Document 15: Biographies of National Commissioners, in National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year, The Spirit of Houston: The First National Women's Conference (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978), pp. 243-49.
Introduction
Commissioners on the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year (NCOIWY) were unpaid members of the public, with the addition of two Senators and two Representatives from the House. Most commissioners were women, but a few men were nominated, and all were public figures experienced in advocating women's issues. The NCOIWY was disbanded after the official conference report was submitted in March 1978, and replaced by a continuing committee (NWC) also headed by Bella Abzug. No more than thirty-five members were appointed to the NCOIWY under President Ford with Jill Ruckelshaus as the Presiding Officer. Under President Carter, 42 individuals served as commissioners during the NWC, in addition to four Members of Congress, an Executive Director, Dr. Kathryn Clarenbach, and an Honorary Commissioner, Rosalynn Carter.
p. 243
Appointed by President Carter
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE
OBSERVANCE OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S YEAR
PRESIDING OFFICER
Bella S. Abzug, of New York, New York; author of Public Law 94-167, which designated the National Commission as sponsor of the National Women's Conference: member of Congress, 1971-1976; attorney, lecturer, author; convener and former chair, National Women's Political Caucus; Congressional Adviser to U.S. Delegation to U.N. World Conference on IWY in Mexico City, July 1975; former member advisory board, National Organization for Women, Americans for Democratic Action; member, B'nai B'rith, Hadassah, American Civil Liberties Union, Women's Forum: 1976, Democratic Party platform committee; named third most influential member of Congress by her colleagues and one of 10 most important woman leaders in a U.S. New and World Report poll in 1976; Honorary degrees, Hunter College, Manhattanville College, Hobart College.[A]
COMMISSIONERS
Ruth J. Abram, of New York, New York; Executive Director, Women's Action Alliance Inc.; former program director, American Civil Liberties Union, New York City; former executive director, Norman Foundation; Board of Trustees, National Council on Philanthropy; Board of Advisers, National Women's Political Caucus.
Maya Angelou, of Sonoma, California; poet, actress, playwright, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in My Name, Singin' and Swingin' and Getting, Merry Like Christmas, a musical, And Still I Rise; two volumes of poetry, Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Git Me Well and Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I die; film industry's first black woman writer-director; scored numerous motion pictures, television productions, and two records; distinguished visiting professor at various U.S. universities; Member, American Revolution Bicentennial Council.
Elizabeth Athanasakos, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; practicing attorney; Presiding Officer, IWY Commission, 1976; former municipal judge; member, Broward County, Florida and American Bar Associations; President, Florida Association of Women Lawyers, 1976-78; Presidential appointment to Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities, 1969; Atlanta Regional Panel for the President's Commission on White House Fellowships, 1974-76; member, Zonta International; first vice president, Florida Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc.; American Association of University of Women; Co-chair, ERA Florida, 1977; National Federation of Republican Women Board of Directors, 1976-78; Board of Directors, United Way of Broward County; Chair, Secretary's Advisory Committee on Rights and Responsibilities, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1972-74 [B]
Birch Bayh, of Indiana; U.S. Senate since 1962; member, Judiciary and Appropriations Committees; chair, Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution; chair, Transportation Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee; member, Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency; member, Subcommittee on Anti-Trust and Monopoly; member, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; chief sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[C]
Betty Blanton, of Nashville, Tennessee; First Lady of Tennessee; member, Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women; 51.3% Committee for Women; Honorary chair, Tennessee Citizen Involvement for State Bicentennial Commission.
p. 244
Cecilia Preciado-Burciaga, of Palo Alto, California; Assistant Provost for Faculty Affairs, Stanford University; former researcher and writer, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; equal employment opportunity counselor; teacher and educational consultant; board member, Mid-Peninsula Urban Coalition, Center for Research on Women, Stanford University, National Conference on Women in Education, National Chicano Council on Higher Education; member, Mexican American Women's National Association, Project on the Status and Education of Women.
Liz Carpenter, of Austin, Texas; National co-chair ERAmerica; convener of National Women's Political Caucus; consultant to Friends of LBJ Library; columnist, author, lecturer; named Woman of the Year for Government and Public Affairs by Ladies Home Journal, 1976; named Distinguished Alumna, University of Texas, 1974; former president, Women's National Press Club; member, George Peabody Awards Selection Committee, Board of Trustees, College of the Virgin Islands.[D]
John Mack Carter, of New York, New York; editor-in-chief, Good Housekeeping magazine; former editor-in-chief, The Ladies' Home Journal, McCall's, American Home; former assistant editor, Better Homes and Gardens; member, National Commission on Working Women; named Publisher of the Year, 1977, by Brandeis University; 1978 Headliner Award, Women in Communications, Inc.; designated as one of the "10 Outstanding Young Men of the Year" by U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce; veteran of service with U.S. Navy as Lieutenant (J.G.).[E]
Sey Chassler, of New York, New York; editor-in-chief, Redbook magazine since 1975; senior vice president of Redbook Publishing Company; former associate editor of Collier's and Coronet; former editor of Pageant; editorial director, This Week Magazine; vice president, American Society of Magazine Editors; member, Advisory Board, Institute for Education and Research on Women and Work.
Ruth C. Clusen, of Green Bay, Wisconsin; President, National League of Women Voters of the United States; alternate delegate to U.N. World Conference on IWY in Mexico City, July 1975; member, 1976 U.S. delegation to U.N. Habitat conference in Vancouver, Canada; member of 1974 U.S. delegation to U.S.-U.S.S.R. Joint Committee on Environmental Protection in Moscow; director, Board of Joint Center for Urban Environmental Studies; member, Board of Counselors for Center for Habitat and Human Settlements; sponsor of Policy Forum, Inc. In May 1977 honored as a Woman of the Year by Ladies Home Journal magazine as a result of her work on the 1976 Presidential debates produced by the League of Women Voters Education Fund.
Audrey Rowe Colom, of Washington, D.C.; immediate past chair of National Women's Political Caucus; Director of Women's Activities, Corporation for Public Broadcasting; formerly national vice-chair and president of the D.C. Women's Political Caucus: one of the "Outstanding Young Women of America" for 1976; former schoolteacher, helped develop and direct reading programs for black children and high school equivalency programs for women incarcerated in D.C. Women's Detention Center.[F]
p. 245
Jane Culbreth, of Leeds, Alabama; immediate past president 1976-77, National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc.; administrative officer and corporate secretary, Moss-Thornton Company, Inc.; former teacher, telephone company and Federal employee; served two terms as elected alderman on Leeds, Alabama City Council (only woman ever elected); two terms as first woman executive committee member, Alabama League of Municipalities; member, Alabama Advisory Council for Comprehensive Health Planning; chaired State Subcommittee on Jury Service for Women, Alabama Commission on the Status of Women; member and past president, Zonta Club of Birmingham.
Harry T. Edwards, of Ann Arbor, Michigan; professor of law, University of Michigan School of Law; formerly law professor, Harvard University; specialty, labor law: extensive arbitration work; Board of Governors, National Academy of Arbitrators; secretary, Labor Law Section, American Bar Association; chair, program committee of National Academy of Arbitrators; board of directors, American Arbitration Association: published works include co-authorship of The Lawyer as a Negotiator and Labor Relations Law in the Public Sector.[G]
Rita Elway, of Seattle, Washington; communications researcher, consultant in public opinion research; past chair, Washington State Women's Council; vice chair of Washington State coordinating committee for International Women's Year; active in Asian-American community; founder of Asian Pacific Women's Caucus; board member, Japanese American Citizen's League.
Beverly Everett, of New Sharon, Iowa; State president, American Association of University Women (AAUW); member of International AAUW Liaison Committee; activist, agricultural and rural development issues; member, National Planning Association Agricultural Committee, Iowa Department of Environmental Quality Board of Certification, and Iowa Commission on the Future; member, Advisory Committee, College of Home Economics, Iowa State University; past chair, Environmental Resources Committee; member, United Methodist Church, Iowa Conference, Status of Women Commission and Bishop's Legislative Committee.[H]
Betty Ford, of Palm Springs, California; former First Lady; honorary chair, Palm Springs Desert Museum; board of trustees, Eisenhower Medical Center; trustee, National Symphony Orchestra; advisory board member, Rosalind Russell Medical Research Fund.
Bernice S. Frieder, of Lakewood, Ohio; State conference coordinator, Arts, Education and Americans, Inc.; former national officer, National Council of Jewish Women; past president and honorary life member, National Association of State Boards of Education; member, Colorado State Board of Education, 1959-72; former executive director, United Parents Associations of New York City, Inc.; only woman appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to National Advisory Council, Title 3, Higher Education Act. U.S. Office of Education; executive committee member, National Coalition for Public Education and Religious Liberty; former vice chair, Clearinghouse on Women's Issues, Washington, D.C.
p. 246
Martha W. Griffiths, of Romeo, Michigan; member, Griffiths and Griffiths law firm; member of Congress, 1955-75; recipient of 21 honorary degrees; trustee of Detroit Education Television Foundation, Fund for Henry Ford Hospital, and Mercy College of Detroit; member of advisory boards to State of Michigan, Department of Social Services, the Institute for Socioeconomic Studies, United Foundation, and Urban Institute; member of Committee for National Health Insurance, Comptroller General's Consultants Panel, Tax Foundation Incorporated, and Conference Board; chair of the Institute for Congress.[I]
Dorothy Haener, of Detroit, Michigan; Representative, International Union, United Auto Workers (UAW) Women's Department; board member, National Committee on Household Employment; founder and past board member, National Organization for Women (NOW); NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund; convener, National Women's Political Caucus; organizer and negotiator, Engineering and Shop Employees, UAW Local 142, 1946-52, and first woman elected to negotiating committee; co-chair, Michigan ERAmerica; member, National Democratic Platform Committee, Michigan State Central Committee, Michigan Advisory Committee of American Civil Liberties Union, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Catholics for a Free Choice; recipient of 1973 Michigan Distinguished Women's Award from Michigan Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs; member, Presidential Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities, 1969; panel member, Women and Infants' White House Conference on Food, Nutrition ahd Health, 1969; participant, White House Conference on Equal Employment Opportunity, 1965.
Rhea Mojica Hammer, of Chicago, Illinois; former vice chair and member, National Advisory Board, National Women's Political Caucus; founder and publisher of El Clarin; award-winning television producer in Spanish-language programming; founding member of National Latino Media Coalition; member of Chicago chapters of National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Chicago Women in Broadcasting; board member, Illinois division, American Civil Liberties Union; board chair, Spanish Coalition for Jobs, Inc.; charter member and first president, Mexican American Business and Professional Women's Club of Chicago; member of 1980 Census Advisory Committee on Spanish-origin population; board trustee, El Congreso.
LaDonna Harris, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; president and founder, Americans for Indian Opportunity; member of original National Indian Opportunity Commission; former chair of Women's National Advisory Council on Poverty; 1973 Outstanding Woman of the Year in human rights, Ladies' Home Journal; board member, Common Cause, National Urban Coalition, National Urban League, National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing, National Rights Housing Conference: executive board of Southwest Center for Human Relation Studies; board of visitors of University of Oklahoma; board of trustees, Antioch College; advisory committee of National Organization for Women; co-convener and member, National Women's Political Caucus; board of directors, National Association for Mental Health.
Margaret Heckler, of Wellesley, Massachusetts; representing 10th District of Massachusetts in Congress since January 1967; former member, Massachusetts Governor's Council; member, Republican Platform Committee, 1972 National Convention member, Joint Economic Committee and House Select Committee on Ethnics; member, Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Trial Lawyers' Association, Women's Lawyers' Association, and the American Bar Association; co-chair, Congresswomen's Caucus.[J]
Lenore Hershey, of New York, New York; editor-in-chief, Ladies 'Home Journal; vice president
of Downe Publishing, Inc.; member of 1972 Presidential Advisory Committee on Economic Role of Women; board
member, Center for Voluntary Action and Child Study Association of America; named as one of 25 most
influential women in America by the
p. 247
Elizabeth Holtzman, of Brooklyn, New York; third-term Representative from New York's 16th District, youngest woman ever elected to House of Representatives; member of Judiciary Committee and its subcommittees on Immigration, Criminal Justice and Crime; House Budget Committee member and chair of committee's task force on State and local finance; founder of Brooklyn Women's Political Caucus; Harvard University Board of Overseers; founder of Law Students Civil Rights Research Council; co-chair, Congresswomen's Caucus.[L]
Koryne Horbal, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; U.S. Representative to United Nations Commission on the Status of Women; chair, Women's Caucus, Democratic National Committee; Democratic National Committeewoman; Minnesota Metropolitan Airports Commissioner; former chair, Democratic State Party; member of WEAL, National Organization for Women; MS Foundation Board, National Women's Political Caucus Board, Project ELAN; Genesis II; National Deputy Coordinator of Carter/Mondale 51.3% Committee.
Mildred M. Jeffrey, of Detroit, Michigan; chair, National Women's Political Caucus; chair, Democratic Task Force, National Women's Political Caucus; founder of Coalition of Labor Union Women; life member, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; co-convener, Michigan Women's Political Caucus; Detroit Free Press 1976 award as one of 10 outstanding women; board of governors, Wayne State University; Michigan Consumer Council; Wayne County Advisory Committee on Substance Abuse.
Jeffalyn Johnson, of Alexandria, Virginia; president, Jeffalyn Johnson and Associates; management and organization specialist; formerly associate director, dean and senior professor, Federal Executive Institute; lecturer, University of Southern California, School of Public Administration; policy analyst and planner, Carter-Mondale campaign; member, Carter-Mondale Transition Group; 1978 National Conference, chair, American Society for Public Administration; chair, 1975 National Conference Program, National Conference of Minority Public Administrators; member, Committee on the Status of Blacks, American Political Science Association; board member, Women's Education Fund.
Coretta Scott King, of Atlanta, Georgia; U.S. Representative to the U.N. General Assembly; civil rights worker; founder of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center. Atlanta; Dag Hammarskjold Award, 1969; international lecturer; author of My Life with Martin Luther King: member, board of directors, Southern Christian Leadership Conference; trustee, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center, and Ebenezer Baptist Church; Who's Who in America.
Mary Anne Krupsak, of Canojoharie. New York; Lieutenant Governor, State of New York; former State Senator and former assemblywoman, New York State Legislature; chair, New York State delegation to White House Conference on Balanced Growth and Economic Development, 1978; co-chair, New York State delegation to Democratic National Convention, 1972 and 1976; chair, National Leadership Conference for Polish-Americans; Doctor of Law, University of Chicago.
Margaret Mealey, of Washington, D.C.; immediate past executive director, National Council of Catholic Women; former member, Citizen's Advisory Council on the Status of Women; White House Conferences on Children and Youth; on Aging; on Food, Nutrition and Health; adviser on the status of women to four presidents; Churchwoman of the Year 1975, Religious Heritage of America, Inc.
p. 248
Jean O'Leary, of New York. New York; co-executive director, National Gay Task Force; a former nun; founder of Lesbian Feminist Liberation; delegate to 1976 Democratic National Convention; member, 51.3% Committee for Women, Advisory Board to the New York State Human Rights Commission; Advisory Board of National Women's Political Caucus; Board of Gay Rights National Lobby and New York City Health Systems; member, N.Y.C. Community Planning Board 4.
Charles Percy, of Illinois; U.S. Senate since 1967, currently ranking Republican on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee; member, Foreign Relations Committee and Special Committee on Aging.[M]
Mildred Emory Persinger, of Dobbs Ferry, New York, national board member for 20 years, Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of the U.S.A.; U.N. Representative for the YWCA; organizing chair of the parallel nongovernmental Tribune during the U.S. World Conference on International Women's Year in Mexico City, July 1975; member, World YWCA's Council; president, International Women's Tribune Centre, Inc.; member, United Nations Association National Board; member, President's Commission for the 25th Anniversary of the Untied Nations (1970-71) and the Commission on Social Insurance and Taxes; former member President's Commission on the Status of Women.
Connie Plunkett, of Carrollton Georgia; member, Affirmative Action Committee of the Democratic National Committee; former city councilwoman, Carrollton, Georgia; former vice chair and member, executive committee, Georgia Democratic Party; Deputy Campaign Director, Campaign Staff, Carter-Mondale campaign; Carroll County Board of Elections; former teacher of American and world history; member of Democratic National Charter Commission and Credentials Committee for National Democratic Convention, 1972.
Ersa Poston, of McLean, Virginia; member of U.S. Civil Service Commission: member, International Civil Service Commission; former commissioner and past president. New York Civil Service Commission; former member, U.S. Delegation to 31st U.N. General Assembly; former vice presiding officer, National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year; president, International Personnel Management Association; former vice president, National Urban League; presiding officer, International Symposium on Public Personnel Administration, Salzburg, Austria.[N]
Claire Randall, of New York, New York; general secretary, National Council of Churches in the U.S.A.; former associate executive, Church Women United; church educator; artist; designer; an ordained elder in the United Presbyterian Church in the United States.
Alice S. Rossi, of Amherst, Massachusetts; professor of sociology, University of Massachusetts; chair, board of directors, Social Science Research Council of New York; former chair, Committee on the Status of Women, American Association of University Professors; vice president, American Sociological Association; organizer of Sociologists for Women in Society; author, The Feminist Papers, Academic Women on the Move, and many articles.
Gloria Scott, of Houston, Texas; Assistant to President and Professor of Higher Education, Texas Southern University; National President, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.; member, Board of Trustees, National Urban League; member, Board of Directors, Southern Education Foundation; 1977 Honorary Doctorate, Indiana University; 1977 Ladies' Home Journal "Woman of the Year" award for humanitarian and community service; former National Officer, Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.
p. 249
Jean Stapleton, of Los Angeles, California; actress, two-time Emmy winner for "All in the Family"; recipient of two Golden Globe Awards and two American Academy of Humor Awards; appeared in both Broadway and motion picture versions of Damn Yankees and Bells Are Ringing; other motion picture credits include Klute and Up the Down Staircase. Other Broadway appearances were in Funny Girl, In the Summer House, Rhinoceros, and Juno.[O]
Gloria Steinem, of New York, New York; an editor and co-founder of Ms. Magazine; chair of the board, Women's Action Alliance; convener, National Women's Political Caucus and Advisory Committee member; founder and member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women; National Advisory Board member, National Organization for Women.
Ethel Taylor, of Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania; national coordinator and spokeswoman, Women Strike for Peace; sculptor; a founder of Committee of Liaison for Families and Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam; WSP representative to 1975 International Women's Year Conference on Equality and Disarmament in East Berlin; former national board member, Committee for Sane Nuclear Policy, and a founder of Philadelphia branch of SANE.
Carmen Delgado Votaw, of Bethesda, Maryland; U.S. delegate to Inter-American Commission of Women of the Organization of American States; president, National Conference of Puerto Rican Women; Board of Overseas Education Fund, League of Women Voters; advisory board member of Puerto Rican Family Institute in New York; Aspira of America Fellowship Program; Women's Educational Equity Action League Fund and Public Members Association of the Foreign Service; member, Coalition for Women in Internal Development, Coalition for Women's Appointments, National Women's Political Caucus, and Women's Agenda.
Gerridee Wheeler, of Bismarck, North Dakota; member of Republican National Committee; past president, National Association for Mental Health; member, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Secretary's Advisory Committee on the Rights and Responsibilities of Women; vice chair, Commission on Prevention of Child Abuse; member of National Committee of Human Concerns, Republican National Committee; mother of eight children, including three adopted Korean Americans.[P]
Addie Wyatt, Of Chicago, Illinois; national vice president, Coalition of Labor Union Women; international vice president and director of Women's Affairs Department, Amalgamated Meatcutters and Butcher Workmen of North America; first woman elected to the union's International Executive Board; minister of music, Vernon Park Church of God; Adviser and labor instructor, Roosevelt University; member of Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; adviser and member, Citizens for Day Care; member, Cook County Schools Advisory Board; adviser and member of women's organization, National Association of the Church of God; labor committee adviser to Chicago Urban League; Who's Who Among Black Americans, 1975; selected as one of 12 Women of the Year by Time magazine; member, board of advisers, Alliance to Save Energy; member, National Council of Negro Women; Selected by Ladies Home Hournal as one of 10 Women of Year awards for 1976; one of Ebony's nine profiles of Black Womanhood in August, 1977.
___________________________________
A. Served on previous IWY commission as Congressional representative.
B. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford.
C. Served on previous IWY commission as Congressional representative.
D. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford.
E. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford.
F. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford.
G. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford. Resigned December 1977.
H. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford.
I. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford.
J. Served on previous IWY commission as Congressional representative.
K. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford.
L. Congressional representative.
M. Served on previous IWY commission as Congressional representative.
N. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford.
O. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford.
P. Served on previous IWY commission as appointee of President Ford.
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