Lois Kathryn Herr (born December 23, 1941) is a progressive activist living in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. While working at

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

she was leader fighting for equal rights for women in the workplace. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, she ran for U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district in 2004, 2006 and 2010. In 2013, she was elected to the Borough Council of

Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania Mount Gretna is a borough in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Lebanon, PA, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 188 at the 2020 census. It was founded by the Pennsylvania Chautauqua Society, which was at ...

, and took office in 2014.

Early life and education and career

Herr was born in

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey. The community is lo ...

. She graduated from

Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown College (informally E-town) is a private college in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. History Founding and early years Founded in 1899, Elizabethtown College is one of many higher learning institutions founded in the 19th century by ...

, received a master's degree from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, and an MBA from Fordham University. Herr's first full-time job, in 1963, was as a seventh grade English teacher in

Middletown Township, New Jersey Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township had a total population of 67,106, making it the most-populous municipality in the county and the state's 16th ...

. The following year she began working at

Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

. She held various senior management positions with

NYNEX NYNEX Corporation was an American telephone company that served five states of New England (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) as well as most of the state of New York from January 1, 1984 to August 14, 1997. Histor ...

, AT&T,

New York Telephone The New York Telephone Company (NYTel) was organized in 1896, taking over the New York City operations of the American Bell Telephone Company. Predecessor companies The Telephone Company of New York was formed under franchise in 1876. The princi ...

and

through 1990, working in line operations, sales and marketing, government relations, corporate planning and finance. She gradually became aware that women at AT&T did not receive the same benefits as men, and that there were some jobs which were closed to women. Following a 1970 sex discrimination suit by the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

, Herr and other women at AT&T worked within the corporation for equal rights for women. AT&T settled the suit in 1973. She also served as a Presidential Interexchange Executive, working under President Gerald Ford in the White House

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

. Herr has been scholar-in-residence at

, taught in their Business Department and Center for Continuing Education and also served as Director of Marketing and Public Affairs. Herr has served on several boards, including Conestoga Financial Corporation, the Pennsylvania State Board of Barber Examiners, Elizabethtown College, Penn Laurel Girl Scout Council, the Greystone Manor Therapeutic Riding Center and the Veteran Feminists of America.

Publications

Herr's first book, ''Women, Power and AT&T: Winning Rights in the Workplace'', was published in 2002 by

Northeastern University Press The University Press of New England (UPNE), located in Lebanon, New Hampshire and founded in 1970, was a university press consortium including Brandeis University, Dartmouth College (its host member), Tufts University, the University of New Hampsh ...

. According to

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

, it is held in 488 libraries. It was reprinted by URLink in 2020. Her second book, ''Dear Coach: Letters Home from World War II'', was published in 2009, based on over 200 letters sent to her father, Coach Ira Herr, from men and women serving in the war. A third book, Dear Woman of My Dreams, was published by XLIBRIS in 2016.

Political career

Herr previously served as the Executive Director of the Lancaster County Democratic Committee and was both a local and a state committeeperson in the

Pennsylvania Democratic Party The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg and is the largest political party in the state. Its chair is Senator Sharif Street. Governor Tom Wo ...

. She served also as Chair of the Lebanon County Democratic Committee and a member of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

Political campaigns

Herr ran for the US Congressional seat held by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Joseph R. Pitts Joseph Russell Pitts (born October 10, 1939) is a former American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district was based in Lancaster and Reading and included much ...

in 2004, 2006 and 2010. She was defeated in each election by the incumbent.

Electoral history

In 2013, Herr was elected to the Mount Gretna Borough Council as a nominee of the Democratic Party. Herr received 57 votes, defeating Republican nominee Angela Shea, who had 32 votes. In 2018, Herr was the Democratic nominee for state senator in Pennsylvania's 48th legislative district and lost to incumbent Republican Mike Folmer.

Personal life

Herr is a native of

and currently resides in Mount Gretna.

Works

*Lois Kathryn Herr, ''Women, Power and AT&T: Winning Rights in the Workplace'', Northeastern (December 12, 2002), *Lois Kathryn Herr, ''Dear Coach: Letters Home from World War II'', (August 10, 2009),

References

External links

*
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

Dear Coach
official book site
Lois K. Herr papers
at Hagley Museum and Library Oral History at https://www.veteranfeministsofamerica.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Herr, Lois Kathryn Living people 1941 births Elizabethtown College alumni People from Hershey, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats American women's rights activists Activists from Pennsylvania Candidates in the 2004 United States elections Candidates in the 2006 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Pennsylvania local politicians Women in Pennsylvania politics 21st-century American politicians American United Methodists 21st-century American women politicians