Liz Carpenter was a writer, feminist, media advisor, and high-ranking White House staff member during the LBJ administration. Mary Elizabeth Sutherland was born in Salado, Texas in 1920, and spent most of her childhood in Austin. She met her husband, Les Carpenter, while working on her high school newspaper. The two worked together on the University of Texas paper, as well, and were married in 1944. In 1942, Carpenter began covering the White House and Congress for Austin's newspaper, the Austin American-Statesman, and after their wedding, Liz and Les moved to Washington D.C. and launched the Carpenter News Bureau. She and Les worked devotedly, only taking time off for the births of their children, Scott and Christy. Carpenter continued working as a reporter until joining Lyndon B. Johnson's campaign for Vice President in 1960, traveling as a press spokeswoman until after the election when she became the first female Executive Assistant to the Vice President. Upon LBJ's succession to the presidency, Carpenter was promoted to Press Secretary to the First Lady, the first woman to hold that position. Carpenter is known for her quick wit and humor, and it came through in speeches she wrote for both Lady Bird and President Johnson. After LBJ's term, Carpenter devoted her time to writing and working for the National Women's Political Caucus, of which she was a founder, and working with ERAmerica to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. She later served for Presidents Ford, Carter, and Clinton on women's issues, education, and serving the senior population. Les died suddenly in 1974, and Liz returned to Austin in 1976, citing her love of family and love of Texas. She wrote Getting Better All the Time in 1986, Unplanned Parenthood in 1994, Start With a Laugh in 2000, and Presidential Humor in 2006, as well as many articles and lectures. Carpenter was given many awards throughout her life, including being named to the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in the 1980s. Two awards are named in her honor - The Liz Carpenter Lectureship at the University of Texas and the Liz Carpenter Award for the best scholarly book on the history of women and Texas. Carpenter died in Austin in March of 2010.