Lois Combs Weinberg

Lois Ann Combs Weinberg (born December 18, 1943[1]) is an American politician and an advocate for improvements in public education in Kentucky.[2] A native of the eastern region of Kentucky, Weinberg has served on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, and the Kentucky Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.[2]

Lois Combs Weinberg
Personal details
Born
Lois Ann Combs

(1943-12-18) December 18, 1943
Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children3
ParentBert Combs
EducationRandolph College (BS)
Harvard University (MEd)

In 2002, Weinberg won the Kentucky Democratic Party primary for United States Senate against Tom Barlow. She lost to incumbent Mitch McConnell in the November general election, 64.7%–35.3%.[3]

Early life and education

Lois Combs Weinberg, the daughter of Bertam "Bert "T. Combs and Mabel Hall Combs. She was born on December 18, 1943, in Lexington, Kentucky.[1] Weinberg lived in Frankfort between 1959 and 1963.[4]

Weinberg attended Randoph Macon Women's College and earned a BS in 1965, and a M Ed Harvard in 1996.[1] Weinberg married Bill Weinberg and they have three children.[5] After their marriage, the Weinbergs moved to Washington D.C. for a short time and then moved to Alice Lloyd College.[6] In Washington, she worked at the Office of Economic Opportunity as an evaluator.[7] In 1967, she worked in Lynchburg, West Virginia, on a Community Action Program (CAP).[7]

Combs family political influence

Her father, an attorney, was first elected to the political office to the position of city attorney in Prestonsburg in 1950.[8] Later that year, Governor Lawrence Wetherby appointed her father to fill a vacancy in the office of Commonwealth's Attorney for Kentucky's 31st Judicial District. In April 1951,[8] Governor Wetherby appointed Combs to fill a vacancy on the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Later that year, he won a full eight-year term on the court.[8] In 1959, he was elected the 50th Governor of Kentucky.[5][8] He was appointed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by President Lyndon B. Johnson, serving from 1967 to 1970.[8]

Education in Kentucky

Motivated by her own son's learning problems, Weinberg became an advocate for children with learning disabilities.[2] In 1979, Weinberg started a group offering tutorial services for children in Eastern region of Kentucky with dyslexia.[9][10] This eventually lead to a comprehensive program at the Hindman Settlement School.[11][6] Weinberg was also part of a commission to study the state's future approach to education.[12] She joined the board of the Hindman Settlement School in 1984.[2] Later Weinberg was the executive director of a non-profit organization, the Institute for Dyslexia Education in Appalachia (IDEA).[2] She has served on the University of Kentucky board and the Council on Postsecondary Education.[5] In 1986, she was appointed to the State Board of Education by Governor Martha Layne Collins, however, Weinberg turned the appointment down.[13][14]

Weinberg is currently on the Board of IDEA: Center for Excellence, a non-profit organization focused on excellence in dyslexic services.[15] She also works as a consultant for IDEA Academy at Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington, Kentucky.[16]

United States Senate election, 2002

In 2002, Weinberg won the Kentucky Democratic Party primary for United States Senate against Tom Barlow. In the November general election, she lost to incumbent Mitch McConnell 64.7%–35.3%.[3] A statewide advocacy group, The Women's Network, grew out of her former campaign.[17]

References
  1. "2002 United States Senate Race" (PDF). CBS. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  2. "Lois Combs Weinberg's Passion for Education | Connections with Renee Shaw". KET. 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  3. "washingtonpost.com Elections 2002". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  4. Pardue, Anne (17 January 1980). "All in the Family". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2018-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Bert Combs' grandson picked as Knott County judge-executive". kentucky. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  6. Williams, Shirley (6 June 1982). "Caring Mom Gives Hope". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2018-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Interview with Lois Combs Weinberg, October 17, 1990 - SPOKEdb". Kentucky Oral History. 17 October 1990. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  8. "Bertram Thomas Combs biography". 2009-08-27. Archived from the original on 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2016-11-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. Bergstrom, Bill (18 July 1985). "Program Helps Deal With 'Word Blindness' Perception Disorder". The Journal News. Retrieved 2018-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Eastern Kentucky School to Serve Needs of Dyslexics". The Courier-Journal. 12 December 1989. Retrieved 2018-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Stoddart, Jess (2015-01-13). Challenge and Change in Appalachia: The Story of Hindman Settlement School. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 188–195. ISBN 9780813149547.
  12. Wilson, Richard (27 May 1980). "Group Asks What the Future Holds For Education". The Courier-Journal. p. B1. Retrieved 2018-08-17. and "Group Will Study Future, Education". The Courier-Journal. 27 May 1980. Retrieved 2018-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Collins Names Four to Education Board". The Courier-Journal. 12 August 1986. Retrieved 2018-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Woman Rejects Position on State School Panel". The Courier-Journal. 14 August 1986. Retrieved 2018-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "IDEA Center for Excellence". IDEA Center for Excellence. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  16. "2015 - University of Pikeville". www.upike.edu. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  17. Crowley, Patrick (18 April 2005). "Democrats Now Organizing to Appeal to Specific Interests". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2018-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
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