Woodward, Ellen

(1887-1971)

   Born Ellen Sullivan in Oxford, Mississippi, but brought up in Washington, D.C., Ellen Woodward was elected to the Mississippi state legislature to succeed her husband, Albert Woodward, upon his death in 1925. After completing the term in 1926, she joined the Mississippi State Board of development, an agency involved in civic and public welfare activity. A supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Woodward joined Harry Hopkins as an assistant at the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in 1933 as director of work relief for women. She was particularly active in ensuring not only the participation of women in such agencies as the Civil Works Administration and Works Progress Administration but also in expanding the range of employment opportunities for women in the agencies. She was also involved in the Federal Theater Project.

   In 1938, Woodward joined the Social Security Board, and she remained a member until 1946 when it was replaced by the Federal Security Agency. She worked as director of international relations until her retirement in 1954. She was also a member of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration between 1945 and 1946.