Esther Peterson

Personal

Vocation

American consumer and women's advocate. In 1938, Peterson became a paid organizer for the American Federation of Teachers and travelled around New England. In 1944, Peterson became the first lobbyist for the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. In Washington D.C., in 1957, Peterson joined the Industrial Union Department of the AFL-CIO, becoming its first woman lobbyist. She was Assistant Secretary of Labor and Director of the United States Women's Bureau under President John F. Kennedy. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson named Peterson to the newly created post of Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs. She would later serve as President Jimmy Carter's Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs. Peterson was also Vice President for Consumer Affairs at Giant Food Corporation, and president of the National Consumers League. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981. Peterson was named a delegate of the United Nations as a UNESCO representative in 1993. She died on 20 December 1997. Link to Wikipedia biography