In late 1903, Georgia organized a state-wide Black women’s clubs’ event with her sister Alice, Nannie Helen Burroughs, and other activists. On December 31, 1903, they formed the Kentucky Chapter of the Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs.
Geraldine Kenui Bell, better known as Geri, was the first Native Hawaiian woman to be superintendent of a National Park Service (NPS) unit – in fact, she oversaw the operation of two different parks in Hawai‘i simultaneously.
Florence Collins, geologist and aviator, was a woman of adventure and an important part of Denali National Park and Preserve’s long history of scientific research.
In addition to running the Trading Post in Kotzebue, Alaska, Ruth was influential in local politics and an avid historian, naturalist, and adventurer. She earned a degree in Biology and was one of University of Alaska Fairbanks’ first Inupiaq graduates. Ruth and her family were a critical support for the Archaelogical work conducted in Kobuk Valley National Park by Louis Giddings and Doug Anderson. She had a passion for history and the heritage of the Iñupiat.
Dr. Lillie Rosa Minoka-Hill earned her doctor of medicine degree at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1899, making her the second Native American woman in the United States to hold an M.D. degree (Susan La Flesche Picotte was the first). She used her professional status to help other Native Americans, working at public clinics and dispensaries and at a school for Native American children.
Margaret Hamburg, one of the youngest people ever elected to the Institute of Medicine (IoM, an affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences), is a highly regarded expert in community health and bio-defense, including preparedness for nuclear, biological, and chemical threats. As health commissioner for New York City from 1991 to 1997, she developed innovative programs for controlling the spread of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
Lucille Perez, M.D., was associate director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. She was a leading authority on substance abuse and HIV prevention, and headed the internationally renowned Faculty Department Program at CSAP.
As a teenage mother, Laurie McLemore was told she would not be able to become a physician. Despite the lack of encouragement she received from academic advisors, and the challenges of raising a family whilst building a career, she went on to complete premedical training with honors and was offered a scholarship to attend medical school.
Dr. Lena Edwards was one of the first African American women to be board-certified as an obstetrician-gynecologist as well as to gain admission to the International College of Surgeons. Throughout her career she served the poor, lobbying for better health care for anyone who needed it, regardless of what they could afford.
May Cottrell published more than 1,000 articles in 13 countries.