Carabillo, Toni (1926–1997)

American feminist and historian. Born Virginia Ann Carabillo in Jackson Heights, New York, on March 26, 1926; died in Los Angeles, California, on October 28, 1997, after a long bout with cancer; daughter of Ann and Anthony Carabillo (a pharmacist); graduated from Middlebury College, 1948, and Columbia University, M.A., 1949; lived with Judith Meuli (a writer).

Toni Carabillo, feminist leader and historian, was born in Jackson Heights, New York, in 1926. Following graduation from Columbia University, she joined corporate America, working for System Development, a communications company, for 11 years. The job ended abruptly when she was involved in an inhouse survey by women employees that turned up a major disparity between the salaries of men and women and chances for advancement.

In 1967, Carabillo joined NOW and helped launch branches throughout California, serving over the years as president of the Los Angeles chapter, national vice president, and board member. She also co-edited NOW's national newsletter and newspaper. She would be a major fund raiser and organizer for the Equal Rights Amendment ratification during the early 1980s.

In 1969, Carabillo co-founded the Women's Heritage Corp., publishing the Women's Heritage Calendar and Almanac and a series of paperbacks, concerning such women as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone . Along with Judith Meuli , who would be her life partner for 30 years, Carabillo opened a graphic arts company in Los Angeles in 1970. Together, they wrote The Feminization of Power (1988) and, with June Csida , Feminist Chronicles, 1953–1993, a textbook for college-level women's studies sources (1993).

In 1987, Carabillo teamed with Meuli, Eleanor Smeal, Peg Yorkin and Katherine Spillar to create the Feminist Majority Foundation, an organization designed to encourage women's empowerment by supporting professional women in the private and public sphere. Carabillo served as national vice president.