USD President's Report and Honor Roll of Donors 1995

etsy Myers '82 grew up believing in opportunity. Her mother returned to col-

When the federally appointed SBA position opened in 1993, it was a perfect fit for Myers, who worked in politics as a press secretary on the 1984 Mondale-Ferraro presidential campaign and the 1985 Tom Bradley mayoral re-election campaign in Los Angeles. She and her husband, Eric Orland, moved to Washington, D.C., eager to experience a change of pace from Southern California, where Myers had spent most of her life. The couple's town house in the district makes for an easy commute to Pennsylvania Avenue and a quick ride home after 12- to 15-hour workdays. A full schedule of meetings, speaking engagements and event planning creates a whirlwind of energy around Myers. The Women's Initiatives Office is dominated by five staffers bustling from front to back rooms, briefing each other on meetings and prepping Myers for her next appointment. Backpacks and open soda cans strewn on wooden desks are reminders of the youthful and energetic people who surround Clinton. Over the next several months, the activity will focus on a campaign called "At the Table," which is designed to pull women back into the political process - female voters stayed away from the 1994 polls in dramatic proportions. Roundtable discussions among 10 to 20 average citizens and female political appointees will be staged throughout the United States. These meetings will continue the process of listening to constituents and educating voters about the achievements of the Clinton administration, Myers says. "Seventy percent of the population is disenchanted with government,'' she says. "But the average woman out there isn't sitting around reading newspapers. She's working and taking care of her family, and so there is a disconnection from all the incredible accomplishments of this administration." In its first months of operation, the Women's Initiatives Office produced several major events that highlighted the role the president and Hillary Rodham Clinton have played in supporting women's rights. The Clintons attended an August suffrage celebration in Wyoming, the office staged a roundtable discussion in the White House following the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and the president declared October domestic violence awareness month. "There are moments when you realize the impact of what you're doing, working for this country,'' Myers says, "like when the president was standing in the East Room talking about domestic violence and how our country will no longer tolerate men using force to control their wives and children. "I've been fortunate enough to pass through these walls - all of us know we are just passing through - and I realize it's an opportunity not only to serve my country, but to make a difference.'' ~:.

lege when Myers was a teen-ager, earned a master's degree in psychology and taught women's re-entry programs at a local junior college. Along the way, Judy Myers taught her three daughters to believe they could achieve anything and that a woman's dream of success was as significant as a man's. With a deep-seated confidence in her abilities, Myers graduated from USD's School of Business Administration eager to work with women entrepreneurs. But even she was surprised when a six-year stint as owner of an insurance and financial services business parlayed into an appointment as one of President Bill Clinton's key advisers. ,. Since Myers' appointment as director of the White . , House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach in June, ,she has turned a two-story brownstone office into a bustling t~enter for education and clearinghouse of information. It's the first such office for the White House and has quickly become an important force in the Clinton administration's efforts to promote its pro-woman/pro-family agenda. Myers brings to her job a keen interest in what the women of America are thinking and a strong background in t~e economic plight of wives, mothers and female business myners. Prior to the White House appointment, a two-year P.OSition at the U.S. Small Business Administration introduced Myers to the workings of federal government and the resources available to women entrepreneurs. She traveled extensively during those two years, acting as the eyes and ears·_of the director. This experience, coupled with her six years as a financial adviser to small-business owners, made - Myers acutely aware of women's concerns about raising caP.i~al for their businesses, supporting children and older P.arents, and caring for themselves financially after retirement. ·:we know that today, women's issues are economic issues," Myers says. "What women care about is: 'How am I going to have enough money to pay the bills?' 'How can I make.sure my kids have the best day care?' and 'I have ' senio~parents. I want to make sure they are taken care of.'" Myers' office is responsible for tracking these concerns ana representing the voice of American women to Clinton ana liis policymakers. She meets frequently with the P.resiaent, making the short walk across Pennsylvania ~- Avenue to White House gatherings and press events. f\'.\yers first met Bill Clinton in 1991 when she drove young'er sister Dee Dee to an interview with the then-candi- aate. Clinton was on his way to a fund-raising event and ~~ ned to speak with Dee Dee en route in his limousine. ifne P.residential hopeful asked Betsy to follow in her car and I transP.ort one of his staffers. That staffer became director of Wnite House personnel, which proved fortuitous for Myers, a succe~sful Los Angeles business owner and knowledgeable source on women-owned businesses.

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