Leslie R. Wolfe facts for kids

Leslie Rosenberg Wolfe (born November 24, 1943 – died November 30, 2017) was an American activist who worked for women's rights. She was well-known for leading the Center for Women Policy Studies for many years. She especially focused on helping women of color, understanding that they often faced challenges because of both their race and their gender.

Early Life and School

Leslie Rosenberg was born in 1943 in Washington, D.C. She grew up nearby in Bethesda, Maryland.

She went to the University of Illinois and finished her studies in 1965. Then, she earned a master's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1967. After that, she studied at the University of Florida. She earned her Ph.D. in English literature there in 1970.

Working for Change

Starting Her Career

Wolfe worked as an English professor for a short time. However, during the 1970s, a time when many women were fighting for equal rights, she became very involved in women's rights activism. This became her main career.

In the 1970s, she worked for several important groups. These included the National Welfare Rights Organization, which helped people get fair support. She also worked at the United States Commission on Civil Rights, a government group that protects people's rights. Later, she joined the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, a government department focused on health and education.

Her experiences taught her a lot. She became especially interested in helping women of color. She saw that they often faced extra challenges, like poverty or disability, along with sexism and racism. In 1979, she was hired to lead a federal program called the Women's Educational Equity Act. This program worked to put Title IX into action, which helps make education fair for everyone. Wolfe brought her focus on different groups of people to this job. She later said that building a movement for women of all backgrounds became her life's goal.

Leading the Way

In 1983, Wolfe was let go from her government job. The official reason was a "reduction of force," meaning fewer workers were needed. However, she believed she was fired for political reasons. She had often disagreed with her bosses in the Reagan administration. She was a strong activist, and a magazine article had even called her program "radical feminists." Four of her co-workers were also fired at the same time.

After leaving the government, she became a director at the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. This group uses law to fight for equal rights in education. Then, in 1987, she became the president of the Center for Women Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. She led this important organization until it closed in 2015.

Important Work and Recognition

Wolfe was one of the first people to speak up for women affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis. In 1989, she helped write an important report. This report showed how the SAT college admission test was unfair to female and non-white students.

Besides her work on HIV/AIDS and college tests, her organization also worked on other big projects. These included making workplaces more diverse, supporting reproductive rights (a woman's right to make choices about her own body), and fighting violence against women. Wolfe strongly believed in using clear words like "sexism" and "racism." She felt that softer terms like "diversity" didn't fully explain the fight against unfair treatment.

In 2020, Leslie Wolfe was honored by being added to the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.

Personal Life

Her first marriage to Barry Wolfe ended in divorce. Leslie Wolfe later married William Greene, who passed away in 1998.

She lived in Montgomery County, Maryland for her adult life. There, she continued to work on making education fair for everyone. She died in 2017 in Rockville, Maryland.