Carmen Warschaw (c. 1917 – November 6, 2012) was an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and leading figure within the state Democratic Party in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She was also a former member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

and chairwoman of the Southern California Democratic Party. A champion of Democratic politics, political opponents in both parties were known to call her "The Dragon Lady."

Life and career

Warschaw was born circa 1917 as the daughter of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrants, and she attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. She joined the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

's chapter of

Alpha Epsilon Phi Alpha Epsilon Phi ( or AEPhi) is an American sorority and a member of the National Panhellenic Conference. It was the second Jewish sorority formed in the United States. History Alpha Epsilon Phi was established at Barnard College in New Yo ...

. She and her late husband of 63 years, Louis Warschaw, helped to establish the USC Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life at the University of Southern California. The University of Southern California Chair in Practical Politics is also named for the Warschaws through their endowment. (Both had graduated from USC). Her philanthropic work extended to

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

, where the Louis Warschaw Prostate Cancer Center bears her family's name. Warschaw was a delegate to the

1952 Democratic National Convention The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 21 to July 26, 1952, which was the same arena the Republicans had gathered in a few weeks earlier for their national convention from ...

. Warschaw was first woman to chair the California Fair Employment Practices Commission, which was founded in 1959 to combat discrimination in housing and employment. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' named her Woman of the Year in 1976. Warschaw died on November 6, 2012, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at the age of 95. Her husband, prominent businessman Louis Warschaw, whom she had been married to for 63 years, died in 2000.

References

LA Times: Carmen H. Warschaw
— ''(obituary, November 14, 2012)''.
Jewish Journal.com: "Carmen Warschaw, Democratic activist, philanthropist, 95"
�� ''(obituary, November 7, 2012)''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Warschaw, Carmen California Democrats American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent People from Arcadia, California Politicians from Los Angeles University of Southern California alumni 1947 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews Philanthropists from Los Angeles