Vrato, Elizabeth 1965-

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VRATO, Elizabeth 1965-

PERSONAL:

Born May 10, 1965; daughter of Greg (in business) and Hope (a teacher) Vrato. Education: La Salle University, graduated (magna cum laude), 1987; New York University, J.D., 1990. Hobbies and other interests: Mentoring activities.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Running Press Book Publishers, 125 South 22nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19103-4399.

CAREER:

Wolf, Black, Schorr & Solis-Cohen (law firm), Philadelphia, PA, attorney, 1995-2000; National Organization for Women, New York, NY, attorney for Legal Defense and Education Fund, 2000-02; writer.

MEMBER:

American Bar Association.

WRITINGS:

The Counselors: Conversations with Eighteen Courageous Women Who Have Changed the World, Running Press Book Publishers (Philadelphia, PA), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

A book about women's experiences in the workplace.

SIDELIGHTS:

Elizabeth Vrato told CA: "I set out to write The Counselors: Conversations with Eighteen Courageous Women Who Have Changed the World in order to gather mentoring advice from the first group of American women to make it to the top and to disseminate it in a format that would be helpful to others. I met with each woman I profiled, with the goal of presenting these women to readers in a conversational way that could make readers feel as though they had met some American heroes.

"The Counselors was written over the course of four years, during which time I met with about twice as many women as are featured in the book, researched their lives and careers, and researched the historical and political context of the stories they told me. I selected the women to be profiled on the basis of geographical, professional, and racial diversity. They include U.S. Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former attorney general Janet Reno, former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, Elaine Jones—head of the Legal Defense Fund of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Antonia Hernandez—head of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, and Maureen Kempston Darkes—the highest-ranking woman in General Motors history, among others. Former president Bill Clinton provided the foreword.

"I was an English and political science major in college who loved stories about the presidents and enjoyed the writing of Hemingway, Faulkner, and James. In the mid-1990s I realized that the preceding few decades of dynamic social change in America had given us a group of pioneering women who were the first or the second to do whatever it is they were doing. I reasoned that other women would want to learn about these women who were leading the way to a society with more diversity in its positions of power and influence. I also reasoned that there was no reason why male readers can't be inspired by the voices of women, just as women have been inspired by the voices of men. So, on the premise that inspirational people are worth listening to, I began work on The Counselors.

"I was a practicing lawyer for nearly ten years. I have recently completed working with the Legal Defense and Education Fund of the National Organization for Women on an initiative that will address outdated gender stereotypes in the courts and throughout the legal system."