Carmen Warschaw (c. 1917 – November 6, 2012) was an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, politician, and leading figure within the state

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in California. She was also a former member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

and chairwoman of the Southern California Democratic Party. A champion of Democratic politics, political opponents in both parties were known to call her "The Dragon Lady."

Life and career

Warschaw was born circa 1917 as the daughter of Jewish immigrants, and she attended the University of Southern California. She joined the University of California, Los Angeles's chapter of Alpha Epsilon Phi. She and her late husband of 63 years, Louis Warschaw, helped to establish the USC Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life at the University of Southern California. The University of Southern California Chair in Practical Politics is also named for the Warschaws through their

endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance *Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to b ...

. (Both had graduated from USC). Her philanthropic work extended to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where the Louis Warschaw Prostate Cancer Center bears her family's name. Warschaw was a delegate to the

1952 Democratic National Convention The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 21 to July 26, 1952, which was the same arena the Republicans had gathered in a few weeks earlier for their national convention fro ...

. Warschaw was first woman to chair the California Fair Employment Practices Commission, which was founded in 1959 to combat discrimination in housing and employment. The '' Los Angeles Times'' named her Woman of the Year in 1976. Warschaw died on November 6, 2012, in Los Angeles at the age of 95. Her husband, prominent businessman Louis Warschaw, whom she had been married to for 63 years, died in 2000.

References

LA Times: Carmen H. Warschaw
— ''(obituary, November 14, 2012)''.
Jewish Journal.com: "Carmen Warschaw, Democratic activist, philanthropist, 95"
�� ''(obituary, November 7, 2012)''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Warschaw, Carmen California Democrats Philanthropists from California American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent People from Arcadia, California People from Los Angeles University of Southern California alumni 1947 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews