THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Luellen Laurenti

August 27, 1939 – June 17, 2000

“The Equal Rights Amendment is needed to revise a myriad of federal and state statutes which discriminate against men and women and to provide equal opportunity for all citizens.” – Luellen Laurenti, April 1974 

Educator, Activist, Lobbyist. A major force behind the Women’s Movement in Illinois. President of the Bloomington-Normal Chapter of the National Organization for Women. Served in several state office positions for Illinois NOW. Served as Illinois NOW’s President 1985-1987. Executive director of the International Women’s Year Conference in Bloomington, 1977. Worked in Springfield as a lobbyist for Illinois NOW, American Association of University Women, and the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women in Illinois. Was a Democratic Central Committee woman from 1984 to 1998.