10 Things You Didn’t Know about Lurita Doan

Being in business and politics at the same time is a difficult task because the two require attention at all times. However, some people can balance the two, and Lurita is one of them. Born on 4th January 1958, Lurita Doan has been a successful entrepreneur and executive for more than 20 years in both the private and public sector according to her LinkedIn account. She is an advocate and mentor to small business owners nationwide and also women in the federal government. In her line of duty, she has been through a lot of cases that made her hit the headlines. Get to know more about her by checking out these facts.

1. Education

Doan attended Ursuline Academy in New Orleans which is a girl school sponsored by the Roman Catholic Church for her early education and graduated in 1975. She later joined Vassar College, where she graduated with an honors degree in English and then went to the University of Tennessee for her masters in literature. Based on the education path that she took, Doan later joined teaching as a career where she taught English. She began as a teacher at colleges in Washington DC, Louisiana, and Northern Virginia.

2. Lurita in Business

Being a graduate in literature, we expect that Lurita could focus on teaching English. She, however, was a businesswoman and ventured into business. She launched her company in 1990, which mainly dealt with new technology. With the firm, she got contracts from the government with the consideration that she was from the minority group. The deals she landed assisted in the growth of the company to the extent of having revenues worth $29 million in 2002. She, however, sold the firm in 2005 at a price that she did not reveal and retired from business.

3. Lurita in politics

While she was still in business, Lurita got an interest in politics. She became an active member of the Republican Party. In 2006, she was elected to the General Service Administrations by the president as the head. This department was mainly dealing with the contracts, managing real estate, and implementation of the new technology. She later got a confirmation by the Senate and sworn in as an administrator of the General Service Administration. In 2008, the White House requested for her resignation without stating any reason. In her political career, Lurita Doan was vibrant and very influential.

4. She violated the Hatch Act

Lurita political career made her get into some cases that came as a result of her duties in the office. After she resigned, she got the disciplinary action for violating the Hatch Act. This act relates to political activities by civil servants. The case was when she awarded a contract to a firm without bidding to assist the minority. There were allegations that the company was working closely with her own business, and they blamed her for awarding the contract on the no-bid bias to benefit from it. The contract awarding procedure led to the termination of the deal since it was termed illegal by the Senate. Many other contracts awarded by Doan were analyzed, and she appeared before the court severally. She later was found guilty, and she had to resign. After resigning, she stated that it was a privilege for her serving a great nation and a great president.

5. Achievement as African American woman

Lurita Doan, who was born in New Orleans, is an African American. The African Americans are part of the minority groups in the US, and hence, her being in politics was a great achievement. She became the first African American woman to serve in the US General Service Administration. She was passionate about women empowerment and the rights of minority groups in the US.

6. She has received several awards

Hard work pays, and indeed it paid for Lurita. During her time in business, she was mainly dealing with innovations. According to Townhall, in 2008, she received an award “Friends of the Americas” for her innovation in ports. The grants made her known as the most influential black American woman in the US. In 2003, she received an award for entrepreneurship from the business council. Doan also received Abrazo award for the excellent work she did in the construction of Ysidro Port of Entry under her leadership. She received many other rewards in recognition of her contribution to business and innovation.

7. Family life

Doan is married and has two children. She and her family live in Northern Virginia. Her husband retired from the military, where he was working as an intelligence officer. He was also a business official at Homeland Security. Despite the public outrage over her alleged biased dealings, Doan got the support from her husband in many of the projects that she was involved.

8. She fights against racism

Doan is one of the people who are against racism in the US since her father happened to be a victim of the same during a sporting event as we find in the Empty Wheel. There have been cases where the whites have been against the blacks in the US. Being a republican, she always stood for the minority. She wanted an increase in the number of blacks being given political seats to ensure their representation.

9. Participated in community developments

Doan participated in various community projects that aimed at empowerment of some of the particular groups. She was part of most liberal movements in the US. Doan empowered women in business since she had experience in the field while condemning practices against women, such as rape. Her participation in the community projects shows how she was committed to uplift all the people who were experiencing challenges.

10. Lurita Doan net worth

Lurita Doan has a net worth of approximately $14 million as of 2019. The source of this wealth is her career as an educator and the money that she got while in business. The business was growing and could have led to a higher net worth had she continued to run it.