Legal Momentum Names Irasema Garza As Its Seventh President

NEW YORK, April 8, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Irasema Garza, former head of the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau in the Clinton Administration, and currently community outreach director for Working America, the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, will become the seventh president of Legal Momentum, the nation's oldest legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women and girls, on May 1. Legal Momentum's Board Chair Linda Willett will formally announce the appointment and present Garza at the organization's Aiming High Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at the Hilton New York.

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Garza was selected by a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors of Legal Momentum after a broad, national search by a Search Committee of the Board led by Lillian E. Kraemer, a retired partner of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, assisted by the executive search firm, Phillips Oppenheim. Outgoing President Kathy Rodgers, who has headed the organization for the past 13 years, will now devote herself to international women's issues and concerns.

"Irasema Garza is a trailblazer who has provided outstanding leadership at the national and local levels on issues of economic security for women and communities of color," said Board Chair Linda Willett of Legal Momentum. "Her broad range of experience as an attorney, public official, labor advocate, and her innovative approach to public education and outreach, make her a perfect match for Legal Momentum at this point in time." Willett noted that Legal Momentum has embarked on a comprehensive effort to put women's concerns and issues on the national agenda and is looking forward to working with Garza on that goal.

"Legal Momentum has been the force behind many of the most important legal and legislative victories for women in the past 38 years," said Garza. "I am excited and proud to have the opportunity to lead an organization whose vision resonates with all women: To build a society where women enjoy the full measure of civil rights, are free from violence, and can make choices about all aspects of their professional and personal lives."

Throughout her career as an attorney and public servant, Garza has championed the interests of women, and disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups. She has promoted their economic advancement by advocating for increased access to education and employment opportunities. Garza currently serves as the community outreach director for Working America, the Community Affiliate of the AFL-CIO, with more than two million members.

Garza was raised in Texas' Rio Grande Valley and is a first-generation Mexican-American. She holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan and began her career in law as an attorney/magistrate in Ann Arbor. She practiced law for ten years before turning to public service in 1994 and moving to Washington, D.C. She then served as the first secretary of the U.S. National Administrative Office (USNAO) under the Clinton Administration, concentrating on international labor affairs.

In November 1999, Garza was nominated by President Clinton, and confirmed by the Senate as the 14th director of the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau, the only federal agency mandated by Congress to represent America's wage-earning women in the public policy process. As leader of a national agency with 10 regional offices, Garza created and implemented innovative programs and policies to address the challenges faced by women in the workplace, including the first national legal literacy model to educate migrant women farm workers.

ABOUT LEGAL MOMENTUM

Founded in 1970 as the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, Legal Momentum is the nation's oldest legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women and girls. Legal Momentum is a leader in establishing litigation and public policy strategies to secure equality and justice for women. Its groundbreaking work on behalf of women and girls is currently focused on freedom from violence against women, equal work and equal pay, the health of women and girls, strong families, and strong communities. Its ambitious and wide-ranging legal program is known for its cutting-edge legal theories and as a source of expert assistance to other women's rights attorneys and organizations.

Contact: Altagracia ("Alta") Dilone Levat: 212.413.7510,

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