Louise Leonard McLaren (August 10, 1885 – December 16, 1968) born in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, was founder of the Southern Summer School for Women Workers.
After earning an A.M. in economics at Columbia University[2] in 1927[1] she decided to organize the Southern Summer School for Women Workers.
It was modeled on the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry originated by Hilda Worthington Smith.
The students were chosen to represent all the typical industries of the south[15] and Leonard was intent on teaching the "social attitudes appropriate to the machine age".
The couple was childless and she devoted herself to the work, under her charge more than 300 working-class women came to summer residence, being trained as leaders in their fields.