1997 – Washington, DC
Virginia H. Knauer was Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs and Director of the United States Office of Consumer Affairs under Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy. In 1969, Mrs. Knauer was appointed the Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs. Between 1969 and 1977, in addition to her White House position, she was the U.S. Representative and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Consumer Policy of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Mrs. Knauer was the consumer advisor to the Reagan-Bush Committee for the 1980 Presidential Campaign. In 1981, President Reagan appointed her Special Advisor to the President for Consumer Affairs, and Director of the United States Office of Consumer Affairs. Immediately before joining the Reagan Administration, Mrs. Knauer was President of Virginia Knauer and Associates, Inc., a Washington, DC consulting firm specializing in consumer issues. She has received numerous civic and industry awards for consumer leadership, including the prestigious Gimbel Philadelphia Award for service to her city, her state and her country. She holds nine honorary doctorate degrees and is an elected member of the “Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania.” Mrs. Knauer’s late husband, Wilhelm F. Knauer, a lawyer, was former Deputy Attorney of Pennsylvania. They had one son, Judge Wilhelm F. Knauer, Jr. (deceased), have one daughter, Valerie Knauer Burden and three granddaughters.
