Koss, Helen L., 1922-2008

Helen L. Koss was born in Ellenville, New York, on June 3, 1922. She moved to Montgomery County in 1951. From 1963 to 1967, she served as president of the League of Women Voters of Maryland. During this time, the League devoted most of its efforts toward the civil rights movement in the form of advocating public accommodations for all. She was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1971, and served until her retirement in 1987. She was appointed to chair the Constitution and Administrative Law Committee in 1979, marking the first time a woman held the chair of a permanent committee in Maryland.

During her tenure in the Maryland House of Delegates, Helen L. Koss focused most of her efforts on campaign reform and eliminating gender discrimination in the credit, housing and insurance industries. She also proposed numerous bills which aimed at improving the plight of divorced women. Her greatest achievement was the Displaced Homemakers Bill, a bill which established a center for training women in skills which would enable them to work outside of the home.

Helen L. Koss; born Helen Levine in New York City on June 3, 1922. Grew up in Ellenville, NY, and graduated from Bennington College in 1942. Moved to Washington DC to work for the USDA, and moved to Montgomery County, Md., with her husband Howard Koss in 1951. Served as president of the Maryland League of Women Voters from 1963-67, and delegate to the Maryland Constitutional Convention in 1967 and 1978. Elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1970, serving four terms from 1971 to 1987; her signature issues were equal rights, gender discrimination, aid for displaced homemakers, and state ethics. Appointed to the state election board by Governor Parris Glendening in 1993, serving until 2003. Died on September 28, 2008.