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Barbara Rothkopf was recently appointed to the Pennsylvania Commission for Women by Gov. Edward G. Rendell.
The wife of Lafayette president Arthur J. Rothkopf ’55, she joins 23 other state residents who will serve a two-year term.
“It is tremendously important that this state have a highly qualified, highly competent Women’s Commission,” says Rendell. “The individuals I have appointed to represent millions of Pennsylvania women have my highest confidence, and will serve brilliantly I am quite sure.”
The reconstituted Commission for Women will work to ensure that Pennsylvania women have equal opportunity and treatment in all aspects of life. Responsibilities include promotion of job training and education programs for women; encouraging the development of and access to funding for small business enterprises owned or operated by women; promotion of women for appointed positions in state government, the judicial system, and local government; and service as a liaison between government and nongovernmental groups and organizations whose purposes relate to the interests of women.
The Commission also will act as an advocate to Rendell and the General Assembly for legislation it feels serves the best interests of women in the Commonwealth.
Since moving to Easton, Barbara Rothkopf has joined the boards of the Northampton County Museum, Lehigh Valley PBS, the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, and the Allentown Art Museum. She is a co-founder of ProKids, an alliance of child-related agencies in the Easton area. Before moving to Easton, she was administrator of Woodley House, which operates a non-profit mental health program in Washington, D.C. The Rothkopfs have two daughters: Jennifer, a psychiatrist living in Chicago, and Katherine, a museum curator living in Washington.