Lois Galgay Reckitt

Lois Galgay Reckitt
Born Lois Galgay
(1944-12-31) December 31, 1944
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Residence Portland, Maine
Nationality American
Education B.A., biology, Brandeis University (1966)
M.A., marine biology and biological oceanography, Boston University (1968)
Years active 1979–1984; 1990–2015
Title Executive director of Family Crisis Services
Successor Rebecca Hobbs[1]
Partner(s) Lyn Kjenstad Carter
Awards Maine Women's Hall of Fame (1998)

Lois Galgay Reckitt (born December 31, 1944)[2] is an American feminist, human rights activist, LGBT rights activist, and domestic violence advocate. Called "one of the most prominent advocates in Maine for abused women",[3] she served as executive director of Family Crisis Services in Portland, Maine for more than three decades. From 1984 to 1987 she served as executive vice president of the National Organization for Women in Washington, D.C. She is a co-founder of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, the Maine Coalition for Human Rights, the Maine Women's Lobby, and the first Maine chapter of the National Organization for Women. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 1998.

Early life and education

Lois Galgay was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to George Alphonsus Galgay and his wife, Marjorie Lois Wright Galgay.[4] Her parents were both polio survivors.[2] She was an only child.[2] She graduated from Watertown High School and went on to Brandeis University, where she earned her B.A. in biology in 1966.[5] At Brandeis, she played on the women's basketball team[6] and had her first taste of activism as a member of the Northern Student Movement.[2] She earned her M.A. in marine biology and biological oceanography at Boston University in 1968.[5] She later received certification as a notary public in the State of Maine.[5]

Career

Reckitt moved to Portland, Maine, after graduating from Boston University, being familiar with the state from summer vacations in her youth.[2] She took her first job as a part-time instructor of marine biology at Southern Maine Technical College.[2] From 1970 to 1979 she was the swimming director at the Portland YWCA.[2]

Reckitt helped establish the Family Crisis Shelter in Portland, Maine,[7] which was formalized as Family Crisis Services in 1977. She served as executive director of Family Crisis Services from 1979 to 1984.[5] In 1984 she moved to Washington, D.C., to an elected post as executive vice president of the National Organization for Women, a position she held until 1987.[2] From 1987 to 1989 she was deputy director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, a political action committee that she had co-founded in 1980.[2]

In 1990 she returned to Portland and resumed the executive directorship of Family Crisis Services.[2] By 2010 she was overseeing a budget of $1.4 million with 30 staff members, three outreach offices, and a battered women's shelter.[2][8] She lobbied for legal reforms to protect victims of domestic abuse, leading to the passage of "anti-stalking legislation, a domestic violence homicide review panel, and gun control measures for abusers".[9][10] She often spoke at conferences and on panels in support of women's rights and LGBT rights.[11][12][13] She was frequently quoted in newspaper reports on domestic violence and murder,[3][14][15][16][17][18] and organized memorial gatherings for victims of domestic violence.[14] She retired from the executive directorship in October 2015.[5]

Other activities

In 1973 Reckitt co-founded the Maine chapter of the National Organization for Women; she also helped establish the Maine Right to Choose in 1975, the Maine Coalition for Human Rights in 1976, the Maine Women's Lobby, the Maine Coalition for Human Rights, and the Matlovich Society for gay rights and AIDS awareness.[7][19] In 1993 she began serving as adjunct faculty at the University of Southern Maine and Springfield College.

Memberships

Reckitt was a board member of the National Organization for Women (NOW) for 14 years[5] and served on several NOW committees, including the national committee to end violence against women, the committee on pornography (which she chaired from 1990 to 1992), and the lesbian rights committee. She served on the board of directors of the Maine Women's Lobby from 1979 to 1983, on the board of the Southern Regional Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council from 1982 to 1984, on the board of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence from 2005 to 2014[5][20] (including two years as president),[2] and on the board of the Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence.[21] She is an advisory committee member of the LGBT Collection at the University of Southern Maine.[22] Her chairmanships include the Maine Coalition for Family Crisis Services and the Maine Commission on Domestic Abuse; she was vice-chair for the board of trustees at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.[7]

Awards and recognition

Reckitt received the Outstanding Contribution to Law Enforcement award from the Maine Chiefs of Police Association in 1996, the Advocate for Justice Award from the Maine Judicial Branch in 2001, the John W. Ballou Distinguished Service Award from the Maine State Bar Association in 2005, and the Deborah Morton Award from the University of New England in 2013.[5][9] She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 1998.[19]

She is listed in Feminists Who Changed America, 1963–1975[23] and was named "Feminist of the Month – 2010" by the Veteran Feminists of America.[2]

Personal life

Galgay Reckitt was married twice to heterosexual men.[8][24] During her second marriage, she realized she was lesbian and came out in 1976.[8][25] She now lives with her partner, Lyn Kjenstad Carter, in South Portland.[26]

Selected articles

References

  1. ↑ "Family Crisis Services hires Rebecca Hobbs as executive director". Bangor Daily News. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Feminist of the Month – May 2010: Lois Reckitt, Feminist organizer, NOW leader, advocate for abused women and children". Veteran Feminists of America. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 Maxwell, Trevor (13 April 2008). "An abuse case that counters the norm; Is Laureen Rugen her husband's murderer or his victim?". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 13 March 2016 – via HighBeam. (subscription required (help)).
  4. ↑ "Marjorie Lois Wright Galgay". Portland Press Herald. 11 October 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Varsity Basketball: Girls have their day". The Justice. Brandeis University. 25 February 1964. p. 8.
  6. 1 2 3 Hersey, Linda (25 September 2008). "Q&A with Lois Reckitt – Three decades of work to end domestic violence". keepmecurrent.com. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 Byrne, Matt (4 July 2015). "Lois Reckitt, freedom from fear". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  8. 1 2 "University of New England Celebrates Outstanding Maine Women of Achievement (press release)" (PDF). University of New England. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "Statement, Lois Galgay Reckitt, Member, on Behalf of Maine Commission on Domestic Abuse, S. 15", Violence against women: Victims of the system, U.S. G.P.O., 1992, p. 306
  10. ↑ "Appendices – Conference Participants". University of Maine. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  11. ↑ "Pride Maine LGBT History: Life and Activism in the 1970s, a panel discussion and exhibit". Portland Public Library. 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "The Greatest LGBT Generation". Equality Maine. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  13. 1 2 Hench, David (5 June 2009). "In memory of Zoe: More than 150 people attend vigil for the slain 18-year-old". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2016 – via HighBeam. (subscription required (help)).
  14. ↑ Associated Press (24 November 1999). "Man allowed to see girlfriend who stabbed him". Bangor Daily News. p. B4.
  15. ↑ Murphy, Grace (20 May 2004). "Victim's kin on 'crusade' to change bail policy". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2016 – via HighBeam. (subscription required (help)).
  16. ↑ Tessier, Marie (25 July 2008). "Intimate Violence Remains a Big Killer of Women". Women's ENews. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  17. ↑ Hench, David (15 March 2014). "UMaine saw no red flags after player's 2012 arrest". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2016 – via HighBeam. (subscription required (help)).
  18. 1 2 "Women's Hall of Fame Induction Set in Augusta". Lewiston Sun Journal. 21 March 1998. p. C18.
  19. ↑ "NCADV Board of Directors" (PDF). The Voice: The journal of the battered women's movement. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 2. Spring 2009.
  20. ↑ "Board of Directors". Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "LGBT Collection Advisory Committee". University of Southern Maine. 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  22. ↑ Love, Barbara J., ed. (2006). Feminists Who Changed America, 1963–1975. University of Illinois Press. p. 377. ISBN 025203189X.
  23. ↑ Gellis, Audrey (6 January 1975). "Couples write own marriage contract". Pampa Daily News. p. 12 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
  24. ↑ Nemitz, Bill (20 June 2014). "Gay-rights pioneers earned pride long before parade". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "Lowell George Kjenstad Sr.". Bangor Daily News. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2016.

External links

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