Helen Ewing Nelson

Helen Ewing Nelson (October 19, 1913 – March 22, 2005) was a consumer protection advocate in the United States. She drafted the Consumer Bill of Rights and served in consumer advocacy positions for various government offices and other organizations.

Early life

Nelson studied economics at the University of Colorado and at Mills College in San Francisco. In 1938 she was worked at the California Department of Employment where she met her husband, Nathan Nelson. In this position she set up infrastructure for such groups as the NAACP, labor unions, and women's rights groups to be able to lobby their representatives in government. She also took Kennedy's appointment to the presidential Consumer Advisory Council, and kept that position through the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. Nelson said that this was because she was disliked by Reagan's supporters, including the California Grocer's Association and the California Manufacturers' Association. After this she became elected president of the Consumer Federation of California. She served also on the board of Consumers Union, She was the consumer consultant to the Office of Technology Assessment and the National Academy of Sciences.