What the nations leading women are saying about Sen. Barack Obama and why they support him.

“Change has never been easy, it’s always been hard-fought with bumps and bruises along the way, but these women leaders have had the tenacity to charge on. I am honored to have the support of such remarkable women who have broken down barriers and paved the way for change for my daughters and generations of women. In accepting their support I also accept the great responsibility to carry the torch by advancing women’s rights and bringing the change women need,” said Senator Barack Obama. “For every Sally Ride, Tory Burch, or Billie Jean King, there are hundreds of young women out there whose dreams seem a little more possible. As president, I will work to safeguard and support those dreams for my daughters and future generations of Americans through policies that further opportunity for all.”

“As the son of a single mother, Senator Obama embodies the American dream and is on the side of working women. For generations, women have fought to advance their rights and achieve equality,” said Stacey Snider, Chairman of DreamWorks who was named as one of Fortune’s 50 most powerful women in business.  “We are indebted to them for opening doors that were previously locked shut. But there is still work to be done. Women still just make 77 cents for every dollar men make for the same work. Senator Obama is the presidential candidate with a record for standing up for women; and he will advance our rights by enacting laws that close the income gap. In this defining moment in our history, women must exercise our vote and elect Barack Obama president in November.”

“Barack Obama understands the struggles that middle class Americans are facing every day,” said Linda Chavez-Thompson, Executive Vice President Emerita, AFL-CIO.  “John McCain has voted with President Bush 90% of the time and will continue the failed policies of that administration.  In contrast, Barack Obama will open the doors of opportunity for the middle class by reducing their taxes, protecting their jobs, making college affordable, and ensuring that every American has access to quality, affordable health care.  He will strengthen families by making equal pay for equal work a reality, expanding family leave, and securing our seniors’ retirement security.  I am proud to support Barack Obama.”

“There is no doubt that Barack Obama has awakened a new generation of political involvement in America,” said motivational speaker and Olympic gold-medalist and the first African-American to win an individual Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics Dominique Dawes.  “He speaks to the hope and personal responsibility that inspires my generation.  I am proud to endorse Barack Obama because I know he will work to ensure that the American dream is within reach for every child across the country.”

This list consists of the hundreds of women who support Sen. Barack Obama because of his vision and unwavering commitment to the strengthening and equality of women.

Liz Abzug, President, The Bella Abzug Leadership Institute, NY

Clara Apodaca, President and CEO, Founder of the National Hispanic Cultural Center and Former First Lady of New Mexico, NM

Roberta Achtenberg, Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, CA

 Madeleine Albright, First woman Secretary of State, Principal, The Albright Group LLC, Washington, DC

Nancy Altman, Author and national advocate for adequate and secure retirement for American workers and their families

Katherine Archuleta, Senior Policy Advisor to the Mayor of Denver, CO

Geoconda Arguello-Kline, President Culinary Union Nevada, NV

Harriet Babbitt, Former US ambassador to the Organization of American States, Washington, DC

Polly Baca, Former Colorado State Senator, former Vice-Chair, Democratic National Committee, CO

Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, Former US Ambassador and Vice-Chair of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, Washington, DC

Raymone K. Bain, CEO, The Raymone K  Bain Companies, LLC., Washington, DC

Arlene Holt Baker, Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO, Washington, DC

Ann Bancroft, First woman to ski both the North and South Poles, MN

Preeta D. Bansal, Former Solicitor General of the State of New York, NY

 Rev. Willie Barrow, Civil Rights Activist, IL

Martha Barnett, Former President of the American Bar Association (ABA), FL

Jan BenDor, National Women’s Advocate, MI

Melanie Benjamin, Chief Executive, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, MN

Andrea Bernstein, Former Senior Vice President of Oxygen Media, NY

Gina Bianchini, CEO and Co-Founder, Ning, Inc, CA

Margaret Blackshere, President Emeritus, IL AFL-CIO, IL

Tamia Booker, Executive Director, College Democrats of America, MD

Sue Bostrom, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Cisco, CA

Crandall C. Bowles, Chairman, Springs Industries, Inc., SC

 Jacqueline Moore Bowles, National President of Jack and Jill, Inc.

Barbara A. Boyd, Retired Newscaster,WRTV-6, First African American female broadcaster on television news in Indiana, IN

Ellen Bravo, Author and activist, WI

Donna Brazile, Campaign Manager for Gore-Lieberman 2004, Columnist and national political commentator, Washington, DC

Beth Brooke, Global Vice-Chair of a leading, global professional services organization, NY

Bobbi Brown, CEO and Founder, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, NJ

Kathleen Brown, Former State Treasurer, CA

Elizabeth Bunn, UAW Secretary-Treasurer, MI

Tory Burch, Creative Director, Tory Burch LLC., NY

Anna Burger, Chair, Change to Win and International Secretary-Treasurer, SEIU

Martha Burk, Author, syndicated columnist and a leading women’s advocate

Iris Burnett, Author and former senior vice president, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, USA Networks

Bonnie Campbell, Iowa’s first woman Attorney General and the first director of the Violence Against Women Office, an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, IA

Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President, National Women’s Law Center, Washington, DC

Sharron Caplan, Chair/Treasurer, Women’s National Democratic Club, MD

Lisa Caputo, Former Deputy Assistant to President Clinton and Communications Director to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, NY

Ida L. Castro, JD, first Latina Chair the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the first woman Associate Professor tenured at the Labor Education Center (Rutgers University), the first woman to head the US Office of Workers Compensation at the US Department of Labor, and the first Hispanic to head the NJ State Department of Personnel, NJ

Dr. Katie B. Catalon, President of the National Beauty Culturist’s League, Inc., SC

Ellen Chapnick, Dean for Social Justice Initiatives, Columbia Law School, NY

Allison C. Chin, President, Board of Directors- Sierra Club, CA

Dr. Elizabeth Clark, Executive Director, National Association of Social Worker

Emily Clyburn, Civil rights activist, SC

Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, President Emerita of Spellman College and Bennett College for Women, GA

Lisa Collis, Former First Lady of Virginia, VA

Bekki Cook, Former Secretary of State, MO

Ertharin Cousin, Former White House Liaison for the U.S. Department of State, IL

Gwyneth Cravens, American novelist and journalist, CA

Ann Crittenden, Former economics reporter for the NY Times, Pulitzer Prize nominee, and Co-Founder of MOTHERS (Mothers Ought to Have Equal Rights)

Rev. DeLois Brown Daniels, Vice President Pastoral Care & Community Relations, IL Masonic Medical Center and first woman ordained Connecticut Missionary Baptist,  IL

Deborah Darrell, CEO- CUE, brand communications expert

 Rev. Leah D. Daughtry, Convention CEO & Chief of Staff, DNC

Dominique Dawes, United States Olympic gold medalist and motivational speaker

Ambassador Alice M. Dear, Former U.S. Executive Director of the African Development Bank, the first woman to represent the U.S. 

Sue Decker, President of Yahoo! CA

Ann M. Delaney, Partner- Delaney and Delaney, LLC. The first woman to be nominated as a candidate for Lt Gov in Indiana and the only woman to chair the Indiana Democratic Party, IN

·         Rev. Leah D. Daughtry, Convention CEO & Chief of Staff, DNC·         Dominique Dawes, United States Olympic gold medalist and motivational speaker·         Ambassador Alice M. Dear, Former U.S. Executive Director of the African Development Bank, the first woman to represent the U.S. ·          Sue Decker, President of Yahoo! CA·          Ann M. Delaney, Partner- Delaney and Delaney, LLC. The first woman to be nominated as a candidate for Lt Gov in Indiana and the only woman to chair the Indiana Democratic Party, IN·          Abigail Disney, Film producer and President of the Daphne Foundation, NY·         Rita Frances Dove, 1993-95 U.S. Poet Laureate and youngest and first African American Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry, VA·          Donna L Dubinsky, CEO, Numenta, Former CEO/founder Palm, and former CEO/founder Handspring, CA·         Renee’ S. Dunman, Esq., President of the American Association for Affirmative Action, VA·         Linda Spradley Dunn, CEO and publisher, Odyssey Media, Inc.·         Maria Elena-Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, CA·         Loretta Durbin, President- Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership, IL·         Rev. Marcia Dyson, author and political commentator, MD·         Maria Echaveste, Former Deputy Chief of Staff in the White House, CA ·          Marian Wright Edelman, Child advocate, Washington, DC·          Sara Ehrman, Former Political Director at the DNC and Jewish community leader, Washington, DC·          Susan Eisenhower, author, strategist, and international affairs expert·          Susan Esserman, Former Deputy US Trade Representative, Washington, DC·          Judy L. Estrin, CEO, JLabs, LLC and author, Closing the Innovation Gap·          Leecia Eve, Former Candidate for Lt. Governor of New York, NY·           Dr. Haifa Fakhouri, Community Leader, MI·         Cecilia Fire Thunder, Past President, Oglala Sioux Tribe, SD·          Evelyn “Pat” Foote, Brigadier General (Retired), MD·         Stephenie Foster, Former Senior Advisor, Kerry Edwards 2004; National Director of Women’s Outreach, Clinton/Gore ’96.·         Frankie M. Freeman, civil rights attorney, and the first woman to be appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights ·         Amy Friedkin, Jewish community political activist·         Cynthia Friedman, National Co-Chair, Women’s Leadership Forum, DNC, FL·         Ann Fudge, Former Chairman & CEO, Young & Rubicam Brands·          Kim Gandy, President, NOW·         Joan Garry, Former Executive Director of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)·          Irasema Garza, Esq.,  Former Director of US Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, and current President of women’s legal advocacy organization, NY/NJ·         Alice Germond, Secretary- DNC and Former VP- NARAL Pro-Choice America, WV·          A’shanti Fayshel Gholar, National Vice President, Young Democrats of America and  Secretary, Nevada State Democratic Party, NV·          Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, Founder & CEO of Grace & Race Ministries, MD·          Nancy Gist, Former Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC·         Clare Giesen, Executive Director of the National Women’s Political Caucus, Washington DC·         Judy Gold, Former Chair of the Illinois Commission on the Status of Women, IL·         Ilana Goldman, Advocate for women’s political participation, Washington, DC·          Dr. Barbara Goldsmith, Noted author and historian and recipient of two Emmy Awards, NY·         Diane Greene, Founder and Former CEO, VMware, CA·         Marcia Greenberger, Co-President, National Women’s Law Center, MD·         Lani Guinier, First African American tenured professor at Harvard University, MA·         Sandra Polk Guthman, Philanthropist·          Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center, Spellman College, GA·         Rev. Lucia Guzman, First woman and first Mexican-American to serve as the Executive Director of the Colorado Council of Churches, CO·          Alice W. Handy, President and Founder, Investure, LLC, VA·         LaDonna Harris, President of Americans for Indian Opportunity, NM·         Jane Hartley, CEO, Observatory Group, NY·         Heidi Hartmann, President- Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Washington, DC  ·         Glenda Hatchett, Television host and National Best Selling Author,·         Dorothy I Height, Chair Emeritus, National Council of Black Women, Washington, DC·         Sherrye Henry, former director of the SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership, NY·         Ann Colin Herbst, Author and educational advocate NY·         Mellody Hobson, President, Ariel Capital Management, IL·          Rhona Hoffman, President and Director, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Ltd., IL·         Amber Hollibaugh, Senior strategist, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, NY·         Anne Holton, First Lady of Virginia·          Victoria Duffy-Hopper, Co-President, Sea Change Communications, CA·          Eleanor Hinton Hoytt, President and CEO, Black Women’s Health Imperative, MD  ·         Michele S. Jones, First female Command Sergeant Major of the Army Reserve (Retired), FL ·          Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever, former Director of Poverty, Education, and Social Justice Programs for a leading nonprofit. Current Director of a non profit research organization focused on African American women’s issues, VA·          Sheila Johnson, Co-founder of BET Enterprises·         Rachel Joseph, Former Chairwoman, Lone Pine Paiute Shoshone Tribe, CA·         Amy Kapcyznski, Assistant Professor of Law, UC Berkeley·         Roberta Karp, SVP- Business Development, Corporate and Legal Affairs, Liz Claiborne Inc, NY·          Nancy Keenan, President, NARAL Pro-Choice America, VA·         Caroline Kennedy, Author and attorney, NY·         Ethel Kennedy, Women’s advocate, NY·         Kerry Kennedy, International human rights activist, NY·         Melina Kennedy, former Deputy Mayor of Indianapolis IN·         Rory Kennedy, Award winning documentary filmmaker and producer·         LTG Claudia J. Kennedy (ret.), First woman in the army to be a three-star general and to be the head of army intelligence, SC ·         Pamela Keogh, Bestselling author, NY.·         Maggie Kernan, Former First Lady of Indiana, IN·         Billie Jean King, Civil rights advocate, world class athlete, and Co-Founder, World Team Tennis·         Gay Kingman, Executive Director, Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association, SD·         Ann Kolker, Founding Executive Director, Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. Washington, DC·         Kay Koplovitz, Founder, USA Networks and Former President of Lifetime,  NY·         Madeleine M. Kunin, First woman Governor of Vermont and former Ambassador to Switzerland, VT·          Joan A. Kuriansky, Women’s rights advocate, Washington, DC.·         Daphne Kwok, Former Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies and the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), CA·         Dottie Lamm, Former First Lady of Colorado, CO·         Artis Lane, Nationally renowned sculptress and painter, CA·         Sherry Lansing, Former CEO Paramount Pictures, CA·           Laura Lauder, Jewish community advocate, CA·         Geraldine Laybourne, Co-Founder, Former Chairman and CEO of Oxygen Media, NY·         Aileen Lee, CEO, Danoo ·         Debra L. Lee, Chairman and CEO, BET Networks, Washington, DC·         Eun Sook Lee, Executive Director, National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, CA