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| Title | Jan Secor papers |
| Finding Aid Identifier | Ms86 |
| Finding Aid Title | Secor, Jan, papers |
| Subject | finding aid; Jan Secor; Julianne H. Secor; equal rights; women's rights; Women of Vision; Equal Rights Amendment; National Organization for Women; International Women's Year; gay and lesbian rights; The Dorian Group; correspondence; Marina Tyasto; Lariska Cherepanova; Tacoma, WA |
| Abstract | Jan Secor, a human rights advocate and activist involved in many regional and national organizations and campaigns, was a co-founder (1988), leader, conference and project coordinator, and participant in Women of Vision, a state of Washington not-for-profit interested in international exchanges, leadership, and women's issues. |
| Biography | Julianne [Jan] H. Secor (1944-) was born in Iowa and received her Secondary Teacher Certification (1968) and Master of Science in Higher Education (1973) from Iowa State University. She moved to Washington in 1975 when she became director of the Kitsap County Council on Youth. In 1976 she was the Executive Director of the YWCA of Tacoma / Pierce County. She left that position when she went to work for the Pierce County Manpower Planning Office (1978-1982), moving on to be a planner in the Tacoma / Pierce County Private Industry Council (1982-1991). After a year of running a small business providing organizational development services to government agencies and non-profit organizations (1992), she became the Title III Coordinator of Highline Community College, leaving in 1995. She completed her doctorate in Educational Leadership at Seattle University in 1999.
After arriving in Washington, Secor became active in many causes and organizations, particularly those relating to human rights, including gay-lesbian issues through The Dorian Group (1977-1987); the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) campaign; and International Women's Year (IWY).
She was an active member of the National Organization of Women (NOW), in particular, the activities of NOW in the state of Washington (1978-1994). She served as Action Vice President of Washington State NOW (1986-1988) and Vice President (1980-1982) and Treasurer (1983-1986) of Tacoma NOW. She was on the Legislative Committee for Washington State NOW from 1992-1994.
Other community activities included serving on the Steering Committee of the Pierce County Coalition on Welfare Reform (1987-1988); Ordinance Review Committee of the Tacoma Human Rights Commission (1984-1986); State Board of Washington Women United (1993-1994); and Board of Directors of the Pierce County AIDS Foundation (1987-1991), serving as president in 1991.
Secor was a co-founder of Women of Vision (1988) and has continued to consecutively serve on that organization's Board of Directors. The purpose of Women of Vision (WOV) is to create "opportunities to effect change for the betterment of women of all nationalities through the development, support and promotion of women as leaders and through international and intercultural communication among women."
Secor's major work has been in developing and organizing exchanges for Women of Vision with Russian women. Beginning in 1990 when WOV hosted a Soviet-American Women's Conference in Tacoma as part of the Goodwill Games, the relationship between Russian women and Women of Vision members in Washington has resulted in over a half-dozen exchanges. In 1994 Women of Vision held the Global Women's Forum in Tacoma. WOV's Connective Leadership Project involving exchanges with women in Russia was initiated in 1998. Under Secor's leadership that project went through three phases, and was awarded a continuation grant in 2001 to continue the international dialogue and exchange.
Secor also was responsible for producing a number of conferences for women, most either directly or indirectly connected with her work on behalf of Women of Vision. |
| Scope and Content | The collection consists of four major components: Secor's personal materials, including correspondence and a diary of a trip to Russia in 1991; her early involvement with The Dorian Group, Equal Rights Amendment, and International Women's Year activities; her work with the National Organization for Women and its regional chapters; and the records of the Women of Vision and her role in that organization.
The Dorian Group materials consist primarily of Secor's interest in working against the anti-gay rights initiatives that were being introduced in Washington during the 1980s. The Dorian Group and other regional organizations also tried to introduce gay-lesbian rights legislation as a counter measure to the anti-gay sentiment.
Secor's records of involvement with NOW, including her interest in the ERA movement, contain substantial information about regional activity in Washington, including legislative efforts, workshops, and support for women's rights in general
The records of WOV are the heart of the collection, both in bulk and content. Because Secor was a co-founder, a member of the Board of Directors since its organization, and a principal in the planning, organizing, and coordinating of many of the WOV's conferences and cultural exchanges, that portion of the collection contains a large amount of correspondence and detail often lacking in other organizational records saved by members. The minutes of the Board of Directors (1989-2002), including various project planning committees, provide insight into the work of Women of Vision.
For the most part, Secor's original headings for her WOV files have been maintained or adapted slightly for uniformity. Correspondence, particularly email, often was interspersed within WOV folders because it related to the subject of the folder. Other files were marked correspondence with dates or by correspondent. Hence, Secor's incoming and outgoing correspondence can be found throughout the WOV section of the collection.
Since a great amount of the correspondence is between Secor and many women who had become her friends is in email format, organizational, professional and personal information may be contained in the same message. Her two main Russian correspondents, Marina Tyasto and Lariska Cherepanova, also interspersed personal information in their letters and emails. This personal exchange provides a candid and realistic look at some of the issues faced by Russian women in the 1990s.
The WOV correspondence also demonstrates the frustration of the women with US and Russian officials in approving international exchanges, with many well-planned trips and events having to be canceled or modified because of visas not being approved or "official" demands or changes in schedules.
The 1998 exchanges between WOV and the Women Together organization in the Novosibirsk Region of Western Siberia, Russia were designed to connect American and Russian women together in the task of creating violence-free families and communities. Much of the work involved establishing networks of support and resources, building coalitions, and mentoring. The collection contains grant applications, work session planning notes, the logistics of hosting foreign women, conference and workshop agendas, reports, evaluations, and other materials that provide insight into the content and results of the exchanges. Several of the workshops and visitations were photographed and recorded.
Based on the Russian exchange model, WOV became involved in a similar exchange (2000-2002) in South Africa to deal with domestic violence.
The WOV portion of the collection also includes detailed information about women's issues conferences and workshops organized or sponsored by the group in the state of Washington, including the "Setting a Public Policy Agenda" conference in Tacoma in 1990; a "Prelude to Beijing" conference, also in Tacoma, in 1994; and an "Advancing Women as Leaders in the 21st Century: An Intergenerational, Multicultural Dialogue" conference in Des Moines, Washington in 1997. |
| Keywords | finding aid; Jan Secor; Julianne H. Secor; equal rights; women's rights; Women of Vision; Equal Rights Amendment; National Organization for Women; International Women's Year; gay and lesbian rights; The Dorian Group; correspondence; Marina Tyasto; Lariska Cherepanova; Tacoma, WA |
| Inclusive Dates | 1971-2002 |
| Restrictions | None |
| Volume | 8.5 linear feet |
| Accession number | 2002.17 |
| Num of Boxes | 7 |
| Electronic Publisher | Washington State Historical Society |
| Contributors | Washington State Historical Society |
| Object Type | text/pdf |
| Relation | http://www.washingtonwomenshistory.org/themes/collections/wshs_womens.aspx |
| Coverage | Pierce County, WA ; Tacoma, WA ; |
| Rights | Property of the Washington State Historical Society - All Rights Reserved |
| Data Entry | kam |
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