Therese Weil Lansburgh papers

Therese Weil Lansburgh received an A.B. from Smith College in 1940. She went on to earn a M.S.W. from the Tulane University School of Social Work, circa 1942. From 1943-1945 she was a case worker with the American Red Cross in Boston, Massachusetts, and from 1947-1949 was a visiting teacher in Columbus, Mississippi, where she started that state's first class for mentally disabled children. She worked as a social worker for the Children's Guild in Baltimore, Maryland from 1959-1961, and from 1963-1965 as a caseworker for the Department of Mental Hygiene in Glen Burnie, Maryland. From 1967-1971, she was president of the Day Care and Child Development Council of America. In 1970, Lansburgh served as vice-chairman of the Developmental Child Care Forum of the White House Conference on Children. The recommendations of the Forum were the basis of the Child Development Act of 1971, which was passed by Congress but vetoed by President Richard M. Nixon. From 1983-1987, Lansburgh served as Director of Education and Public Policy at the Regional Center for Infants and Young Children in Rockville, Maryland.

Throughout her long career, Lansburgh championed the rights and interests of children, particularly in her work to force affordable day care onto the national agenda. She worked tirelessly as a volunteer and board member for a broad range of state and national children's agencies. Lansburgh wrote prolifically about day care and delivered numerous speeches on the subject. Her resume boasts a long list of honors and awards for her work. Therese Weil Lansburgh died September 2002. She is survived by her daughter, Deborah (Wolff) Adler and son, Randolph Wolff.