Edelman, Marion

Edelman, Marion (b. Wright) (1939–  ) social activist; born in Bennettsville, S.C. After serving as a legal defense fund attorney for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (1963–68), she founded the Washington Public Policy Research Center (1968–73). In 1973 she began the Children's Defense Fund, lobbying for children's rights to decent education and health care. She wrote The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours (1992). As a longtime personal and professional associate of Hillary Clinton, she was assumed to have some influence on the Clinton administration's policies in her areas.