THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411270073
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
Lynn Hardy Yeakel, the new regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, lives in Pennsylvania, but she's no stranger to Virginia, the southernmost state in her district.
Yeakel, 53, is the daughter of Porter Hardy Jr., a Portsmouth farmer who served from 1946 to 1968 as congressman from the old 2nd District of Virginia.
She was born in 1941 in Portsmouth, where she attended public schools during her early years, but she spent a lot of time in Washington with her father. So it's no surprise that she calls herself ``a lifelong advocate of public service.''
``I'm interested in doing work to prevent the problems we all worry about,'' she said.
Yeakel, appointed in October, said she expects to find in her territory - Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and the District of Columbia - most of the problems facing the country as a whole.
``This region is an interesting geographic area, inner city to Appalachia, a cross-section of the country,'' she said. ``I think we'll find a microcosm of issues facing the nation.''
Yeakel knows the problems.
For 12 years - 1980 to 1992 - she was president and CEO of Philadelphia-based Womens Way, a nonprofit women's funding federation to provide innovative services for women and families. The movement grew into Womens Way USA, now operating in 14 states.
``This is a natural extension of what I've been doing,'' she said of her new job.
Although the $100,000-a-year position is a political appointment, Yeakel said she intends to be a hands-on director.
``In the recent past, the role has been ceremonial,'' she said. ``But I was on the receiving end of cuts made during the Reagan-Bush years. I saw the impacts of the policies from the trenches.''
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Donna E. Shalala, oversees many programs in addition to the Public Health Services. They include the Social Security Administration, health care finances such as Medicaid, Aid to Families with Dependent Children and the Office of Child Support Enforcement.
Coincidentally, Yeakel's contact in Virginia is another Portsmouth-born woman, Kay Coles James, Virginia secretary of health and human resources. James is the antithesis of Yeakel. A black woman who spent her childhood in public housing in Richmond, she is a nationally prominent conservative known for her opposition to abortion rights.
``I understand that Kay James is a very bright and very interesting person,'' Yeakel said. ``I look forward to working with her.''
Yeakel came into the national spotlight in 1992, when she made her first bid for national office, coming within two percentage points of beating Pennsylvania's incumbent Republican Sen. Arlen Specter.
Her strong Democratic campaign followed the Clarence Thomas hearings, in which a former employee, Anita Hill, accused the Supreme Court nominee of sexual harassment, and challenged his fitness for the seat he now holds. Specter was an outspoken supporter of Thomas.
Because of the strong emotional reactions to the televised hearings, women all over the world followed Yeakel's race against Specter. Yeakel said she was surprised at how many women recognized her name when she attended a women's management conference in Switzerland in the fall of 1993.
Yeakel, the mother of two and the wife of an investment broker, attracted the attention of women across the country who organized fund-raisers for her.
Yeakel subsequently made a futile run for governor of Pennsylvania as one of seven candidates in a Democratic primary. But she's not ruling out another attempt at elected office.
``I almost ran for a congressional seat in 1986,'' Yeakel said. ``But my father talked me out of it.''
The 91-year-old former congressman, who now lives in a Virginia Beach retirement home, said in a recent interview that his daughter is ``strong-willed'' and not inclined to listen to him ``if she's made up her mind.''
He tried again in 1992 to discourage Yeakel.
``He told me Washington is no place to be at this time, and I think he's probably right,'' she said.
Now she's ``very happy'' to be in the regional job overseeing about 7,000 federal employees.
``Forty cents of every tax dollar goes into health and human services,'' Yeakel said. ``I've never been a government employee. There are lots of rules, but I believe I can show the difference good service can make.''
Her father believes that, too.
``She's going to do something if she's in there,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Lynn Hardy Yeakel calls herself ``a lifelong advocate of public
service.''
by CNB