Speaker: Marion Elliott Deerhake, author and historian
Description: With 22 years of experience as a congressional secretary, a $100 campaign budget, and determination, Jane Pratt became the first congresswoman to represent North Carolina on May 25, 1946. She was the only woman elected to the US House of Representatives from the state until 1992. Pratt brought attention to flood disasters in western North Carolina and focused on the Atomic Energy Act during a career that lasted through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.
Speaker bio: Environmental scientist, historian, and author Marion Elliott Deerhake provided North Carolina with the first book about Jane Pratt. Deerhake completed her undergrad in chemistry at Salem College and her master’s in environmental chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her biography of Pratt was published in April 2024. It showcases the long-lasting federal impact of the state’s first female representative.
Image credit: Photo courtesy McFarland Books.