Congresswoman 
Eleanor Holmes Norton:
Global Down Syndrome Foundation
2014 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award Recipient

Eleanor Holmes Norton

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, now in her twelfth term representing the District of Columbia, is Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

Before her congressional service, Congresswoman Holmes Norton was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as the first woman to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She came to Congress as a national figure who had been a civil rights and feminist leader, tenured professor of law, and board member at three Fortune 500 companies. Congresswoman Holmes Norton has been named one of the 100 most important American women in one survey and one of the most powerful women in Washington in another. 

She is one of four co-chairs on the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus and is a co-sponsor of the ABLE Act, which aims to provide a pathway to a better economic future for the differently-abled.

Congresswoman Holmes Norton received her law and master’s degrees from Yale University and bachelor’s degree from Antioch College in Ohio. She is the recipient of more than 50 honorary degrees. The Congresswoman is a third-generation Washingtonian and is the mother of John Holmes Norton and Katherine Felicia Norton, who happens to have Down syndrome.

We are proud to announce Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton as the 2014 Quincy Jones 
Exceptional Advocacy Award recipient.