Alexis Margaret Herman, 77, of McLean, Virginia, passed away on April 25, 2025. The Mobile, Alabama native was a devoted public servant advocating for civil rights and worker protections. She made history in 1997, serving under President Clinton as the first African American to lead the U.S. Department of Labor. She attended Heart of High School and graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana. After graduation, she worked for Catholic Charities, helping young out-of-school men and women find work in the Pascagoula, Mississippi, shipyard. She was mentored by Dr. Dorothy Height, later she became the president of the Dorothy I. Height Education Foundation. After an early career pioneering apprenticeship opportunities for youth and women of color, President Jimmy Carter appointed her Director of the U.S. Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau at twenty-nine. From there, she went on to manage Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1984 and 1988 presidential bids. Later she became the Chief of Staff for the Democratic National Convention and CEO of the 1992 Democratic National Convention. Before serving as Secretary of Labor, she joined the Clinton Administration as Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. She served on several corporate boards, including Coca-Cola, Cummins, Entergy, Toyota, MGM Resorts International and other corporations. Herman was also an active member of the NCNW, the Links, the National Urban League, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.  

Her husband, Dr. Charles Franklin, Jr., died in 2014. She is survived by her stepchildren, Charles J. Franklin, Michelle Franklin and Shari Smith; nephew Kirke (Teresa) Herman, Jr.; cousins, Bernard (Moncenya) Broadus, Robin Broadus Iwuoha, Lori Hendricks, and Darryl Hendricks; and more than twenty Godchildren, friends, mentees, and colleagues.

Funeral services will be held at Washington National Cathedral on May 14, 2025, at 10:00 am with the burial in Mobile, Alabama. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Heart of Mary School and Xavier University of Louisiana. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Heart of Mary School and Xavier University of Louisiana.

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