Patricia Ireland 738496 224076970 2008-07-07T05:24:33Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other '''Patricia Ireland''' (born [[October 19]], [[1945]] in [[Oak Park, Illinois]]) is a [[United States|U.S.]] [[Public administration|administrator]] and [[feminism|feminist]]. She served as president of the [[National Organization for Women]], from 1991 to 2001 and published an autobiography, ''What Women Want'', in 1996. Ireland obtained a Bachelor's degree from the [[University of Tennessee]] in 1966 and a law degree from the [[University of Miami School of Law]] in 1975<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nndb.com/people/690/000024618/ |title=Patricia Ireland at NNDB |accessdate=2007-02-10}}</ref>. Before becoming an [[attorney at law|attorney]], Ireland worked as a [[flight attendant]]. She began her fight for women's rights in the 1960s when she discovered discrepancies in her [[insurance]] coverage. Her first victory came when the [[United States Department of Labor]] ruled in her favor, and she started her legal career doing volunteer work for the National Organization for Women. She has advocated extensively for the rights of poor women, [[gay]]s and [[lesbian]]s, and [[Africa]]n women. She has also advocated electing female candidates, and training people to defend clinics from [[pro-life]] protesters around the United States. On [[December 17]], [[1991]] she gave an interview with ''[[The Advocate]]'', a gay national publication, in which she stated that she had a husband and a female partner, Pat Silverthorn, a longtime activist in the [[Socialist Workers Party (United States)|Socialist Workers Party]]<ref>{{cite news |first=Greg |last=Louganis |title=Thru the years - a selection of covers from past issues of The Advocate |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_n770/ai_21236432 |publisher=[[The Advocate]] |date=1998-10-13 |accessdate=2007-01-23 |quote=I have a companion, and she's very important in my life. }}</ref>. Ireland played a significant role in the brief 2004 presidential bid of former [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Carol Moseley Braun]]. In 2003, Ireland served for six months as the [[chief executive officer]] of the [[YWCA]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ywca.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=djISI6PIKpG&b=1520401&ct=330537 |title=Patricia Ireland Named YWCA CEO |accessdate=2007-01-23 |work=[[YWCA]] press release archive }}</ref>. In October 2003 Ireland was dimissed after refusing to step down, although YWCA spokespeople denied that conservative pressure was a factor in the decision<ref>{{cite news |title=Patricia Ireland fired from YWCA |url=http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid09493.asp |publisher=[[The Advocate]] |date=2003-10-22 |accessdate=2007-01-23 }}</ref>. ==References== <references/> ==External links== {{start box}} {{succession box | before = [[Molly Yard]] | title = [[List of Presidents of the National Organization for Women|President of the National Organization for Women]] |years=1991 - 2001| after = [[Kim Gandy]]}} {{end box}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, Patricia}} [[Category:1945 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American feminists]] [[Category:Bisexual writers]] [[Category:LGBT writers from the United States]] [[Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States]] [[Category:People from Oak Park, Illinois]] [[Category:Presidents of the National Organization for Women]] [[Category:University of Miami alumni]] [[Category:Polyamory]]