Barbara Lawton

Barbara Lawton served as Wisconsin's lieutenant governor from January 2003 to January 2011, the first woman elected to the position.

Originally from southeast Wisconsin, Lawton was born July 5, 1951. She earned a degree in Spanish at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. She received a master's degree in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an honorary doctorate of law from Lawrence University and an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

Prior to her time as lieutenant governor, Lawton worked as an international business consultant, where she helped businesses export products to South America and provided cultural training. As lieutenant governor, Lawton advocated for women in the workplace. In 2003, she launched an economic development initiative, Wisconsin Women=Prosperity. She also promoted clean energy policies, stem cell research and affordable higher education legislation.

Lawton has been active in her community throughout her career. She cofounded the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, was a leader in the Educational Resource Foundation, and was a founding member of Latinos Unidos and the Green Bay Area Multicultural Center. She served on the Entrepreneurs of Color Advisory Board, winning their first Founders' Award. She served on the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Foundation Board and on the National Leadership Council for American Association of Colleges and Universities. As chair of the Wisconsin Arts Board, she worked to develop a strong arts and culture industry by advocating legislation to create tax incentives for the film and video game industry. In January 2014, Lawton was named president and CEO of Americans for Campaign Reform, an organization advocating for public funding of federal elections. In October 2014, the organization announced its merger with another campaign finance reform group, Fund for the Republic, and adopted the name Issue One. Lawton formerly led the organization's external affairs department.

Sources:

Ballotpedia (n.d.). Barbara Lawton. Retrieved on November 21 2022, from https://ballotpedia.org/Barbara_Lawton