Dr. Mary H. Roessel was the first person in her Diné (Navajo) community to attend medical school and become a doctor (1987) and the first woman Diné (Navajo) psychiatrist to provide Indian Health Service clinical care in New Mexico.
Dr. Matilda Evans was the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina.
Clara Pinto Correia is the author of over 50 books of fiction and non-fiction.
Paula “Polly” Liebau emigrated to the U.S. from Germany as a young woman, following the allure of gold to Alaska. Along with her prospecting partner and husband, John Anderson, Paula crossed the Alaska Range by dog team, arriving to mine in the Kantishna District in 1918.
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.
Through her lectures, workshops, syndicated radio programs and other communications media, Linda Austin, M.D., expands her clinical care to educate people across the country on substance abuse and mental health issues.
Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord became the first Navajo woman to be board certified in surgery in 1994.
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.
Dr. Joycelyn Elders was the first person in the state of Arkansas to become board certified in pediatric endocrinology and the first African American and only the second woman to head the U.S. Public Health Service.
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.