No: 72
Date: 1/1/1998
Name: Carole Woods Harris
In 1992, Woods Harris became the first African-American and one of the first women to be elected to the Douglas County Board of Commissioners. She was voted vice chair by her colleagues in 1994 and 1995. In 1989, she was a City Council candidate from District 1. After 30 years, the Omaha native took early retirement in 1990 from US WEST Communications where she held various director level positions, including assignments in directory publishing, data systems, strategic planning and corporate support. Her more than two decades of community service involvement includes such organizations as United Way, National Conference of Christians and Jews and Uta Halee Girls Village. She is vice chair of the Omaha Community Foundation's Women's Fund Steering Committee, past chair of the City Personnel Board and past president of United Methodist Community Centers. She is a founding member and past president of the Nebraska Black Employees Association and a lifetime NAACP member. Professional affiliations include the National Association of Black County Officials and she was a chair of the National Association of Counties' Health Steering Committee. Harris is pictured with other commissioners in the background who included, at that time: Mary Ann Borgeson, Kyle Hutchings, Carol McBride Pirsch, GeorgeMills, Clare Duda and Mike Boyle. Back to Top