Belle Moskokwitz, born in Harlem in 1877, was a labor and social reformer and political advisor. In 1900, she became a social worker at the Educational Alliance, a settlement house for Jewish immigrants in New York City. She wrote for the United Hebrew Charities social reform journal and joined the Council of Jewish Women. In 1905, she established the Lakeview Home for Girls, which gave young women shelter and helped them find work. In 1908, Moskowitz helped pass laws to improve conditions at dance halls, making them safer and regulating the sale of alcohol.
After the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, she became a labor mediator to improve conditions for garment workers. This caught the attention of Governor Alfred E. Smith who made her one of his closest advisors. When he ran for president in 1928, Moskowitz was his campaign manager. She died in 1933 and is remembered as being the most powerful woman in politics during her lifetime.