Nora B. Cummins was born July 18, 1882.  She attended the University of Minnesota where she received her B.A.  She then attended Columbia University where she earned her M.A.  Cummins also received special training at the South Dakota Normal and Industrial School.  Cummins began her career at the Washington State Normal School at Bellingham (which would become Western Washington University) in the fall of 1915 as a supervisor of student teachers.  She chaired the Social Studies department on several occasions, acted as dean in the 1930s, and during World War II was Acting Registrar.  When she retired in 1951 she was a Professor of Political Science. 

The records in the collection are from her work on two committees spanning from 1936 to 1946.  One was the Whatcom County Advisory Committee.  It was created in response to the passage of the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935 and it played an advisory role concerning public relief . Cummins served on one of the sub-committees.

Cummins also served as chairman on the Consumer Interest Committee. It was organized on January 26, 1942 as the Bellingham Consumer Representative's Council and worked with the Office of Price Administration (OPA) in Washington D.C.  The Council became the Consumer Interest Committee in May of 1943 and functioned under the Civilian Defense Council.  It worked to educate local consumers on price fixing and rationing during War World II.

Nora Cummins died in Santa Rosa, California May 15 1974.