Justice Barbara J. Pariente of West Palm Beach and Tallahassee is only the second woman to serve on Florida’s Supreme Court and as its Chief Justice from 2004-2006. Throughout a legal career begun in 1973, she has shown a passionate commitment to improving the lives of women, children, and families in Florida, especially those whose disadvantages in life have brought them into courts.
Betty Sembler has dedicated more than three decades to fighting the war on drugs, starting in 1976 when she and her husband Melvin Sembler became founding members of Straight, Inc., a nonprofit drug treatment program that served 12,000 young people across the country. She also has helped shape national anti-drug policies through her work starting in the mid-80s with the White House Conference for a Drug-Free America and as a member of the Governor’s Drug Policy Task Force in Florida.
Louise H. Courtelis is a successful international businesswoman, noted philanthropist and longtime supporter of higher education and veterinary care in Florida. Louise Courtelis was born on a dairy farm in Corfu, New York. She moved to Florida in the early 1950s to attend the University of Miami, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education and met her future husband, the late Alec Courtelis, a successful real estate developer with whom she raised a son and daughter.
Dara Torres of Coral Springs, is arguably the fastest female swimmer in America. She entered her first international swimming competition at age 14 and competed in her first Olympics a few years later in 1984. At the Beijing Games in 2008, Dara became the oldest swimmer to compete in the Olympics. When she took three silver medals – including the infamous heartbreaking 50-meter freestyle race where she missed the Gold by 1/100th of a second – America loved her all the more for her astonishing achievement and her good-natured acceptance of the results.
Dr. Eugenie Clark of Sarasota is known worldwide as “The Shark Lady”. Genie loves sharks…and fish…and people in general. As an explorer, marine biologist and teacher, she is a perfect example of the heights women can attain in scientific study. In 1955, she founded a small marine laboratory that grew to become the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, FL, now a national center for shark and marine mammal research.
Anna I. Rodriguez of Bonita Springs is considered by many to be an indomitable force in the global fight against human trafficking. A native of Puerto Rico, she immigrated to Miami in late 1974. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Florida Coalition against Human Trafficking, an organization whose mission is to eradicate human trafficking locally, nationally, and internationally.
Mary Brennan Karl of Daytona Beach was a strong, innovative and accomplished woman who overcame the existing male oriented cultural barriers of her day. Beginning with a small public vocational program, she broadened the range of subjects taught and otherwise dramatically expanded the school. As WWII intensified, she provided around the clock training for thousands of citizens to work in the defense industries throughout the country.
Vicki Bryant Burke of Jacksonville graduated from the University of South Carolina and moved to Florida in 1978. She began working as a counselor with adolescent males and females in a juvenile justice day treatment program. Through her work, Ms. Burke learned institutionalization or incarceration was often the juvenile justice system’s response to addressing the needs of girls who committed delinquent acts and/or status offenses.
Elizabeth “Budd” Bell, formerly of Tallahassee, served for 77 years as a passionate advocate of children and women, the elderly, the mentally ill, and the disadvantaged. She pioneered coordinated childcare legislation in Florida, and helped pass the Child Care Bill, which secured the funding of early learning programs across the state.
Dr. Ruth H. Alexander of Gainesville, is a pioneer in the field of women’s sports. She served as Chair of the Department of Physical Education for Women at the University of Florida (UF). In 1972, she established the “Lady Gator Athletic” program. Before this no opportunities existed for women to participate in intercollegiate athletics. This program is ranked in the top ten in America annually.