Olivia Maynard (Libby Maynard)
Olivia Procter Maynard has strived to help the underserved and overlooked, especially children, women, minorities, and senior citizens. The first woman to chair the Michigan Democratic Party (1979-1983), Maynard also was the first woman nominated for the office of Michigan’s lieutenant governor, in 1978. She ran for Lieutenant Governor for a second time in 1990. During her tenure as vice chairperson of the Michigan Democratic Party (1967-1979), Maynard organized support to ensure the rule of a 50 percent female delegation at the Democratic National Convention.
In 1983, Ms. Maynard became the head of the Office of Services to the Aging. In this position she worked to keep senior citizens in their homes, to provide prescription drug reimbursement for low-income residents ineligible for Medicaid, and to develop a national model for guardianship standards. She also gained increases in the state share of the aging budget.
Maynard left the office in 1990 and worked as an adjunct professor and instructor of aging policy at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the Lansing Community College Center for Aging Education. She is also the founder and president of Michigan Prospect, a progressive public policy institute, and she served on the Federal Council on Aging during the Clinton administration. She has been a Regent at the University of Michigan since 1996.
Considering her unwavering commitment to public service in Michigan and her advocacy for the underserved, the Michigan Woman’s Hall of Fame is proud to induct Olivia Maynard.