Keynote Speakers - Evanston
Alexis M. Herman
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Alexis M. Herman began her career working for Catholic Charities helping young out-of-school men and women find work in the Pascagoula, Mississippi shipyard. At the age of 29, President Carter appointed her as director of the Labor Department's Women's Bureau, making her the youngest director in the history of the organization. In May 1997, she was sworn in as America's 23rd Secretary of Labor as part of the Clinton administration, and the first African American ever to lead the United States Department of Labor. She also served as a valued member of the National Economic Council.
As secretary, she focused on a prepared workforce, a secure workforce, and quality workplaces. With that mandate in mind, she consolidated the Department's wide array of skills development programs into a simpler, more efficient system. She led the effort to institute a global child labor standard; moved people from welfare to work with dignity; and launched the most aggressive unemployed youth initiative since the 1970's. Under her tenure unemployment in the country reached a thirty-year low and the nation witnessed the safest workplace record in the history of the Department of Labor. Alexis Herman's actions as Secretary were a reflection of her understanding of the needs of America's workers and the challenges they faced as this nation approached the 21st Century.
Currently, Ms. Herman serves as chair and CEO of New Ventures, Inc. – a non-profit organization committed to assisting individuals in overcoming barriers to employment. She has continued to lend her expertise and talent to a vast array of corporate enterprises and non-profit organizations. A recipient of more than twenty honorary doctorate degrees from major colleges and universities around the country, Herman serves on the Board of her alma mater, Xavier University of Louisiana and is a trustee of the National Labor College George Meany Center. Presently, she is the chairwoman of the Coca-Cola Company's Human Resources Task Force, Chair of the Toyota Diversity Advisory Board, and a member of the boards of directors of Cummins Incorporated, Entergy Incorporated, and MGM Mirage. Her nonprofit work includes the National Urban League and the National Epilepsy Foundation. Active in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, Ms. Herman now serves as Co-Chair of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.
While serving as Secretary of Labor, Alexis Herman met and married her life partner, Dr. Charles L. Franklin, Jr. She and Dr. Franklin reside in McLean, Virginia.
Eva Jefferson Paterson
Eva Jefferson Paterson grew up as a member of a military family stationed at various European posts before moving to southern Illinois. While in high school, before coming to Northwestern, she was frequently invited to displaying her oratory skills and traveled the state giving Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech to assemblies and gatherings. As a junior at Northwestern she was elected as the first African American president of student government.
As a 20-year-old student leader at a time of turmoil, she was dubbed the "peaceful warrior", as she negotiated local non-violent protests in the aftermath of the 1970 shootings of student demonstrators at Kent State University. She was catapulted into the national spotlight following her appearance on national television, where she debated then U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew. Soon after she began to grace the covers of magazines such as Ebony and Jet, and was named one of Mademoiselle's "Ten Young Women of the Year".
Paterson is the President and Founder of the Equal Justice Society (Berkeley, CA), a national organization dedicated to changing the law through progressive legal theory, public policy and practice.
Prior to taking the helm of the Equal Justice Society in 2003, Paterson worked as the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights for 26 years – 13 of them as Executive Director. Paterson led the organization's work providing free legal services to low-income individuals, litigating class action civil rights cases and advocating for social justice. At the Lawyer's Committee, she was part of a broad coalition that filled the groundbreaking anti-discrimination suit against the San Francisco Fire Dept. That suit successfully desegregated the department, wining new opportunities for women and minority firefighters.
Paterson co-founded and chaired the California Coalition for Civil Rights for 18 years, and was a leading spokesperson in the campaigns against California Propositions 187 (anti-immigrant) and Proposition 209 (anti-affirmative action) and numerous statewide campaigns against the death penalty, juvenile incarceration, and discrimination against lesbians and gay men. She has also been part of the successful litigation that challenged admissions policies at U.C. Berkeley and the University of Michigan Law School.
Patterson served as Vice President of the ACLU National Board, and has chaired the boards of the Equal Rights Advocates and the San Francisco Bar Association. She has received over 50 awards from various local and national organizations, including Northwestern University's Alumni Award of Merit.
