Barbara Pedersen Holum

Longtime Washington D.C. resident Barbara Pedersen Holum, a political activist, conservationist, and Clinton Administration presidential appointee, passed away September 23 in West Palm Beach, Florida, after suffering a stroke. She was 84.

Ms. Holum grew up on a dairy farm in Nebraska. After attending college in Lincoln and Denver, in 1971 she moved to Washington to join George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign, for which she became the regional organizer for the Western states. She raised funds for Jimmy Carter’s 1976 campaign and then joined his Administration to manage congressional relations for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). She played key roles in the 1984 and 1988 Gary Hart presidential campaigns, and in 1992 campaigned actively for Bill Clinton, who nominated her as a CFTC Commissioner. She served two five-year terms there, retiring in 2003.

During her career Barbara also worked for the Democratic State Party in Massachusetts and created and led the National Agricultural Lands Center, a non-profit focused on protecting topsoil and preserving cropland. She also became an enthusiastic bluegrass fiddler and avid sailor. She and her husband, John Holum, moved their primary residence to Annapolis, MD in the early 1990s, and built a waterfront home, where they hosted numerous “Holum hoedowns,” featuring area musicians such as Bill Danoff and Stephen Wade and bands they’d joined, including Congressman Dave Obey’s “Capitol Offenses” and the “Informed Sources,” made up of leading Washington journalists.

After retirement, Barbara donated her suits and other work clothes for young women beginning their careers, and started dressing in bright colors and unique fashions in keeping with her personality. The Holums made the transition from sail to power, and bought a succession of trawlers. From 2004 to 2014, aboard 58-food Kady Krogen “Solveig IV,” they cruised the east coast from Maine and Nova Scotia to the Florida Keys, where they spent winters immersed in local culture and music. They moved to a senior living facility on the Florida mainland in 2021.

Barbara is survived by her husband of 40 years, John, also a senior Clinton Administration official, by her step-daughter, Tracy Vail, of Oriental, NC, and by her 105 year old mother, Anita Pedersen, of Grand Island, Nebraska. Two older brothers predeceased her. Consistent with Barbara’s wishes, no formal funeral is planned. By arrangement with the Neptune Society, she is to be cremated and her ashes will be scattered in over Florida waters. Her family would welcome memorial contributions to the Dotty Lynch Scholarship Fund at the American University School of Communications, 4400 Massachusetts Ave N.W., Washington DC, 20016