This is Kim Gandy, currently moving toward the end of her second term as President of the National Organization for Women – known to most as NOW. Throughout her tenure she has been a fierce, sensitive and sensible advocate for women's rights and the rights of women as workers, whether at WalMart or West Point. (see her bio here or at the bottom of this post*) The initiatives she's launched have raised visibility and prospects for issues ranging from equal rights to violence against women, and she's been a national political force for women and girls. As a modern leader and early adopter of the Web, she has been a frequent speaker at online conferences including BlogHer, and Fem 2.0 among others. She is also, warm, smart, funny and determined.
Now she is a prime candidate to become Director of the Women's Bureau in the Department of Labor, a job she was born, and trained, to do, and there is a vague but nasty smear campaign emerging from a new organization that has very little track record and claims what appears to be a non-partisanship. I don't want to give them any more traffic by linking to them. But believe me, Kim Gandy, (full disclosure: I have worked a bit with her on a broad women's initiative) is a spectacular leader, committed to the equality and well-being of all women. If she is chosen, she will use her vast experience – and her vast network – to serve the women of this country with determination and political savvy.
We need and deserve her as our advocate in the Women's Bureau, and any who question her commitment or capacity are, in my view, sadly mistaken. Please ignore any groups detracting from her and her dedication to the safety, equality and success of American women and
those around the world. And if you're so inclined, you might want to post about it yourself!
*Kim Gandy – President
Kim
Gandy is serving her second term as president of the National
Organization for Women, elected by the group's grassroots members in
2001 and again in 2005. She has served as a national officer of NOW
since 1987 and in state, local and regional leadership positions since
1973.Gandy also is president of the NOW Foundation, chair of NOW's Political Action Committees, and serves as the principal spokesperson for all three entities. Gandy oversees NOW's multi-issue agenda,
which includes: advancing reproductive freedom, promoting diversity and
ending racism, stopping violence against women, winning LGBT rights,
ensuring economic justice, ending sex discrimination and achieving
equality for women.Since 2001, Gandy has led NOW's campaigns on issues ranging from
Supreme Court nominations to the rights of mothers and caregivers, from
Social Security reform to ending the war in Iraq. Through grassroots
political action, Gandy helped increase the women's vote and change the
face of Congress in 2006 and is leading the organization's efforts
around the pivotal 2008 elections.Gandy regularly appears in print, television, radio and Internet
media, and she appreciates the enormous impact the media have on
women's lives. Under her direction, NOW has continued a decades-long
commitment to media issues, such as expanding women's opportunities in
the broadcast industry, increasing news coverage of women's issues, and
improving the portrayal of women and girls in advertising and all media.During Gandy's presidency, NOW celebrated its 40 year anniversary,
organized conferences on issues affecting women of color and women with
disabilities, campaigned against Wal-Mart as a Merchant of Shame, and
expanded efforts to win equal marriage rights and benefits for same-sex
couples. Through the creation of NOW's Campus Action Network
and the Young Feminist Task Force, Gandy has demonstrated a commitment
to reaching out to young women and encouraging their leadership in the
organization.During her first presidential term, Gandy was one of the lead organizers of The March for Women's Lives
in 2004. Gandy was a key organizer of the 1989 and 1992 marches, and
her expertise in mass actions helped ensure that 1.2 million activists
made the 2004 march for women's reproductive freedom the largest and
most diverse grassroots mobilization in our nation's history.In the legislative arena, Gandy served on the drafting committees for two groundbreaking federal laws: the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which gave women the right to a jury trial and monetary damages in cases of sex discrimination and sexual harassment, and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act,
which has dramatically decreased the daily violence at abortion
clinics. In addition, Gandy led the fight against anti-abortion
terrorists through the landmark racketeering case NOW v. Scheidler, which was in litigation for two decades and reached the Supreme Court three times.In 1991 Gandy directed the WomenElect 2000 Project, a nine-month
grassroots organizing and recruiting effort in Louisiana which tripled
the number of women in the legislature, elected the state's first woman
Lieutenant Governor, and helped to defeat former Klansman David Duke
for Governor.A long-time activist, Gandy served three years as Louisiana NOW
President. She was elected to the NOW National Board in 1982 and held
the position of Mid-South Regional Director for four years before being
elected to national office.Gandy graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1973 with a B.S.
in mathematics. Her NOW involvement inspired her to attend law school,
and she received her law degree in 1978 from Loyola University School
of Law, where she was a member of the Loyola Law Review and the
National Moot Court Team. Gandy went on to serve as a Senior Assistant
District Attorney in New Orleans, and later opened a private trial
practice, litigating countless cases seeking fair treatment for women.Currently, she resides in Silver Spring, Md., with her husband Dr.
Christopher "Kip" Lornell, an ethnomusicologist and part-time Professor
of Music at George Washington University. They have two daughters,
Elizabeth Cady Lornell and Katherine Eleanor Gandy.