskind On Why It's Needed: The TrumpRegime Must Be Accountable |url=https://hollywoodlife.com/2019/09/19/amy-siskind-we-the-people-march-interview-donald-trump/ |access-date=October 4, 2019 |publisher=Hollywood Life |date=October 4, 2019}} The march took place on September 21, 2019, in Washington D.C., with others in various cities across the United States.

In 2021, Siskind donated The List collection to the Annenberg School library. The List was archived along with Siskind's podcast and other content she had created.{{cite news |last1=Sloan |first1=Julie |title=Amy Siskind Donates The Weekly List Collection to the Annenberg School Library |url=https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/amy-siskind-donates-weekly-list-collection-annenberg-school-library |access-date=October 11, 2021 |publisher=Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania |date=October 6, 2021}}

Personal life

Siskind lives in Westchester County, New York with her two children.{{cite web|url=http://aroomofherownfoundation.org/amy-siskind/|title=Amy Siskind -|website=aroomofherownfoundation.org}} She is openly lesbian.{{cite web|url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/BOOKS-With-The-List-Amy-Siskind-documents-democracys-downfall/62307.html|title=With 'The List,' Amy Siskind documents democracy's downfall|first=Windy City|last=Times|website=Windy City Times|date=March 20, 2018}}

References

External links

{{external media

|video1=[https://www.lohud.com/videos/news/local/westchester/mamaroneck/2018/03/28/video-amy-siskind-mamaroneck-author-%22-list%22-speaking-barnes-noble-manhattan/33374131/ Video: Amy Siskind of Mamaroneck, author of "The List" speaking at Barnes & Noble in Manhattan], Seth Harrison, Lohud

|audio1=[https://wamu.org/story/18/04/03/make-america-normal-again/ Make America “Normal” Again], WAMU

|audio2=[https://www.wnyc.org/story/midday-on-wnyc-2018-03-27/ Amy Siskind Chronicles Trump's First Year, "U-God" on the Wu-Tang Clan, Can We Fix Our Bail System?], WNYC

}}