35 Facts About Alexis Herman

Alexis Margaret Herman was born on July 16,1947 and formerly served as the 23rd US Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton; she was the first African-American to hold the position.

Alexis Herman then joined the administration of Jimmy Carter, working as director of the Labor Department's Women's Bureau.

Alexis Herman 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.

Alexis Herman joined the cabinet of President Bill Clinton in 1997.

Alexis Herman was born on July 16,1947, in Mobile, Alabama, the daughter of politician Alex Alexis Herman and schoolteacher Gloria Caponis, and raised in a Catholic household.

Alexis Herman later recounted how members of the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan, assaulted her father when she was five years old.

Alexis Herman's 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.

Alexis Herman 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 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1969.

Alexis Herman 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.

Later, working at New York based consulting firm RTP, Alexis Herman led programs designed to provide apprenticeships for women in nontraditional jobs.

Alexis Herman 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.

Alexis Herman managed the convention team for Jesse Jackson in his 1984 and 1988 bids for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

Alexis Herman's 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.

In that role, Alexis Herman repeatedly organized informal dinners to advance White House initiatives or assuage key groups.

Alexis Herman earned the support of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Congressional Black Caucus as part of her outreach efforts.

Alexis Herman 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.

Alexis Herman became the first African-American, and the fifth woman, to serve in the position.

Alexis Herman earned praise from her peers for her handling of the 1997 United Parcel Service workers strike, the largest strike in the United States in two decades.

Alexis Herman was an instrumental mediator in the talks, and the strike was settled after 15 days.

Alexis Herman argued the wage hike increased the buying power of workers.

Alexis Herman 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.

Alexis Herman opposed the legislation as it included tax cuts without offsets.

Alexis 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.

Alexis Herman 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, Alexis Herman contended the focus of the treaty should be on forced labor, not voluntary military service.

Alexis Herman was the fifth Clinton cabinet officer to be investigated by independent counsel, and the fourth cleared of all wrongdoing.

Alexis Herman was active in Al Gore's 2000 campaign for president.

Alexis Herman served as co-chair of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's transition team during the 2004 presidential election.

Alexis Herman endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic Party Presidential primaries and served as Deputy Parliamentarian at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

From 2001 to 2006, Alexis Herman was chairwoman of The Coca-Cola Company's Human Resources Task Force.

Alexis 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.

Alexis Herman has been involved with civic groups including the National Urban League and the National Epilepsy Foundation.

Alexis Herman has been awarded more than 20 honorary doctorate degrees from academic institutions.

Alexis Herman was Queen of Carnival for the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association in 1974.

Alexis Herman's father had served as King of Carnival in his youth.