Tanya Melich

Last updated

Tanya Melich is one of the founders of the modern women's political movement. She was born in Moab, Utah on April 23, 1936 [1] and co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus and was an early leader of the National Women's Education Fund, which focused on educating women in gaining political power. [2] Melich attended every Republican National Convention from 1952 through 1996 except 1984. [3] Melich served on the staffs of Nelson Rockefeller, Jacob Javits, Charles Goodell, and John Lindsay. [2] In 1998, she left the Republican Party over women's issues. She coined the phrase, "Republican war against women." [3] She now considers herself a Jeffords independent in the mold of the former U.S. Senator from Vermont. [2]

Contents

Tanya Melich attended the University of Colorado and received a B.S. in political science in 1958, graduating cum laude with departmental and general honors. She was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She then attended Columbia University, receiving a master's degree in public law and government in 1961. [1]

At the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, Melich tried to remove the anti-abortion plank from the party platform and substitute a neutral position on abortion. She was acting at the time as the executive director of the New York State Republican Family Committee. Her proposal was shelved in the platform hearings by conservative forces led by Marilyn Thayer, a New Orleans Republican activist who chaired the platform subcommittee on family issues and who in 1996 was elected president of the National Federation of Republican Women, the party conservatives kept the pro-life language intact. Years later, Melich wrote about her experiences at the convention in her book, The Republican War Against Women: An Insider's Report from Behind the Lines. [4]

Melich is considered one of the founders of the modern women's movement. In 1971 she helped organize the Manhattan Women's Political Caucus. She went on to co-found the New York State National Women's Political Caucus (NYS NWPC) in 1972. In 1973, she became affiliated with the National Women's Education Fund, the first organization designed to educate women on ways to gain political power. Melich served as the Fund's president from 1980 through 1983. Concerned with the treatment of women in American society, she wanted women's issues to have more of an impact on the Republican Party's agenda. In 1976 Melich co-founded the National Women's Republican Task Force and was instrumental in organizing the group New York State Republicans for Women's Issues. In 1984 she co-founded the New York State Republican Family Committee. Both of the organizations advocated the Republican Party to take a pro-choice stance and recognize the needs and concerns of women to a greater extent. [1]

Her father, Mitchell Melich, served in the Utah State Senate, was president of the Utah Mining Association, on the Republican National Committee from Utah, the University of Utah Board of Regents and ran unsuccessfully for governor of Utah in 1964 against the Democrat Cal Rampton. He was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon to serve as Solicitor of the U.S. Interior Department, 1969-73.

Her mother, Doris Marie Snyder Melich, founded the first Girl Scout troop in Moab, Utah in 1946 that led to her thirty years of service to the state and national Girl Scouts. She served as a member, executive committee and president of the Utah chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, 1959–82, was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the National Arthritis Board, 1977–84 and was a member of the National Commission on Arthritis and Related Musculoskeletal Diseases, 1974-76.

Books

Professional positions

Honors

See also

Related Research Articles

Jane Harman American politician

Jane Margaret Lakes Harman is the former U.S. Representative for California's 36th congressional district, serving from 1993 to 1999, and from 2001 to 2011; she is a member of the Democratic Party. Harman was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee (2002–2006), and chaired the Homeland Security Committee's Intelligence Subcommittee (2007–2011). Resigning from Congress in February 2011, Harman became President and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She succeeded former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton and was the first woman to lead the organization. She stepped down in February 2021 after a decade, and is a Distinguished Scholar and President Emerita.

Susan Molinari American politician and lobbyist

Susan Molinari is an American politician, journalist, and lobbyist from New York. A Republican, she was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Staten Island for three terms. She was considered a rising star in the GOP and was selected to deliver the keynote address at the 1996 Republican National Convention. However, the next year, she resigned from Congress to become a TV journalist for CBS News. Later she became a vice president for public policy at Google from 2012 to 2018.

National Womens Political Caucus Organization for womens rights

The National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), or the Caucus, describes itself as a multi-partisan grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting women who seek elected and appointed offices at all levels of government. The Caucus offers training, technical assistance, and advice for political candidates, campaign managers, and trainers, with state and local chapters providing support to candidates running at state and local levels by helping raise money and providing hands-on volunteer assistance.

Gracia Hillman

Gracia M. Hillman is the former Vice President for External Affairs at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She grew up in New England, USA. She is the daughter of the late Maria DaGraca Hillman and the late George Hillman. She has two brothers, George Hillman, Jr. and Robert W. Hillman. Ms. Hillman is of Cape Verdean descent.

Gail S. Shaffer is an American politician and activist who served as the 59th Secretary of State of New York under Mario Cuomo.

The Utah Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Utah. Its platform focuses on economic security, equal opportunity, the common good, and American leadership. The party is a big tent party.

Catherine "Cathy" Bertini is an American public servant. She is the 2003 World Food Prize Laureate. She was the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Program from 1992 to 2002. She served as the UN Under-Secretary for Management from 2003 to 2005. Currently she is a distinguished fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Chair of the Board of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the Chair of the Executive Board of the Crop Trust.

Jessica M. Weis American politician

Jessica "Judy" McCullough Weis was a two-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Rochester, New York.

New York Republican State Committee Affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of New York

The New York Republican State Committee, established in 1855, is the New York State affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The party has headquarters in Albany, Buffalo, and New York City. The purpose of the committee is to nominate Republican candidates for election to New York and federal political roles. It also assists its nominees in their election campaigns.

1976 Republican Party presidential primaries Selection of Republican US presidential candidate

From August 16 to August 19, 1976, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1976 United States presidential election. The major candidates were incumbent President Gerald Ford and former Governor of California Ronald Reagan. After a series of primary elections and caucuses, neither secured a majority of the delegates before the convention.

Ramona Martinez a member of the Democratic National Committee from Colorado for 16 years. A businesswoman and former president of the Denver City Council, Martinez has served on the DNC from 1992 to 2009. As a superdelegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Martinez has publicly supported Bill Richardson, and then Hillary Clinton. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2010.

Nelson Rockefeller Vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from December 1974 to January 1977, and previously as the 49th governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. He also served as assistant secretary of State for American Republic Affairs for Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman (1944–1945) as well as under secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) under Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1954. In 1980, HEW split into 2 cabinet level agencies: Health & Human Services (HHS) & Department of Education. A grandson of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller and a member of the wealthy Rockefeller family, he was a noted art collector and served as administrator of Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, New York City.

Bertha Sheppard Adkins, was an educator, political activist, public servant, and a community leader.

Mia Love American political commentator and former U.S. Representative from Utah

Ludmya "Mia" Love is an American political commentator and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Utah's 4th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. A Haitian American, she was the first black person elected to Congress from Utah and the first black woman elected to Congress as a Republican.

Dolores Delahanty

Dolores Delahanty is a social activist and political leader in Louisville, Kentucky. She was a founding member of the National Women's Political Caucus during the early Civil Rights Movement, and she was critical to the success of Kentucky's Fair Credit Law. Delahanty has devoted her life to improving the lives of others, primarily those of Kentucky women and children.

Amata Coleman Radewagen American Samoa congressperson

Amata Catherine Coleman Radewagen, commonly called Aumua Amata, is an American Samoan politician who is the current delegate for the United States House of Representatives from American Samoa. Radewagen, a Republican, was elected on November 4, 2014, after defeating Democratic incumbent Eni Faleomavaega; she was the first ever Republican delegate since the office had been created in 1970 and began her tenure on January 3, 2015. She also serves as the national committeewoman for the Republican Party of American Samoa. Amata is the first woman to represent American Samoa in the U.S. Congress.

College Democrats of America College student wing of the U.S. Democratic Party

The College Democrats of America (CDA) is the official college outreach arm of the Democratic National Committee. It claims over 100,000 college and university student members in College Democrats chapters across the United States.

Jill Ruckelshaus American feminist activist

Jill Elizabeth Ruckelshaus is a former special White House assistant and head of the White House Office of Women's Programs and a feminist activist. She also served as a commissioner for the United States Commission on Civil Rights in the early 1980s. Currently, she is a director for the Costco Wholesale Corporation.

Irene Natividad is an American feminist, women's rights activist, corporate director, international advocate for women in leadership positions, President of the GlobeWomen Research and Education Institute, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC whose lead programs include the annual Global Summit of Women and Corporate Women Directors International (CWDI). She previously served as Chair of the National Women's Political Caucus, Chair of the National Commission on Working Women, Executive Director of the Philippine American Foundation, Founder and President of Asian American Professional Women, and Founding Director of the National Network of Asian-Pacific American Women.

National Advisory Committee for Women

The National Advisory Committee for Women (NACW) was a presidential commission established by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. It was renamed the President's Advisory Committee for Women (PACFW), with a reduced mandate, in 1979.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Tanya, Melich (2015). "The Tanya Melich Papers". M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives. Archived from the original on 2017-02-18.
  2. 1 2 3 "Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows: Tanya Melich". The Council of Independent Colleges . Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 Melich, Tanya (21 March 2016). "I was at the last contested Republican convention. Here's what to expect at Trump's". Vox.com. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. Tanya Melich (1996). "No. 14 (Victory Without Honor)". The Republican War Against Women: An Insider's Report from Behind the Lines. New York City: Random House . Retrieved April 28, 2016.