The Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women was founded in 1993 and is named for the late author, former U.S. Representative, former U.S. Ambassador to Italy, and conservative activist Clare Boothe Luce (R-CT). ^{1 2}

The center conducts various student programs and says it presents a woman’s perspective on life, country, and faith that is dismissed by academia and the media. ^{1 3}

Background

The Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women, initially known as the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, was founded in 1993. ¹ The center conducts various student programs and tries to connect conservative women across the United States. The program provides mentorship programs for young women. ¹

The organization is named for Clare Boothe Luce, whom it praises as one of the most acclaimed and accomplished women of the 20th Century. ⁴ Luce, who died in 1987, was a former managing editor of Vanity Fair who married Henry Luce, the founder of Time and Fortune magazines. She was elected as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut; she was critical of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal but was an internationalist on foreign policy. President Dwight Eisenhower appointed her as the U.S. Ambassador to Italy. President Ronald Reagan appointed her to his Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in 1983 and awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. ²

The Luce Center says it supports constitutional principles, individual freedom, economic liberty, limited government, personal responsibility, and traditional values. ¹ The organization publishes a blog, newsletters, and social media posts that it characterizes as pro-America and pro-family. ³

The organization says it presents women’s perspectives on life, country, and faith that are dismissed by academia and the media. The group’s programs focus on moral values and character, academic excellence, integrity, and a strong work ethic. ³

Policies and Programs

The group says it promotes women seeking to become journalists, public policy experts, columnists, government officials, academics, authors, politicians, talk radio hosts, legislators, and founders of conservative organizations. ³

The organization holds regional conferences and seminars that focus on public policy issues for college and high school students. ⁵ he organization has held summits across the country. The group encourages college women to establish Luce Society chapters on their campuses. ³ The organization also hosts Capitol Hill summits in Washington, D.C. ³

The Luce Center partners with the Heritage Foundation monthly for educational presentations as part of the Conservative Women’s Network program. ³

Leadership

Michelle Easton is the president of the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women. She founded the organization in 1993. Before founding the Luce Center, she was a presidential appointee to the Education Department and Justice Department by both Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. In 1994, then-Virginia Gov. George Allen (R) appointed Easton to the State Board of Education. Before working in government, she worked five years for Young Americans for Freedom and two years for National Right to Work. She is the author of the 2021 book How to Raise a Conservative Daughter. ⁶

Jeanne O’Connor is the vice president of the Luce Center. She joined the organization in September 2000 as the administrative director. She was named vice president in 2014. ⁶

Julie Stewart is the program director for the Luce Center. She joined the organization in October 2019 as an administrative assistant and moved to her current role in 2021. ⁶

Lil Tuttle is the policy director for the Luce Center. She became an education policy activist in the early 1990s, and is the founder of Academics First, a group focused on raising academic standards for public schools. In 1995, then-Virginia Gov. George Allen (R) appointed Tuttle to the State Board of Education, where she served as its vice president for two years. After that, Tuttle became a policy analyst for the Family Foundation. ⁶

1. “Clare Booth Luce Center For Conservative Women.” Charity Navigator. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/541672138
2. “Clare Booth Luce.” History, Arts and Archives. House of Representatives. Accessed April 2, 2022. https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17213
3. “Our Mission.” Clare Booth Luce Center For Conservative Women. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://cblwomen.org/our-mission/
4. “About.” Clare Booth Luce Center For Conservative Women. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://thorshammervhs.net/4625/features/clare-boothe-luce-participated-in-playwriting-and-politics/
5. “Clare Booth Luce Center For Conservative Women.” Cause IQ. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/clare-boothe-luce-policy-institute,541672138/
6. “Staff.” Clare Booth Luce Center For Conservative Women. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://cblwomen.org/staff/