Lois Frankel

Lois Frankel (born May 16, 1948) is an American attorney and Democratic politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Florida's 22nd congressional district since 2013. Prior to Congress, she held office as mayor of West Palm Beach from 2003 to 2011 and represented District 89 in the Florida House of Representatives from 1986 to 2002, including as the first female minority leader from 2000 to 2002. Frankel earned a B.A. from Boston University in 1970 and a J.D. from Georgetown University in 1973 before practicing as a trial attorney.

In the House, Frankel serves on the Appropriations Committee as the ranking Democratic member of the subcommittee overseeing the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs, focusing on national security funding. She has secured appropriations for local infrastructure, health care, education, and workforce programs in her district, while advocating for protections of Social Security, Medicare, and reproductive rights. Frankel also co-chairs the bipartisan Women, Peace, and Security Caucus and served as chair emerita of the Democratic Women's Caucus.

Lois Frankel was born on May 16, 1948, in New York City to a Jewish family. She grew up in Great Neck on Long Island, in a community that was predominantly Jewish, with her parents instilling values amid the cultural norms of the 1950s. During this era, societal expectations emphasized traditional roles for girls, focusing on marriage and motherhood, yet Frankel's parents supported her independence, allowing her to pursue interests outside those stereotypes.

Lois Frankel was born on May 16, 1948, to a Jewish family in New York City and raised in a predominantly Jewish community on Long Island. She maintains membership in Temple Beth El in West Palm Beach, Florida, with records indicating her affiliation dating back to at least her service in the Florida House of Representatives from 1986 to 1992. By 2015, she had been associated with the temple for approximately 30 years, participating in events such as the restoration of its historic chapel.

Prior to her entry into elective office, Frankel's community involvement included broader public service efforts in Palm Beach County, though specific religious boards or charities tied directly to Jewish organizations remain undocumented in available records. Her Jewish heritage has empirically aligned with active engagement in local Jewish networks, as evidenced by her hosting of roundtables with rabbis and community leaders from Palm Beach and Broward counties in February 2015 to address regional priorities. In March 2017, she convened a similar discussion focused on the rising incidence of antisemitism in the area, involving a cross-section of Jewish organizational representatives.