Lewis, Delano E., 1938-

Delano Eugene Lewis was born November 12, 1938 in Arkansas City, Kansas. Two years later the family moved to Kansas City, Kansas where Lewis graduated from Sumner High School. In 1960, Lewis graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History, and, in 1963, he received his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Washburn University School of Law. Later that year Lewis moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked as an attorney for the US Department of Justice. Beginning in 1966, Lewis worked for the Peace Corps, serving as Associate Director in Nigeria for one year and as Country Director in Uganda from 1967-1969; after leaving Uganda, he worked at the Peace Corps Headquarters as Chief, East & Southern Africa Division. Lewis then became a Legal Assistant to Senator Edward Brooke (MA) and, in 1971, became Chief of Staff for Representative Walter E. Fauntroy (D.C.).

In 1973, Lewis began work as a public affairs manager at Chesapeake and Potomac (C & P) Telephone; by 1988 he had risen to become the company's President and, in 1990, he also became its CEO. During his time at C & P, in 1978, Lewis took a leave of absence to serve as head of D.C. Mayor Marion Berry's transition team. In 1993, Lewis left C & P and became President of National Public Radio (NPR); in doing so, he became the first African American to be named to the position.

Lewis was also highly active in numerous organizations. He served on the Board of Directors for several companies and groups, including Palmolive Corporation, GEICO, the Washington Performing Arts Society, and Catholic University of America. He also served as Chairman of the United Negro College Fund Executive Committee and as Vice Chair of the American Red Cross D.C. Chapter. Lewis was an active member of the Greater Washington Board of Trade; in 1988 he came the first African American to take office as president (he was the third elected but neither of the others took office). Lewis was appointed to a number of Advisory Councils, Commissions, and Task Forces, such as the US Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure (which he co-chaired) and the Commission on Vocational Education and Career Opportunities (which he co-chaired).

In 1960, Delano E. Lewis married Gayle Carolyn Jones. The couple had four sons, Delano Jr., Geoffrey, Brian, and Phillip.

From the guide to the Delano E. Lewis papers, 1960-1997, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)