Father and son ran a small manufacturing business in Minominnee, Minnesota, until the younger Graham embarked on a career of public service.
[4] He would later say he "learned on the job" to become a feminist; and soon became one of the more outspoken commissioners along with the only female member, Aileen Hernandez, a future NOW founder and president.
This meant that from the outset, Graham's top priority became lobbying Congress for additional appropriations to bridge the gap between the program's funding and its projected per capita costs of $8,100 per teacher.
He served as President of Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont (1975–1976); and he helped found the Goddard-Cambridge Center for Social Change.
Together they raised five children: Peggy Sue (Busy), Charles Louis (Hoey), Richard (Dicker), Nan and John.