Wright, Sylvia, 1911-

Sylvia Allen Beckman was born on May 11, 1911, in Naperville, Illinois, the youngest daughter of Bernard C. and May (Ballou) Beckman. Sylvia graduated with a bachelor's degree from Wells College in Aurora, New York, in 1933, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa (1951). After attending London School of Economics to study international relations in 1933 and 1934, she returned to the States.

In September 1935 Sylvia Beckman married Norman B. Wright (1901-1971) of Chicago, Illinois, son of Frank G. and Kathryn Wright. The couple settled on a farm in Rupert, Vermont, in June 1940. Norman, an artist and dairy farmer, was a founder of the Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester, Vermont, for which Sylvia served as clerk. From 1946 to 1947 Mrs. Wright served on Gov. Mortimer Proctor's Art Advisory Committee, assigned to assess the state's art holdings.

Mrs. Wright acted as legislative liaison for the Vermont Congress of Parents and Teachers, the Vermont League of Women Voters, the Vermont Federation of Women's Clubs, and the Vermont Conference of Social Welfare during the period of 1944 to 1947. She also served as regional vice president of the National Council on State Legislation (1945-1946), and as member of the Vermont Joint Legislative Council (1944-1947).

In 1944 Sylvia Wright ran for office and was elected on the Republican ticket as Rupert town representative to the Vermont House of Representatives; she was reelected in 1946. Following her election to the General Assembly, Sylvia Wright served on the House Committee on Institutions as its clerk (1945-1946). In 1945 Wright was appointed member of the Public Welfare Survey committee. In 1946 Rep. Wright was appointed by governor-elect Ernest Gibson to serve on an unprecedented pre-inauguration advisory committee to study "education and the normal school." In June 1947 Rep. Wright resigned her seat in the General Assembly.

Sylvia and Norman Wright were divorced in August of 1947. In 1948 Sylvia Wright moved to the Washington, DC area where she married Robert Warner on August 24, 1950. While living in Washington, Sylvia Warner worked at the CIA in various capacities from 1949 until at least 1955, and possibly thereafter. She began as an Information and Editorial Specialist and progressed to Intelligence Officer.

From the description of Sylvia Wright papers, 1934-1980 1944-1947. (Vermont Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 153245893