Alexis Herman

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Alexis Herman

| image = Alexis osec.jpg

| alt = Official portrait of Herman in 1998

| caption = Official portrait, 1998

| order = 23rd

| office = United States Secretary of Labor

| term_start = May 1, 1997

| term_end = January 20, 2001

| president = Bill Clinton

| 1blankname = Deputy

| 1namedata = Kathryn O. Higgins

| predecessor = Robert Reich

| successor = Elaine Chao

| order1 = 12th

| office1 = Office of Public Liaison{{!}}Director of the Office of Public Liaison

| term_start1 = January 20, 1993

| term_end1 = February 7, 1997

| president1 = Bill Clinton

| predecessor1 = Cecile B. Kremer

| successor1 = Maria Echaveste

| office2 = 8th Director of the Women's Bureau

| term_start2 = April 4, 1977

| term_end2 = January 20, 1981

| president2 = Jimmy Carter

| predecessor2 = Carmen R. Maymi

| successor2 = Lenora C. Alexander

| birth_name = Alexis Margaret Herman

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|7|16}}

| birth_place = Mobile, Alabama, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Democratic

| spouse = {{marriage|Charles Franklin|2000|2014|end=died}}

| education = Edgewood College
Spring Hill College (transferred)
Xavier University of Louisiana (AB)

}}

Alexis Margaret Herman (born July 16, 1947) formerly served as the 23rd U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton; she was the first African-American to hold the position. Prior to serving as Secretary, she was Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Herman grew up in Mobile, Alabama. After college, she worked to improve employment opportunities for black laborers and women. She then joined the administration of Jimmy Carter, working as director of the Labor Department's Women's Bureau. She became active in the Democratic party, working in the campaigns of Jesse Jackson and then serving as chief of staff for the Democratic National Committee under Ronald H. Brown. She joined the cabinet of President Bill Clinton in 1997.

Following the defeat of Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election, Herman remained active in Democratic politics, in addition to her participation in the private sector, serving on the boards of corporations such as Coca-Cola and Toyota.

Early life and education

Herman was born on July 16, 1947, in Mobile, Alabama, the daughter of politician Alex Herman and schoolteacher Gloria Caponis,{{Cite news|url=https://lasentinel.net/alexis-m-herman.html|title=Alexis M. Herman - Los Angeles Sentinel|last=Simmonds |first=Yussuf|date=May 29, 2008|work=Los Angeles Sentinel|access-date=December 21, 2017}} and raised in a Catholic household. Her father became Alabama's first black ward leader. She later recounted how members of the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan, assaulted her father when she was five years old.{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=8917460|title=Cabinet Secretary Alexis Herman |date=March 15, 2007|work=NPR.org|access-date=December 30, 2017|language=en}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2017/09/21/alexis-herman-recalls-her-fathers-beating-kkk/2677125/|title=Alexis Herman recalls her father's beating by the KKK|date=September 21, 2017|website=USA Today|language=en|access-date=December 30, 2017}} When Herman was growing up in Mobile, schools remained racially segregated.{{Cite web|url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/0312herman-confirm.html|title=Alexis Herman: Friends Helped Labor Nominee Move Up, Then Almost Brought Her Down|last=Wines|first=Michael|date=May 12, 1997|website=partners.nytimes.com|access-date=January 15, 2018}} Her parents opted to send Alexis to parochial school, in part because the teachers included white nuns and priests, and thus would expose her to greater diversity.

Herman attended the Heart of Mary High School. As a sophomore, she was suspended for questioning the diocese's exclusion of black students from religious pageants in which white students participated. Following a week of objection from the parents of Herman's fellow black classmates, she was re-admitted.

After graduating from high school, Herman attended Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, and Spring Hill College in Mobile.{{Cite news|url=https://issuu.com/edgewoodcollege/docs/magazine_-_fall_2016/9|title=Edgewood College Magazine|last=Henry|first=Diana|date=Fall 2016|work=issuu|access-date=December 30, 2017|page=7|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TUIHbempHkUC&q=%22alexis+herman%22+spring+hill+college&pg=PT202|title=African American Almanac: 400 Years of Triumph, Courage and Excellence|last=Bracks|first=Lean'tin|date=February 1, 2012|publisher=Visible Ink Press|isbn=9781578593804|language=en}} She transferred to Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, where she became an active member of the Gamma Alpha Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority{{cite web|url=http://www.deltasigmatheta.org/notable_deltas.htm |title=Notable Deltas |publisher=Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100120072056/http://www.deltasigmatheta.org/notable_deltas.htm |archive-date=January 20, 2010 }} Retrieved December 12, 2007. and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1969.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/herman|title=Hall of Secretaries: Alexis M. Herman|date=December 9, 2015|work=United States Department of Labor|access-date=December 30, 2017|language=en}}

Career

After college, Herman returned to Mobile to help desegregate their parochial schools, including the school she herself attended.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-21-mn-11373-story.html|title=Herman: A Power Behind the Throne|last1=Lacey|first1=Marc|date=December 21, 1996|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=December 23, 2017|last2=Silverstein|first2=Stuart|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} She was then a social worker with Catholic charities in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where she advocated for the city's shipyard to offer training to unskilled black laborers. After Pascagoula, Herman moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she worked as a director of the Southern Regional Council's Black Women's Employment Program, a program designed to promote minority women into managerial or technical jobs.

Later, working at New York based consulting firm RTP, Herman led programs designed to provide apprenticeships for women in nontraditional jobs. At RTP, she met Ray Marshall. After Jimmy Carter won the Presidency in 1977, he and his incoming Labor Secretary Marshall asked Herman to be director of the Labor Department's Women's Bureau. At age 29, she was the youngest person to hold the position,{{cite journal|title=Women in Government: A Slim Past, But a Strong Future|journal=Ebony|date=August 1977|pages=89–92, 96–98}} which required her to work towards improving business opportunities for women.{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1997/0821/082197.us.us.2.html|title=Role in UPS Strike Lifts Herman's Low Profile|last=Thurman|first=Skip|date=August 21, 1997|work=Christian Science Monitor|access-date=January 27, 2018|issn=0882-7729}} She worked to encourage corporations to hire more minority women, with companies like Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, and General Motors making increased diversity a priority in their hiring process.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8917460|title=Cabinet Secretary Alexis Herman|date=March 15, 2007|work=NPR.org|access-date=January 28, 2017|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlslDQAAQBAJ&q=alexis+herman+president+A.M.+Herman+&pg=PA349|title=American Women Speak: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection of Women's Oratory [2 volumes]|last=Snodgrass|first=Mary Ellen|date=October 24, 2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781440837852|pages=349|language=en}}

In 1981, at the end of the Carter administration, Herman left her job in the Labor Department and founded the consulting firm, A.M. Herman & Associates. Herman and the firm worked with corporations on a variety of marketing and management issues, including how to develop training programs, marketing strategies, and organizational strategies.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ssMBzqrUpjwC&q=A.M.+Herman+&pg=PA288|title=Notable Black American Women|last1=Smith|first1=Jessie Carney|last2=Phelps|first2=Shirelle|date=1996|publisher=VNR AG|isbn=9780810391772|pages=288|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlslDQAAQBAJ&q=A.M.%20Herman%20&pg=PA349|title=American Women Speak: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection of Women's Oratory [2 volumes]|last=Snodgrass|first=Mary Ellen|date=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781440837852|pages=349|language=en}} She managed the convention team for Jesse Jackson in his 1984 and 1988 bids for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.{{Cite web|url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/1221herman.html|title=Alexis Herman: Social-Worker Roots and Political Experience|last=Smothers|first=Ronald|date=December 21, 1996|website=partners.nytimes.com|access-date=January 13, 2018}} Her role working for Jackson's campaign led Herman to serve as chief of staff to Democratic National Committee Chairman Ronald H. Brown, and later as vice chair of the 1992 Democratic National Convention.{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/admin/stories/herman122196.htm|title=Washingtonpost.com: After Pitched Battle, Herman Wins Out|last1=Merida|first1=Kevin|last2=Swoboda|first2=Frank|date=December 21, 1996|website=www.washingtonpost.com|access-date=December 23, 2017}}

=Director of the Office of Public Liaison=

File:President Bill Clinton walks and talks with Director of the Office of Public Liaison, Alexis Herman.jpg Bill Clinton in February 1995]]

After Bill Clinton's victory in the 1992 Presidential election, Herman became deputy director of the Presidential Transition Office.{{Cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?35678-1/clinton-presidential-transition|title=Clinton Presidential Transition, Dec 7 1992 {{!}} Video {{!}} C-SPAN.org|date=December 7, 1992|website=C-SPAN.org|language=en-US|access-date=December 30, 2017}} Clinton then appointed her director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, where she was responsible for the administration's relations with interest groups. In that role, Herman repeatedly organized informal dinners to advance White House initiatives or assuage key groups.{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/admin/stories/herman082097.htm|title=Washingtonpost.com: For Alexis Herman, a Proving Ground|last=Merida|first=Kevin|date=August 20, 1997|website=www.washingtonpost.com|access-date=December 27, 2017}} She earned the support of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Congressional Black Caucus as part of her outreach efforts. Herman also earned the respect of members of the business community as part of her effort to gain support for the Clinton Administration's trade deal, the North American Free Trade Agreement. Her time as director also included the death of Commerce Secretary, and Herman's former boss at the Democratic National Committee, Ronald Brown in a plane crash. As director, Herman made arrangements for public and private grieving following the death. The tragedy strengthened Herman's bond with Present Clinton, who like Herman had been close to Brown.

=Secretary of Labor=

In 1996, President Clinton announced his intention to nominate Herman as Secretary of Labor to replace outgoing Secretary Robert Reich. Labor unions publicly supported the nomination, although they had mostly supported other potential nominees such as Harris Wofford, Esteban Edward Torres, and Alan Wheat. Herman's Senate confirmation was delayed twice. The first resulted from questions regarding her role in organizing White House coffees Clinton used as fundraisers. The second was because Senate Republicans refused to allow a vote on her nomination, as part of their opposition to a proposed executive order related to federal construction projects, which Clinton eventually abandoned.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/05/10/herman-sworn-in-as-labor-secretary/3bfd931d-4b9e-4435-b416-033bd8b10568/|title=Herman Sworn in as Labor Secretary|date=May 10, 1997|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=December 23, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-04-30-mn-53967-story.html|title=Labor Secretary-Designate Caught in Power Struggle|last=Dewar|first=Helen|date=April 30, 1997|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 27, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} With the delays over, the Senate Labor Committee held its hearing on her nomination on March 18, 1997.{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/03/19/labor-nominee-breezes-through-hearing/|title=Labor Nominee Breezes Through Hearing|last=Doring|first=Mike|date=March 19, 1997|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=January 27, 2018|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?79766-1/secretary-labor-confirmation-hearing|title=Secretary Labor Confirmation Hearing, Mar 18 1997|date=March 18, 1997|website=C-SPAN.org|language=en-US|access-date=January 27, 2018}} Then on April 30, 1997, the Senate voted to confirm by a vote of 85–13.{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/admin/stories/herman050197.htm|title=Washingtonpost.com: Herman Confirmed for Cabinet After Concession by President|last1=Harris|first1=John F.|last2=Swoboda|first2=Frank|date=May 1, 1997|website=www.washingtonpost.com|access-date=December 24, 2017}} Herman was sworn in on May 9, 1997. She became the first African-American, and the fifth woman, to serve in the position.{{Cite web|url=https://clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov/textonly/WH/EOP/First_Lady/html/teens/herman.html|title=Alexis M. Herman|website=clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov|access-date=December 23, 2017}}

As Secretary of Labor, Herman oversaw the Department of Labor, which at the time employed 17,000 people and operated on a $39 billion annual budget.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9OoGywhnYIkC&q=alexis+herman+labor+department+budget+%2439+billion&pg=PA124|title=Racial Justice in America: A Reference Handbook|last=Mustard|first=David B.|date=2003|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781576072141|pages=124|language=en}} The Department of Labor is tasked with enforcing a variety of workplace laws and regulations, including safety issues and anti-discrimination.{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/01/28/secretary-of-labor-2/|title=Secretary Of Labor|last=Taylor|first=T. Shawn|date=January 28, 2001|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=January 21, 2018|language=en}} During Herman's tenure, American unemployment was at its lowest level in decades.

Image:Aherman1.jpg

She earned praise from her peers for her handling of the 1997 United Parcel Service (UPS) workers strike, the largest strike in the United States in two decades.{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/admin/herman.htm|title=Washingtonpost.com: Politics -- The Administration, Alexis M. Herman|date=1998|website=www.washingtonpost.com|access-date=2017-12-24}} After the strike began in August, Herman met privately with the Teamsters' president and the UPS chairman to frame the issues. She was an instrumental mediator in the talks, and the strike was settled after 15 days. Herman's role in resolving the strike raised her public profile as she began to pursue her agenda as Secretary.

As secretary, Herman supported the 1996 and 1997 raises to the minimum wage, increasing it by $0.90 to $5.15 per hour by September 1997.{{Cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,9273,00.html|title=Lowest-Rate Workers Get Labor Day Raise|last=Pellegrini|first=Frank|date=September 1, 1997|magazine=Time|access-date=January 20, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0040-781X}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9709/01/minimum.wage/|title=Minimum wage jumps to $5.15|date=September 1, 1997|website=www.cnn.com|access-date=January 20, 2018}} Herman argued the wage hike increased the buying power of workers. She later opposed a 1999 Republican supported plan to raise the minimum wage over three years, instead supporting a two-year time-table for an increase. Herman also opposed the legislation as it included tax cuts without offsets.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-passes-gop-wage-hike/|title=Senate Passes GOP Wage Hike|date=November 9, 1999|work=cbs.com|access-date=January 20, 2018|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-nov-02-mn-28960-story.html|title=2 in Cabinet Push Minimum Wage Bill Veto|last=Associated Press|date=November 2, 1999|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 20, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}

Among Herman's responsibilities as secretary was the enforcement of child labor laws. During her tenure, the Department of Labor fined toy store chain Toys "R" Us $200,000 for violating laws restricting the type of work that may be done, and the number of hours that may be worked by underage employees.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-02-fi-39629-story.html|title=Toys R Us Slapped With $200,000 Fine for Hundreds of Child Labor Violations|last=Associated Press|date=December 2, 1999|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} It found more than 300 teenage employees were working more and later hours than permitted, and Toys "R" Us agreed to stop the practices.

Herman supported the United States' participation in the International Labor Organization's Child Labor Convention, a treaty designed to protect children under 18 years old from slavery, trafficking, bondage, and other abuses.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-signs-child-labor-treaty/|title=U.S. Signs Child Labor Treaty|date=December 2, 1999|work=CBSNews.com|access-date=January 22, 2018|language=en}} She also defended the United States' support of a provision to allow for voluntary military service of those under 18 years old, a practice allowed in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands. Opponents, including other nations, trade unions, and Amnesty International urged tougher provisions; however, Herman contended the focus of the treaty should be on forced labor, not voluntary military service.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/18/world/un-agency-adopts-treaty-on-child-labor.html|title=U.N. Agency Adopts Treaty on Child Labor|last=Olson|first=Elizabeth|date=June 18, 1999|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

Attorney General Janet Reno appointed Independent Council Ralph I. Lancaster Jr., in May 1998, to investigate Herman after businessman Laurent J. Yene alleged she accepted kickbacks while working at the White House.{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2000/04/08/another-cabinet-member-cleared/|title=Another Cabinet Member Cleared|date=April 8, 2000|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=January 21, 2018|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/09/08/clinton-questioned-about-herman/|title=Clinton Questioned About Herman|date=September 8, 1999|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=January 21, 2018|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-06-mn-16574-story.html|title=Labor Secretary Cleared After Bribery Probe|last=Jackson|first=Robert L.|date=April 6, 2000|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} Reno was skeptical of Yene's allegations following a preliminary FBI investigation, but she believed the Independent Council law obligated her to appoint independent council where she could not affirm the claims were without merit. Following a twenty-three month investigation, Independent Council Lancaster concluded that Herman had broken no laws and cleared her of all wrongdoing.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/06/us/labor-secretary-is-cleared-in-inquiry-on-kickbacks.html|title=Labor Secretary Is Cleared in Inquiry on Kickbacks|last=Lewis|first=Neil A.|date=April 6, 2000|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 27, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} She was the fifth Clinton cabinet officer to be investigated by independent counsel, and the fourth cleared of all wrongdoing. The Independent Council investigations of the cabinet members cost $95 million and did not uncover any felonies, leading Congress to allow the Independent Counsel Act to expire in June 1999 without re-authorization.

Herman was active in Al Gore's 2000 campaign for president.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/23/us/counting-vote-vice-president-gore-has-decided-start-engines-his-transition.html|title=Counting the Vote: The Vice President; Gore Has Decided to Start Engines of His Transition|last1=Seelye|first1=Katharine Q.|date=November 23, 2000|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 30, 2017|last2=Broder|first2=John M.|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} During the Florida election recount, Herman was part of the team planning a transition to a Gore Administration. ABC News and The New York Times considered her a likely candidate to remain in Gore's White House if he won.{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=122333&page=1|title=Bush Meets Congressional Leaders|last=ABC News|date=December 3, 2000|website=ABC News|access-date=December 30, 2017}} Elaine Chao replaced her as Secretary of Labor in the George W. Bush administration.

=Post-government=

File:Thomas Perez and Alexis Herman, 2015.jpg and Alexis Herman participate in a round table discussion of the U.S. Department of Labor's 2012 findings on forced labor and human trafficking, September 30, 2013]]

Herman served as co-chair of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's transition team during the 2004 presidential election.{{Cite web|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/10/21/kerry_maps_postelection_plan/|title=Kerry maps postelection plan - The Boston Globe|last=Fournier|first=Ron|date=October 21, 2004|website=archive.boston.com|language=en|access-date=December 30, 2017}} In 2005, Howard Dean, serving as Democratic National Committee Chairman, appointed Herman and lawyer James Roosevelt, Jr. co-chairs of its Rules and Bylaws Committee.{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2008/05/30/inside-a-partys-family-feud/|title=Inside a party's family feud|last=Parsons|first=Christi|date=May 30, 2008|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=January 21, 2018|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90957574&ft=1&f=1102|title=Who's Who on the Rules and Bylaws Committee|last=Cook|first=Nancy|date=May 29, 2008|newspaper=NPR.org|access-date=January 21, 2017|language=en}}[http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/5/3/5655/00889 MyDD: Vote Counting the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604013642/http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/5/3/5655/00889 |date=2008-06-04 }}{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/31/dems.delegates/index.html|title=It's decision day for Democrats|last1=Crowley|first1=Candy|date=May 31, 2009|work=cnn.com|access-date=June 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531160733/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/31/dems.delegates/index.html|archive-date=May 31, 2008|last2=Hornick|first2=Ed|last3=Mooney|first3=Alexander|last4=Preston|first4=Mark|last5=Rubin|first5=Josh|last6=Schneider|first6=Bill}} The position put Herman and Roosevelt at the center of a dispute between the campaigns of democratic primary candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton over whether to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Herman endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic Party Presidential primaries and served as Deputy Parliamentarian at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/clinton-gains-support-170-african-american-women-leaders-n510846|title=Clinton Gains Support From 170 African American Women Leaders|last=Cottman|first=Michael|date=February 3, 2016|work=NBC News|access-date=January 23, 2018|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.golocalprov.com/politics/new-raimondo-named-one-of-six-democratic-convention-co-chairs|title=NEW: Raimondo Named One of Six Democratic Convention Co-Chairs|last=Nagle|first=Kate|date=July 25, 2016|work=GoLocalProv|access-date=January 23, 2018|language=en}}

From 2001 to 2006, Herman was chairwoman of The Coca-Cola Company's Human Resources Task Force. The following year, Coca-Cola made her a director. Herman served on Toyota's Diversity Advisory Board.{{Cite news|url=https://www.toyota.com/usa/diversity/|title=Workplace Diversity, Inclusion & Recognition|work=Toyota USA|access-date=January 13, 2018|language=en}} In 2006, the company appointed her to head a special task force to ensure the company's compliance with anti-discrimination standards following the resignation of Toyota North America's CEO, after being named the defendant in a sexual harassment lawsuit.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/09/AR2006050900212.html|title=Toyota President Steps Down Amid Lawsuit|last=Kageyama|first=Yuri|date=May 9, 2006|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 27, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}} Herman served on the boards of other major companies, including Cummins, MGM Resorts International, Entergy, Sodexo, and is the chairman and CEO of New Ventures, Inc.{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/contributors/alexis-herman|title=Alexis Herman Former Secretary of Labor|website=www.energy.gov|language=en|access-date=July 6, 2018}}

In 2010, Herman was appointed to the board of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, a charitable organization founded by Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to aid Haiti following a magnitude 7.0 M_w earthquake in January of that year.{{Cite news|url=http://www.hopethroughhealinghands.org/press-releases?ID=7f2024f5-0ba4-4cb4-983c-c6e12239a198|title=Clinton Bush Haiti Fund Appoints Board of Directors and CEO|date=March 10, 2010|work=Hope Through Healing Hands|access-date=January 27, 2018|language=en}} Herman has also been involved with civic groups including the National Urban League and the National Epilepsy Foundation.{{Cite web|url=http://www.blackpast.org/aah/herman-alexis-margaret-1947|title=Herman, Alexis Margaret (1947-- )|last=Venable|first=Cecilia Gutierrez|website=www.blackpast.org|date=16 September 2013|language=en|access-date=January 27, 2018}} She has been awarded more than 20 honorary doctorate degrees from academic institutions.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/diversityleaders/speakers/alexis-herman.html|title=Diversity Leadership Congress: The Honorable Alexis M. Herman|website=web.mit.edu|language=en|access-date=July 3, 2018|archive-date=June 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616151519/http://web.mit.edu/diversityleaders/speakers/alexis-herman.html|url-status=dead}}

Personal life

Herman was Queen of Carnival for the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association in 1974.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mamga.com/id12.html|title=Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association|website=www.mamga.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224053946/http://www.mamga.com/id12.html|archive-date=February 24, 2012|access-date=January 21, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/02/mamga_queen_1940_looks_back_at.html|title=MAMGA queen 1940 looks back at age 90 on the elegance and festivity of first black Mardi Gras|last=Hoffman|first=Roy|date=February 19, 2012|work=AL.com|access-date=January 16, 2018|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://blog.al.com/live/2010/01/jamarcus_russell_to_be_crowned.html|title=JaMarcus Russell to be crowned King Elexis I by Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association|last=Hoffman|first=Roy|date=January 19, 2010|work=AL.com|access-date=January 16, 2017|language=en-US}} Her father had served as King of Carnival in his youth.

Herman married physician Charles Franklin Jr. in February 2000 at the Washington National Cathedral.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/02/15/the-reliable-source/010ac1ce-7efb-4bd6-a311-2720184440a5/|title=The Reliable Source|last=Grove|first=Lloyd|date=February 15, 2000|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=December 23, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}} Franklin had three children from previous marriages. He died in 2014 following an extended illness.{{Cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=charles-l-franklin&pid=171247836|title=Charles L. Franklin Jr.'s Obituary on The Washington Post|date=June 6, 2015|website=legacy.com|access-date=December 23, 2017}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20051226182109/http://www.dol.gov/asp/programs/history/herman.htm U.S. Department of Labor Biography]
[http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/05/26/herman/ Private Attorney Chosen To Investigate Alexis Herman, CNN, AllPolitics, May 26, 1998]
[http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/09/08/herman/ Clinton questioned in Alexis Herman investigation, CNN, September 8, 1999]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080228084546/http://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/record/1997/1997_S03409.pdf Congressional Record—Senate S3409, April 22, 1997]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20071215010505/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/12/03/karl.debrief/index.html Jonathan Karl on the possible 'sleeper case' in the election dispute, CNN, December 3, 2000]
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