ALEXIS HERMAN

Winning in the Workplace

March 4 at 7:30pm · Mountainlair Ballroom

Alexis Herman was sworn in as the 23rd U.S. Secretary of Labor on May 1, 1997 – the first African American ever to lead the Labor Department. During an era of sweeping change, she used her position to create unprecedented opportunities for America’s workforce. Undaunted by rapid globalization, the expansion of the internet, or the precarious balance of home and career, Herman helped even marginal sectors of the population share in an escalating national prosperity.

Her commitment to ongoing professional training, decent work environments, and a secure workforce resulted in revitalized development programs, increased productivity, and an inspiring transformation from welfare checks to paychecks.

During Herman’s tenure, unemployment reached a 30-year low, and unemployment among African Americans and Hispanics fell to record lows. To help sustain and broaden our prosperity, she laid out three strategic goals that guided her while at the Department: a prepared workforce, a secure workforce, and quality workplaces. With that mandate in mind, the Labor Department has successfully consolidated its array of skills development programs into a simpler, more efficient system, and Secretary Herman has been widely credited as an important leader in the effort to move people from welfare to work.

As Labor Secretary, Herman served as CEO of an organization with a $39 billion annual budget and a workforce of 17,000 across the country. Under her leadership – and for the first time ever – the Labor Department received a clean audit opinion on its FY 1997, 1998, and 1999 financial statements. Herman’s trail-blazing, results-oriented programs included the Youth Opportunity movement, the most intensive outreach effort in the Labor Department’s history.

She began her political career as the youngest director of the Women’s Bureau in the history of the Labor Department. She has also served as director of the White House Public Liaison Office and as assistant to the President. Recognized worldwide for her accomplishments, she currently chairs the Coca-Cola Company’s task force on diversity.

Herman draws on her experiences as both entrepreneur and labor secretary to help audiences recognize the opportunities that lie within their grasp.