Mary-Ann Lupa (1942-)

Mary-Ann Lupa was born and spent her early years on Chicago’s North Side. Her family moved to the western suburbs when she was nine and she lived there until she went to Alverno College, in Milwaukee, WI. Alverno was a transformative experience for her. It was here that she met her life long friend Mary Jean Collins and was awakened to women’s issues by the progressive teachers at the college, graduating in 1964 with a degree in art Education. In 1966 Mary Jean recruited her to attend an organizing meeting at the Sherman House, Chicago, which resulted in the start of the Chicago chapter of the National Organization for Women. Her social activism began when she participated in Fr. Groppi’s Open Housing Marches in Milwaukee in 1968. It continued in Chicago in 1970 when she designed a nationally adopted button for Betty Friedan’s Women Strike for Equality march on August 26th, reading “Don’t Iron While the Strike is Hot.” In 1970 she became Chicago NOW’s chapter president, serving two terms until 1973. As Illinois ERA Coordinator in 1976, she rallied NOW chapters to attend the National Rally for Equal Rights in Springfield, IL. Throughout her life she has been an active designer for the women’s movement while pursuing a successful career as a graphic designer and business owner. In recent years she has served on the board and been an active participant in the Veteran Feminist of America organization.