Herman, Alexis M. (Alexis Margaret), 1947-

Alexis Margaret Herman (born July 16, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 23rd U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. Herman was the first African-American to hold the position. Prior to serving as Secretary, she was Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, she graduated from Heart of Mary High School there before attending Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin and Spring Hill College in Mobile, ultimately earning a BA from Xavier University in New Orleans. After college, she helped to desegregate parochial schools in Mobile before working to improve employment opportunities for black laborers and women. She then joined the administration of Jimmy Carter, working as director of the Labor Department's Women's Bureau. After Carter's defeat, Herman founded the consulting firm, A.M. Herman & Associates and became active in the Democratic party, working in the campaigns of Jesse Jackson and then serving as chief of staff for the Democratic National Committee under Ronald H. Brown. After Bill Clinton's victory in the 1992 Presidential election, Herman became deputy director of the Presidential Transition Office. Clinton then appointed her director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, where she was responsible for the administration's relations with interest groups.

In 1996, President Clinton announced his intention to nominate Herman as Secretary of Labor to replace outgoing Secretary Robert Reich. Following delays, the Senate Labor Committee held its hearing on her nomination on March 18, 1997; on April 30, 1997, the Senate voted to confirm by a vote of 85–13. Herman was sworn in on May 9, 1997, the first African-American and the fifth woman to serve in the position. As secretary, Herman supported the 1996 and 1997 raises to the minimum wage, increasing it by $0.90 to $5.15 per hour by September 1997. She later opposed a 1999 Republican supported plan to raise the minimum wage over three years, instead supporting a two-year time-table for an increase. Herman was active in Al Gore's 2000 campaign for president. During the Florida election recount, Herman was part of the team planning a transition to a Gore Administration. ABC News and The New York Times considered her a likely candidate to remain in Gore's White House if he won.

Following the defeat of Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election, Herman remained active in Democratic politics, in addition to her participation in the private sector, serving on the boards of corporations such as Coca-Cola and Toyota. Herman served as co-chair of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's transition team during the 2004 presidential election; in 2005, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean appoinyed her co-chairs of the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee.