THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                            (Tokyo, Japan)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  November 19, 1998

           PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES IRENE ROSENBERG WURTZEL AS A
               MEMBER OF THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON THE
                 CELEBRATION OF WOMEN IN AMERICAN HISTORY

The President today announced his intent to appoint Irene Rosenberg Wurtzel as a member of the President's Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History.

Ms. Irene Rosenberg Wurtzel, of Delaplane, Virginia, is a playwright, freelance writer and teacher of play writing. She is a winner of the Margo Jones Play writing Award, the Jane Chambers Award for outstanding woman playwright, and a Cine Award for a documentary film script on the history of the American labor movement. Her four plays, including Onward Victoria, a musical based on the life of feminist Victoria Woodhul, have appeared on and off-Broadway, regional theater and in England. Ms. Wurtzel is a member of the Board of Trustees of Arena Stage, where she chairs the Board's education and community outreach efforts. She is former Chair of the Board of the Family and Children's Trust fund of Virginia, a commission aimed at preventing domestic violence and child abuse in Virginia.

President Clinton established the Commission to consider how best to acknowledge and celebrate the roles and accomplishments of women in American History. It meets to consider ideas for such celebrations, including a focal point for women's history in Washington, D.C. and the use of technology to connect existing and planned historical sites, museums and libraries. The Commission's recommendations will be reported to the President.

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