Caribbean > Puerto Rico Archives

Sonia Sotomayor

As the first Latina and third woman appointed to the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor has made an impact in and out of the courtroom.

Nydia Margarita Velázquez

Nydia M. Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress, is the Representative for New York’s 7th Congressional District.

Sylvia Ramos, M.D., was a clinical professor of surgery at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Throughout her career, she focused on breast cancer and the use of ultrasound for diagnostic procedures and the role of peer support on quality of life and outcomes for cancer survivors.

Dr Nereida Correa

Dr. Nereida Correa was the first Hispanic woman to be named chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center.

Elsa Tió

Elsa Tió wrote her first chapbook at the age of seven, and went on to publish poetry collections including Poesía (Poetry) (1959); Detrás de los espejos empañados (Behind Fogged Mirrors) (1977), winner of the Bolívar Pagán National Book Award; Inventario de la soledad (Inventory of Solitude) (1988), also winner of the Bolívar Pagán Award; and Palabras sin escolta (Unguarded Words) (2007).

Esmeralda Santiago

Esmeralda Santiago is the author of the novel “Conquistadora” and the memoirs “When I Was Puerto Rican” and “Almost A Woman,” which was adapted into a Peabody Award–winning movie.

Dr Ileana Vargas-Rodriquez

In 1998, Dr. Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez helped establish the pediatric component of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

Felicitas Mendez

Mother of the children at the heart of the Mendez et al v. Westminster School District of Orange County et al court case on racial segregation in the California public school system.

Sylvia Mendez

Child at the heart of the Mendez et al v. Westminster School District of Orange County et al court case on racial segregation in the California public school system.