Watson, Diane E. (Diane Edith), 1933-

<p>Diane Edith Watson (born November 12, 1933) is a former US Representative for California's 33rd congressional district, serving from 2003 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located entirely in Los Angeles County and includes much of Central Los Angeles, as well as such wealthy neighborhoods as Los Feliz.</p>

<p>A native of Los Angeles, Watson is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and also holds degrees from California State University, Los Angeles and Claremont Graduate University. She worked as a psychologist, professor, and health occupation specialist before serving as a member of the Los Angeles Unified School Board (1975–78). She was a member of the California Senate from 1978 to 1998, and the US Ambassador to Micronesia from 1999 to 2000.</p>

WATSON, Diane Edith, a Representative from California; born in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif., November 12, 1933; graduated from Susan Miller Dorsey High School, Los Angeles, Calif.; B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, Calif., 1956; M.S., California State University, Los Angeles, Calif., 1967; attended the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.; Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, Calif., 1987; psychologist; faculty, California State University, Los Angeles, Calif., 1969-1971; health occupation specialist, Bureau of Industrial Education, California Department of Education, 1971-1973; member of the Los Angeles, Calif., unified school board, 1975-1978; member of the California state senate, 1978-1998; United States Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia, 1999-2000; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Seventh Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Julian Dixon, and reelected to the four succeeding Congresses (June 5, 2001-January 3, 2011); was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Twelfth Congress in 2010.

<p>As a former educator, state legislator, and United States ambassador, Diane Watson entered the House of Representatives as an unusually experienced first-term Member. Throughout her 35 years in public office, Watson established a reputation as a diligent and passionate legislator concerned with improving the lives of women and children—especially those living in poverty. Her diverse legislative interests included welfare reform, civil rights, foreign aid for African nations facing the HIV/AIDS crisis, and improved health care and education in the United States. “People have trusted me, and I have not let them down,” Watson observed during her first congressional campaign. “People have read my name on the ballot for 25 years. They have been born, grown up and gotten married in that time. That means a great deal. When you work your base, you win.”</p>

<p>Diane Edith Watson was born on November 12, 1933, in Los Angeles, California, daughter of William Allen Louis Watson, a Los Angeles police officer, and Dorothy Elizabeth O’Neal Watson, a postal worker. After graduating from Susan Miller Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, Watson received her associate’s degree from Los Angeles City College in 1954 and a bachelor’s in education from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1956. Watson later earned a master’s degree in school psychology from California State University in 1967 and a PhD in education administration from Claremont College in 1986. Watson worked as a teacher and school psychologist in the Los Angeles public schools, taught abroad in France and Japan, lectured at California State University (the Long Beach and Los Angeles campuses), and worked in the California department of education.</p>

<p>In 1975 Watson won election to the Los Angeles unified school board and served until 1978. On the board, Watson worked to desegregate the city’s the public schools. She went on to win a spot in the California state senate in 1978, becoming the first African-American woman to serve in that chamber. “I think I bring another dimension being a black female,” she said. “But I don’t want to be judged here as a black or a woman but as a senator.” During her two-decade career in the state senate, she chaired the health and human services committee where she worked to provide relief for the poor and sought to rebuild central Los Angeles after the 1992 riots in the wake of the acquittal of white police officers in the beating of Rodney King, an African American. In 1992 Watson ran for the Los Angeles county board of supervisors but lost to former Congresswoman Yvonne Brathwaite Burke in a close race. State term limits ended Watson’s career in the California senate, but in 1998, President William J. (Bill) Clinton nominated her as U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia.</p>

<p>Former U.S. Congresswoman and foreign ambassador Diane E. Watson was born on November 12, 1933 in Los Angeles, California in a devout religious household. Upon graduating from Dorsey High School (Los Angele) in the late 1940s, Watson attended Los Angeles City College. She went on to receive her B.A. degree in education from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1956, and her M.A. degree in school psychology from California State University in 1958. In 1987, Watson earned her Ph.D. in education administration from Claremont Graduate School; and later, completed courses at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.</p>

<p>Watson began her professional career in 1969 as a psychologist with California State University. Then, from 1971 to 1975, she worked as a health occupation specialist with the Bureau of Industrial Education of the California Department of Education. In 1975, Watson became the first African American woman to serve on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. There, she worked to expand school integration and make academic standards more rigorous. In 1978, Watson became the first African American woman to be elected to the California State Senate where she played a major role in formulating the state of California’s TANF program. Watson also sought funding to help teen mothers complete their education and gain employment through the Cal-Learn program. In 1993, Watson authored the California Birth Defects Monitoring Program Act and the Residential Care Facilities Act. She introduced legislation to improve food health safety requirements for restaurants in 1997, and also played a key role in the enactment of legislation to promote breast cancer research. She served as chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee from 1981 to 1998, and also served on the Senate Judiciary Committee.</p>

<p>At the end of her senate term in 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed Watson to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia. Watson continued in the role of U.S. Ambassador until 2001 when she was elected to fill the vacancy of the late U.S. Representative Julian Dixon under a special election. She was re-elected in 2002 and 2004 to serve two consecutive terms, and retired in 2011.</p>