Alexis Herman

Alexis Herman
23rd United States Secretary of Labor
In office May 1, 1997 – January 20, 2001
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Robert Reich
Succeeded by	Elaine Chao
12th Assistant to the President for Public Liaison
In office January 20, 1993 – May 1, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	David Demarest
Succeeded by	Maria Echaveste
Personal details
Born	(1947-07-16) July 16, 1947 Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Dr. Charles Franklin (husband)
Alma mater	Edgewood College Spring Hill College Xavier University of Louisiana
Profession	Social worker, politician, CEO

Alexis Margaret Herman (born July 16, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 23rd U.S. Secretary of Labor, serving under President Bill Clinton. Prior to her appointment, she was Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Early life and education

Herman was born in Mobile, Alabama on July 16, 1947, the daughter of politician Alex Herman and schoolteacher Gloria Caponis, Alexis grew up in a Catholic home^[1] in Mobile and earned her high school diploma in 1965 from the Heart of Mary High School. She briefly attended Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, and Spring Hill College in Mobile, but transferred to Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, where she became an active member of the Gamma Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority^[2] and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1969.

Herman was Queen of Carnival for the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (Mobile's African-American Mardi Gras umbrella organization) in 1974. Her Carnival king, Douglas Wicks, would go on to become the first African-American elected to the Mobile County Commission since Reconstruction.^[3]

Career

After college, Herman worked for Catholic Charities and other agencies, advocating for minority women employment. Jimmy Carter met the young Herman while campaigning in Atlanta, Georgia and, after winning the White House in 1977, asked her to be Director of the Labor Department's Women's Bureau. At age 29, she was the youngest person to ever serve in that position.^[4]

Herman's official U.S. Department of Labor portrait.

In 1981, Herman founded her own consulting firm - A.M. Herman & Associates. She served as president of the company while remaining active in Democratic politics. During her tenure as chief of staff and later vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, she was responsible for organizing the 1992 Democratic National Convention.

After Bill Clinton's victory in the 1992 Presidential election, Herman became deputy director of the Presidential Transition Office. She was later appointed to head the White House Office of Public Liaison, where she was responsible for the administration's relations with interest groups.

During Clinton's second term, Herman was named Secretary of Labor, the first African American to be nominated for that position and the fifth woman to be appointed. Her nomination was initially opposed by Congressional Republicans and labor unions, but she earned praise from her peers for her handling of the 1997 UPS workers strike.

Herman came under investigation for allegedly accepting kickbacks while working at the White House. She was the 5th cabinet officer be investigated by independent counsel. In 2000 the independent counsel concluded that Herman had broken no laws and cleared her of all wrongdoing.^[5]

During the 2000 Florida election recount, Herman was part of team planning a transition to a Gore Administration, and she was mentioned as a likely candidate for White House Chief of Staff. She was replaced as Secretary of Labor in the George W. Bush administration by Elaine Chao.

Herman now serves as the co-chairperson (with James Roosevelt, Jr.) of the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee.^[6][7][8]

Herman also now serves on the boards of several major companies, including The Coca-Cola Company's Human Resources Task Force, Toyota's Diversity Advisory Board, Cummins, MGM Resorts International, Entergy, Sodexo, and Prudential and is the chairman and CEO of New Ventures, Inc.

References

External links

• U.S. Department of Labor Biography
• Private Attorney Chosen To Investigate Alexis Herman, CNN, AllPolitics, May 26, 1998
• Clinton questioned in Alexis Herman investigation, CNN, September 8, 1999
• CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE S3409, April 22, 1997
• Labor Secretary Is Cleared in Inquiry on Kickbacks, NY Times, April 6, 2000
• Jonathan Karl on the possible 'sleeper case' in the election dispute, CNN, December 3, 2000

Assistant to the President for Public Liaison Special Counsel to the President, Special Assistant to the President, Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, Assistant to the President for Public Outreach, Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Charles Colson William J. Baroody, Jr. Midge Costanza Anne Wexler Elizabeth Dole Faith Whittlesey Linda Chavez Mari Maseng Rebecca Range Bobbie Kilberg Cecile B. Kremer Alexis Herman Maria Echaveste Minyon Moore Mary Beth Cahill Lezlee Westine Rhonda Keenum Julie E. Cram Valerie Jarrett

United States Secretaries of Labor Secretaries of Commerce and Labor Cortelyou Metcalf Straus Nagel Secretaries of Labor Wilson Davis Doak Perkins Schwellenbach Tobin Durkin Mitchell Goldberg Wirtz Shultz Hodgson Brennan Dunlop Usery Marshall Donovan Brock McLaughlin Dole Martin Reich Herman Chao Solis Perez

Cabinet of President Bill Clinton (1993–2001)   Cabinet Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher (1993–1997) Madeleine Albright (1997–2001) Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen (1993–1994) Robert Rubin (1995–1999) Larry Summers (1999–2001) Secretary of Defense Les Aspin (1993–1994) William J. Perry (1994–1997) William S. Cohen (1997–2001) Attorney General Janet Reno (1993–2001) Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt (1993–2001) Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy (1993–1994) Dan Glickman (1995–2001) Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown (1993–1996) Mickey Kantor (1996–1997) William M. Daley (1997–2000) Norman Mineta (2000–2001) Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (1993–1997) Alexis M. Herman (1997–2001) Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala (1993–2001) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry G. Cisneros (1993–1997) Andrew M. Cuomo (1997–2001) Secretary of Transportation Federico Peña (1993–1997) Rodney Slater (1997–2001) Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary (1993–1997) Federico Peña (1997–1998) Bill Richardson (1998–2001) Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley (1993–2001) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse Brown (1993–1997) Togo West (1998–2000) * Acting secretary   Cabinet-level Vice President Al Gore (1993–2001) White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty (1993–1994) Leon Panetta (1994–1997) Erskine Bowles (1997–1998) John Podesta (1998–2001) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Carol M. Browner (1993–2001) Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright (1993–1997) Bill Richardson (1997–1998) Richard C. Holbrooke (1999–2001) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Leon Panetta (1993–1994) Alice Rivlin (1994–1996) Franklin D. Raines (1996–1998) Jack Lew (1998–2001) Director of National Drug Control Policy Lee P. Brown (1993–1995) Barry McCaffrey (1996–2001) Trade Representative Mickey Kantor (1993–1997) Charlene Barshefsky (1997–2001) Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency James L. Witt (1993–2001)* Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey, Jr. (1993-1995) John M. Deutch (1995–1996) George Tenet (1997–2001) Chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers Laura Tyson (1993-1995) Joseph Stiglitz (1995-1997) Janet Yellen (1997-1999) Martin Neil Baily (1999-2001) Administrator of the Small Business Administration Philip Lader (1994–1997) Aída M. Álverez (1997–2001) * took office in 1993, raised to cabinet-rank in 1996