Yvonne Burke
Former United States Congresswoman and the First Black Woman to be elected to congress from California & Former Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Yvonne B. Burke, served four terms on the Los Angeles County Board Supervisors and Los Angeles Metro serving as Chair of the Board of Metro in 2005. She was appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the 6 member Committee on Congressional Ethics in July 2008. In 2012 President Obama appointed her to the Board of…
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Full Bio
Yvonne B. Burke, served four terms on the Los Angeles County Board Supervisors and Los Angeles Metro serving as Chair of the Board of Metro in 2005.
She was appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the 6 member Committee on Congressional Ethics in July 2008. In 2012 President Obama appointed her to the Board of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK) and she was confirmed by the Senate in 2013. She also serves on the Board of Directors of California Transportation Commission, LA 84 and Century Housing.
She is a Mediator and Arbitrator with ARC , AAA and FINRA.
As a product of the Los Angeles Unified School District, Burke attended Manual Arts High School, where she developed her interest in public speaking by joining the oratory society and participating in citywide competitions. Her numerous extracurricular activities helped to earn her scholarships from the University of California, Berkeley, and received a BA Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
She received her J.D. from the University of Southern California School of Law in 1956, . During this era, many private law firms showed no interest in hiring women. She worked as a Deputy Corporation Commissioner and later had her own law firm.
She became the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress from California, in 1972, representing California’s 37th District. She was selected to serve as vice chair of the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami and later on the House Select Committee on Assassinations. In 1973, she became the first member of Congress to give birth while in office. She did not seek re-election to Congress in 1978, instead she ran for Attorney General of California,
She became a Public Finance and Real Estate Attorney with various firms and from 1987 to 1993 was a partner in the firm of Jones Day, Reavis and Pogue.
In 1984, she was selected to serve as vice chairman of the U.S. Olympics Organizing Committee, and served as Chair of the Los Angeles Branch of the Federal Reserve Board and a Regent of the University of California before becoming the first African-American elected to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, in 1992. She served on the Board of Ford Foundation and Educational Testing. She has honorary doctorate degrees from Pepperdine University and Virginia State University.
As a Los Angeles County Supervisor, she represented nearly 2.5 million residents in the nation’s largest county. Her efforts focused on improving the lives of children, economic development and improving transportation. Her unused campaign funds were donated to the Burke Education and Policy Foundation that has provided over $300,000 in scholarships for Los Angeles college students. She is married to Los Angeles Businessman Dr. William Burke and they have two daughters Autumn and Christine.
Testimonials
Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!
LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!
MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!
SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
A Conversation With Yvonne Burke
Videos
Yvonne Burke: Running for U.S. Congress
Books
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Testimonials
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