Catherine Filene Shouse

Who was Catherine Filene Shouse?

Catherine Filene Shouse was a researcher and philanthropist. She graduated in 1918 from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. She worked for the Women's Division of the U.S. Employment Service of the Department of Labor, and was the first woman appointed to the Democratic National Committee in 1925. She was also the editor of the Woman's National Democratic Committee's Bulletin, and the first woman to chair the Federal Prison for Women Board.

Finally, she was a strong supporter of the arts, and served as chair of the President's Music Committee's Person-to-Person Program. In 1966 she donated her personal property, Wolf Trap Farm, to the National Park Service. This farm would go on to become Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, where Shouse would serve as founder until her death in 1994.