Loretta Kane
former Vice President - Action
2000-2001

As Vice President—Action, Loretta Kane was responsible for the development and implementation of NOW's action programs; the direction of demonstrations of up to hundreds of thousands of participants; the supervision of key issue programs and field projects; and the coordination of grassroots actions by NOW's 500 chapters throughout the nation.  Before taking the position of Vice President—Action, Kane worked on staff in the national Action Center for a dozen years, including as NOW's Chief of Staff for Field and Communications.

Kane is a seasoned organizer who has worked with NOW members in cities and towns across the nation to organize clinic defense projects and train hundreds of people in the techniques of non-violent action. Kane has traveled the country to aid NOW activists with organizing efforts following attacks at women's health clinics.

Kane conceptualized NOW's Women-Friendly Workplace campaign, which aims to impress upon companies that discrimination is not only bad business, it is bad for business. She coordinated actions to protest harassment in workplaces from brokerage firms on Wall Street to automotive assembly lines in the Rust Belt.

No stranger to electoral politics, Kane has worked in NOW/PAC campaigns to elect feminists from coast-to-coast. She has participated in a number of referendum and ballot measure projects—including the successful campaign to defeat Maine's proposed abortion procedures ban in 1999.

Kane has worked—as a volunteer or staff member—on every national, mass action organized by NOW since 1986. She served as the deputy director of the 1992 March for Women's Lives and as the director of the 1995 Rally for Women's Lives,  the 1996 March to Fight the Right, the World March of Women 2000 and the 2001 Emergency Action for Women's Lives—NOW's first-ever national "zap" action.  Additionally, she has organized countless zap actions, rallies, protests and pickets in Washington, D.C. and has worked with activists across the country on demonstrations in their communities.

With expert knowledge of the broad range of feminist issues, Kane has appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and local stations in Washington and other markets.  She has been quoted in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and countless newspapers, as well as in AP and Reuters wire stories carried across the country.

An excellent public speaker, Kane has addressed crowds at community rallies and on college campuses throughout the United States.  Kane also is an experienced trainer who has conducted basic leadership, grassroots organizing, clinic defense and nonviolent civil disobedience training sessions.

Kane is also a dedicated local activist. During her two terms as president of Capital City NOW, the chapter doubled its membership and budget. She has served as her chapter's vice president, treasurer and secretary.  She finished her second term as the secretary of 51st State NOW in June, 2000.

In addition to her NOW background, Kane is a skilled business professional with more than 20 years of management experience. As a market trainer for a Fortune 500 company, she developed and implemented the entry-level management and crew training programs for 21 restaurants. She was also a store manager with fiduciary responsibility for a high-volume restaurant with a staff of 125 people and annual net sales of $1.7 million.

Born in the Bronx, Kane is now a devoted Washingtonian who is committed to the struggle for D.C. Statehood. An out lesbian, she shares her Capitol Hill home with her partner of 13 years and their three companion animals.