Lindh, Patricia and Holm, Jeanne

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Patricia Sullivan Lindh

1928 Born, Toledo, Ohio

1946‑50 B.A., Trinity College

1950‑55 Secretary, personnel consultant and adoption case worker in Chicago

1956 Teacher, Singapore American School

1957 Instructor, Nanyang University, Singapore

1957‑62 Editor, Singapore American newspaper

1970‑74 Vice-Chairwoman, Republican Party of Louisiana

1974 Republican National Committeewoman, Louisiana

1974 Special Assistant to Counsellor Anne M. Armstrong, The White House

1974‑76 Special Assistant to the President, The White House

1976‑77 Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs

1978- Vice-President and Director of Corporate Communications, Bank of America, Los Angeles

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Jeanne Marjorie Holm

1921 Born, Portland, Oregon

1940‑42 Silversmith and radio assembler, Portland, Oregon

1942‑46 Captain, Women's Army Corps

1946‑48 Attended Lewis and Clark College

1948‑49 Women's Army Corps

1949‑75 Officer, U.S. Air Force

1952 Attended Air University, Maxwell AFB

1956‑57 B.A., Lewis and Clark College

1957‑61 Chief of Manpower and Management, Headquarters of Allied Air Forces in Southern Europe, Naples

1961‑65 Congressional liaison officer, Directorate of Manpower and Organization, U.S. Air Force Headquarters

1965‑73 Director, Women in the Air Force

1973‑75 Major General and Director, Air Force Personnel Council, Office of U.S.A.F. Assistant Secretary for Manpower

1975‑76 Consultant, Defense Manpower Commission

1976‑77 Special Assistant to the President for Women, The White House

1979- Under Secretary of the Air Force

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Karen Ruth Keesling

1946 Born, Wichita, Kansas

1968, 1970 B.A., M.A., Arizona State University; Executive Director of Intercollegiate Association of Women Students

1971‑72 Assistant Dean of Women, University of Kansas; Adviser to the University of Kansas Commission on the Status of Women, Member of University Human Relations Committee, Administrative Assistant for the Affirmative Action Board

1972 Administrative Assistant, Committee to ReElect the President

1972‑74 Administrative Staff Assistant, Department of Health, Education and Welfare; Executive Secretary of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on the Rights and Responsibilities of Women, Member Citizen's Advisory Council on the Status of Women and the Advisory Committee on the Economic Role of Women

1974‑76 Deputy to Special Assistant to the President for Women, The White House

1974‑75 Director, Office of Women's Programs, The White House

1976 Director, Office of Women's Affairs, The White House

1982 Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower Resources and Military Personnel)

INTRODUCTION

The Special Assistant to the President for Women advised the President on women's issues, handled White House liaison with women's organizations and oversaw the work of the Office of Women's Programs (OWP) headed by Karen Keesling. Presidential Counsellor Anne Armstrong created the small office in the Nixon White House in February 1973 and brought it into the Ford administration. The office provided liaison between the President and women as a special interest group, encouraged recruitment of women for top-level government positions and initiated and assisted in the development of programs, policies, legislation and regulations supporting women's civil rights (see Appendix A). In addition, the office sponsored a number of meetings attended by Mrs. Ford and occasionally sent her briefings concerning women's issues.

When Counsellor Armstrong resigned in December 1974, the OWP was transferred to the Office of Public Liaison. Patricia Lindh, Armstrong's assistant, was appointed to the new position of Special Assistant to the President for Women and headed the office during the United Nations' International Women's Year, 1975. Retired Major General Jeanne Holm succeeded Lindh when she resigned in March 1976.

The Lindh/Holm collection contains material from Armstrong, Lindh, Holm and Keesling from throughout the administration. Although the leadership changed, the purpose and substance of the office remained the same with only minor differences in style.

The bulk of the collection is derived from liaison activities with over 300 women's organizations, agency women's groups and program units, advisory committees on women and women appointees. Topics include public policy, legislation and regulation of women's civil rights in the government and the economy.

One series is devoted entirely to the planning of White House meetings, some of which were attended by President or Mrs. Ford, in which women leaders exchanged views with administration officials. These were part of the "Tuesday" and "Wednesday" meeting series organized by all White House Public Liaison Office units. Several meetings generated follow-up meetings hosted by, for example, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Labor. Other meetings sought priorities for the OWP agenda and candidates for presidential appointment.

The files also contain material related to OWP outreach activities, including attendance at conventions, speeches and solicitation of organization background and printed materials.

The OWP regularly provided the President and the White House staff with advice on legislation, regulations, proclamations and executive orders. Many documents were routinely staffed to the OWP for comment and review, as were large amounts of informational material. Substantial amounts of material are present related to sex and credit discrimination, affirmative action, education and child care.

Additionally, the Office's role in overseeing national activities for International Women's Year provided interesting material related to its origin in 1972, and Armstrong's and Lindh's efforts in securing an executive order and agency funding for a National Commission to Observe International Women's Year. Files on the United Nations' International Conference in Mexico City, the U.S. delegation's role and efforts to begin a 10 year World Plan of Action also appear.

Related Materials (March 1989):

Related materials are in the files of the First Lady's Press Secretary Sheila Weidenfeld, in White House Central Files categories FG 399 (National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year), HU 2‑5 (Human Rights - Women), PP 5‑1 (Mrs. Ford), WE 1 (Children), WE 1‑1 (Child Welfare Services), WE 3 (Family Planning), WE 7 (Social Security), in the routine files of Counsellor Anne Armstrong and First Lady's Director of Correspondence Elizabeth O'Neill, and in the unprocessed papers of Mrs. Ford and files of William J. Baroody.

Series Descriptions

1‑5 Meetings File, 1974‑77. (2.0 linear feet)

Minutes (occasional, 1974 only), correspondence, memoranda, briefing papers, talking points, schedule proposals, draft presidential remarks and proclamations, agendas, speeches, Q's and A's, background materials, newsclips, lists, notes. Topics include proclamation ceremonies, Tuesday and Wednesday meeting in the White House and meetings with the President on subjects of interest to women.

Arranged chronologically.

6‑16 General Subject File, 1970‑76. (4.4 linear feet) Correspondence, memoranda, reports, bills, regulations, transcripts, press releases and printed materials from private and government organizations. Topics include abortion, child care, ERA, sex discrimination in employment, education, social security, credit and the enforcement and legislation thereof.

Arranged alphabetically by subject and thereunder by type of material.

17 Jeanne Holm Speeches, Apr.-Dec. 1976. (0.4 linear feet)

Copies of speeches given to women's organizations.

Arranged chronologically.

18‑20 Karen Keesling Speeches, 1974‑76. (1.2 linear feet)

Correspondence, speeches, schedules, printed material, notes, lists, maps, travel requests related to speeches given to women's organizations.

Arranged chronologically.

21‑22 Administration Statements on Women's Issues, 1974‑77. (0.8 linear feet)

Correspondence, memoranda, briefing papers, Q's and A's, press releases, proclamations, background and printed material. Topics include State of the Union inserts, Women's Equality Day Proclamations and Mrs. Ford's views on women's issues.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

23‑25 International Women's Year Conference, Mexico City, June-July, 1975. (1.2 linear feet)

Correspondence, reports, background materials, agenda items, draft resolutions and reports, statements, U.S. position book, an international bibliography, newsclips and press releases. Topics include proceedings of the Conference, U.S. resolutions, the adjacent Tribune Conference and related events.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

26‑29 National Commission for International Women's Year, 1974‑76. (1.6 linear feet)

Correspondence and memoranda, draft executive orders, budget estimates, agendas, committee reports, papers, proposals, progress reports, background material, speeches, press releases, newsletters, printed material, lists and resumes. Topics include the goals, staffing, funding and meetings of the Commission and the U.S. Center for International Women's Year.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

30‑39 Women's Organizations File, 1974‑76. (4.0 linear feet)

Correspondence, press releases, newsletters, printed material and membership lists submitted by national organizations concerning their views on women's issues and related national policy.

Arranged alphabetically by title of organization.

40‑45 Federal Government Reference File, 1972‑76. (2.4 linear feet)

Correspondence and memoranda, guidelines, reports, studies, draft proposals and resolutions, agendas, speeches, minutes, notes, newclips, newsletters and press releases, printed materials and publications. Topics include regulation of public law in the federal workplace, administration policy on women's civil rights, departmental plans and events for International Women's Year, and international conferences on issues of interest to women.

Arranged alphabetically by department.

46‑52 Chronological File, 1974‑77. (2.8 linear feet)

Correspondence and memoranda, option and briefing papers, and schedule proposals from Armstrong, Lindh, Holm and Keesling. Topics include program planning, outreach activities, and the administration's view on ERA.

Arranged chronologically.

Container List

Box 1 Meetings File

8/26/74 ‑ Women's Equality Day Signing Ceremony

8/29/74 ‑ Women Appointees

9/4/74 ‑ Women Appointees

9/6/74 ‑ Women's Organizations Leaders

9/74 ‑ Economic Summit ‑ Conference on Inflation

10/10/74 ‑ Women's Advisory Committee

10/21/74 ‑ Counsellor Armstrong with Madame Francoise Giroud of France

10/30/74 ‑ Barbara Hutchison with President

11/20/74 ‑ Economics Briefing for Women's Organizations Leaders with Mrs. Ford

12/3/74 ‑ Outstanding Young Women of America with President

12/12/74 ‑ Top‑Level Women in Government

1/9/75 ‑ International Women's Year Executive Order Signing Ceremony

1/14/75 ‑ Tuesday Meeting ‑ Women's Education

Box 2 Meetings File

1/20/75 ‑ State of the Union Briefing for Women's Organizations Leaders

2/5/75 ‑ Wednesday Meeting ‑ Women in Business

2/12/75 ‑ Wednesday Meeting ‑ Home Economists in Business

3/25/75 ‑ Tuesday Meeting ‑ Equal Employment Opportunity with Vice President

3/25/75 ‑ Women Appointees with Pat Lindh

4/14/75 ‑ International Women's Year Commission ‑ Reception with President and Mrs. Ford

4/29/75 ‑ Civic Organizations Leaders with the President

5/5/75 ‑ National Forest Products Association Wives

5/6/75 ‑ Women's Federal Advisory Committee with Mrs. Ford

5/12/75 ‑ American Newspaper Women's IWY Awardees

5/13/75 ‑ International Women Lawyers

7/14/75 ‑ International Women's Year Conference

7/29/75 ‑ Tuesday Meeting ‑ Child Care

7/30/75 ‑ American Federation of Government Employees

Box 3 Meetings File

8/12/75 ‑ Tuesday Meeting ‑ Employment of the Handicapped

9/12/75 ‑ National Association of Commissions for Women

9/17/75 ‑ President's Commission on Personnel Interchange

9/23/75 ‑ Junior League Briefing

11/18/75 ‑ American Nurses Association Briefing

11/19/75 ‑ Ten Outstanding Young Women of America

2/17/76 ‑ Tuesday Meeting ‑ Access America ‑ Barriers to the Handicapped

3/1/76 ‑ International Management and Development Institute Wives

Box 4 Meetings File

3/3/76 ‑ Women and Business (1)‑(3)

3/4/76 ‑ National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs

3/9/76 ‑ B'nai B'rith Women

4/20/76 ‑ Second Women and Business Meeting at SBA

4/23/76 ‑ Citizen's Advisory Council on the Status of Women

4/26/76 ‑ Women Appointees and Top Career Women

5/27/76 ‑ Women's Organization Leaders re Single‑Sex Membership Organizations

Box 5 Meetings File

7/1/76 ‑ International Women's Year Ceremony (1)‑(3)

9/7/76 ‑ Child Care Bill Signing with President and Mrs. Ford

9/17/76 ‑ National Federation of Republican Women Board

9/20/76 ‑ Women in Business ‑ Contracting and Procurement Conference

9/24/76 ‑ Black Woman's Agenda Conference, with Mrs. Ford

11/16/76 ‑ Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service

11/16/76 ‑ Outstanding Young Women of America

1/11/77 ‑ National Women's Party

Box 6 General Subject File

Abortion ‑ General (1)‑(3)

Abortion ‑ Printed Material

Abortion ‑ Report to HEW Secretary's Advisory Committee on the Rights and Responsibilities of Women (1)‑(3)

Affirmative Action

Business, Women in (1)‑(2)

Box 7 General Subject File

Business, Women in (3)‑(5)

CETA Act of 1973

Campaign of 1976

‑ Campaign Issues Book on Women's Issues (1)‑(2)

‑ President Ford Committee (1)‑(2)

‑ Questionnaires ‑ General

‑ Questionnaires ‑ Printed Material

‑ Republican Platform ‑ Women's Concerns

‑ White House Briefing for Spouses of Presidential Spokespersons, July 29, 1976

‑ "Women and the Republican Party" (Convention Handout)

Box 8 General Subject File

Child Care

‑ General (1)‑(2)

‑ HEW Conference on Child Care and the Working Woman, June 12‑13, 1975

‑ Printed Material

‑ Testimony of Secretary Weinberger on the Child and Family Services Act of 1975

Civil Rights Attorneys' Fees

Credit Discrimination ‑ General (1)‑(3)

Credit Discrimination ‑ Printed Material (1)‑(2)

Box 9 General Subject File

Earnings Gap (1)‑(2)

Employment and Economic Issues of Low‑Income Women

Employment in Federally‑Funded Work Relief Programs

Equal Rights Amendment ‑ General (1)‑(3)

Equal Rights Amendment ‑ Printed Material (1)‑(4)

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1974 ‑ Domestics

Federal Property Act

Box 10 General Subject File

Foreign Aid Act (1974), Percy Amendment to ‑ General (1)‑(2)

Foreign Aid Act (1974), Percy Amendment to ‑ Report of the Working Committee

HEW Data Collection

HEW and Department of Labor Lawsuit by Women's Organizations Against

Homeless Women ‑ House of Ruth

Housing

Inheritance Tax (1)‑(2)

Invitations, Speaking, for Jeanne M. Holm

Legislation ‑ General

Mailing Lists (1)‑(2)

Box 11 General Subject File

Mailing Lists (3)‑(4)

Mailings ‑ Memoranda and Form Letters

Military and Women ‑ General

Military and Women ‑ Printed Material

Minimum Wage for Domestics

National Center for Women

National Health Insurance Plan

National Women's Conference (International Women's Year, 1976) (1)‑(3)

Box 12 General Subject File

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Guidelines

Op‑Ed Page Article by Jeanne M. Holm

Part‑time Federal Employment

Pensions (1)‑(2)

Political Rights Convention

Pregnancy, Adolescent

Presidential Initiatives

Rape

Revenue Sharing

Rockefeller Pay Panel's Recommendations for Clerical Workers (1) ‑ (2)

Sewall‑Belmont House National Historic Site

Sex Discrimination ‑ Justice Department Initiative

Box 13 General Subject File

Sex Discrimination ‑ Proposed Legislation to Eliminate Sex Discrimination in Federally Funded Programs (1) ‑ (2)

Sex Discrimination ‑ Single‑Sex Organizations

Social Security ‑ Briefing, 5/19/76

Social Security ‑ General (1) ‑ (2)

Social Security ‑ Printed Materials

Supreme Court ‑ Appointment of Women

Tax Reform

Title IX

‑ General Memoranda and Correspondence

- General ‑ Organizational Literature

‑ General ‑ Printed Material (1)

Box 14 General Subject File

Title IX

‑ General ‑ Printed Material (2)

‑ General ‑ Testimony before Committees

‑ Regulations (1)‑(7)

Box 15 General Subject File

Travel Requests by Jeanne M. Holm and Karen Keesling

Travel Vouchers (1)‑(5)

Veterans Preference

Vocational Education Bill

Vocational Preparation of Women ‑ Report of Secretary's Advisory Committee on the Rights and Responsibilities of Women Subcommittee on Education (1)‑(2)

Volunteers for White House Women's Office

Welfare Reform ‑ Memoranda

Box 16 General Subject File

Welfare Reform ‑ Printed Material

White House Health Facility

Women in the Federal Government

Women Presidential Appointees

Women's Equal Educational Opportunity Act (1)‑(2)

Women's Equal Educational Opportunity Act ‑ Percy Bill

Box 17 Jeanne Holm Speeches

April 13, 1976 ‑ Washington, DC ‑ Board of Directors of SER

April 29, 1976 ‑ Washington, DC ‑ Executive Women in Government

April 30, 1976 ‑ Bethesda, MD ‑ Nuclear Regulatory Agency

May 13, 1976 ‑ Mt. Hood, Oregon ‑ Federal Executive Board

May 14, 1976 ‑ San Jose, CA ‑ California Elected Women's Association for Education and Research

June 14, 1976 ‑ Washington, DC ‑ Republican Women's Federal Forum

June 21, 1976 ‑ San Diego, CA ‑ Kiwanis International Wives

July 8, 1976 ‑ San Francisco, CA ‑ Federally Employed Women's Conference

July 28, 1976 ‑ Denver, CO ‑ Business and Professional Women's National Convention

August 6, 1976 ‑ Miami, FL ‑ Hemispheric Conference for Women '76

August 18, 1976 ‑ Kansas City, MO ‑ National Federation of Republican Women

August 23, 1976 ‑ Seattle, WA ‑ American Legion Auxiliary

September 14, 1976 ‑ Chicago, IL ‑ Republican Women of Northfield Township

September 16, 1976 ‑ Washington, DC ‑ National Federation of Republican Women

September 18, 1976 ‑ Atlanta, GA ‑ Georgia Women's Forum

September 29, 1976 ‑ New York, NY ‑ National Association of Black Women

October 2, 1976 ‑ Des Moines, IA ‑ Iowa Women's Political Caucus

October 12, 1976 ‑ Worcester, MA ‑ Women in Business Seminar

October 15, 1976 ‑ Denver, CO ‑ Federal Women's Program

October 29‑30, 1976 ‑ North Dakota ‑ Rallies for Ford

November 1, 1976 ‑ Washington, DC ‑ League of Republican Women of D.C.

November 6, 1976 ‑ San Antonio, TX ‑ WAF Officers Reunion

November 16, 1976 ‑ White House ‑ Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services

December 1, 1976 ‑ Washington, DC ‑ Wednesdays for Women at Trinity College

December 7, 1976 ‑ Seattle, WA ‑ Women in Business Forum

December 10, 1976 ‑ Chicago, IL ‑ Women in Business Forum

Box 18 Karen Keesling Speeches

Speaking Engagements

August 16, 1974 ‑ Kentucky BPW

October 16, 1974 ‑ New York ‑ Women's National Republican Club, Inc.

December 7, 1974 ‑ West Virginia ‑ National Management Association

December 9, 1974 ‑ Dallas, TX ‑ Second Southwest Regional Consultation of Commissions, Committees and Department of Labor

February 24, 1975 ‑ Arizona State University ‑ Associated Women Students

February 26, 1975 ‑ University of Tennessee ‑ Mortar Board

March 7, 1975 ‑ Washington, DC ‑ Secondary School Teachers' Institute

March 16, 1975 ‑ Atlantic City ‑ American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation

March 28, 1975 ‑ Salt Lake City, Intercollegiate Association of Women Students

April 3, 1975 ‑ Philadelphia ‑ National Association for Women Deans, Administrators and Counselors

April 5, 1975 ‑ Gettysburg ‑ Pennsylvania Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs

April 9‑12, 1975 ‑ La Crosse, WI ‑ International Conference on the Status of Women

April 17, 1975 ‑ Maryland ‑ Maryland Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs

April 23, 1975 ‑ Kansas City, MO ‑ Federal Executive Board Conference/Federal Women's Program

Box 19 Karen Keesling Speeches

May 5, 1975 ‑ Pentagon, Washington, DC ‑ San Francisco Close Up Group

May 13, 1975 ‑ Carlisle Barracks, PA ‑ Association of the United States Army

May 22, 1975 ‑ Washington, DC ‑ International Monetary Fund

May 23, 1975 ‑ Washington, DC ‑ Nuclear Regulatory Commission

August 18, 1975 ‑ Chicago ‑ Management Seminar

August 26, 1975 ‑ Seneca Falls, NY ‑ Issuance of International Women's Year Stamps

August 27, 1975 ‑ Bethesda, MD ‑ National Naval Medical Center

September 6, 1975 ‑ Kansas City ‑ Business and Professional Women's Club

September 8‑9, 1975 ‑ Tennessee ‑ TVA

September 18, 1975 ‑ Trenton, NJ ‑ Mercer County Republican Committee Women's Division

September 19, 1975 ‑ Cleveland ‑ NASA

September 20, 1975 ‑ Grand Rapids, MI ‑ Legal Secretaries

September 22, 1975 ‑ Alexandria, VA ‑ Department of the Army

October 13, 1975 ‑ Tennessee ‑ Tennessee Association of Women Deans, Administrators and Counselors

October 18, 1975 ‑ Danville, VA ‑ Business and Professional Women's Club

October 20, 1975 ‑ Fort Lee, VA ‑ Department of the Army

October 20, 1975 ‑ Richmond, VA ‑ Business and Professional Women's Club

Gerald R. Ford Library

1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2114