Dr. Judith Ann Bense of Pensacola spent several years teaching classes as an adjunct professor at the University of West Florida and working as a field school instructor during the summer, working as a Senior Research Archeologist at the…

Alice Scott Abbott formerly of Bunnell was born in Illinois in 1856, Alice Scott Abbott was “a woman of great ability”. She delivered the “first lecture on Votes For Women” at an 1893 state convention held in St. Augustine. A national and state organizer and lecturer for the…

Mildred “Millie” Wilborn Gildersleeve, formerly of Palm Beach County, was born a slave in Cuthbert, Georgia in 1858 shortly before the U.S. Civil War. She served as a nurse and midwife…

Doris Mae Barnes, formerly of North Miami, was a woman of extraordinary qualities who made a significant contribution to Floridians and the world by helping shape the past and future of Florida’s tourism industry…

Dr. Judith Ann Bense of Pensacola spent several years teaching classes as an adjunct professor at the University of West Florida and working as a field school instructor during the summer, working as a Senior Research Archeologist at the…

Janet E. Petro of Indian Harbour Beach began her professional career as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army after graduating in 1981 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., with a Bachelor of Science in engineering.

Lee Bird Leavengood of Tampa was born in Monticello, FL in 1928. While attending the Florida State College for Women (FSCW) in 1947, she was one of a small group who were offered a scholarship to help gender-integrate the University of Florida, which was going co-ed for the first time.

Adela Hernandez Gonzmart – “The Queen of Ybor City” – not only served as the gracious and elegant figurehead and supreme hostess of the world-famous Columbia Restaurant until her death in 2001 at 81 but also as a tireless advocate for the arts, the community, and her heritage.

Lena B. Smithers Hughes, is recognized as a pioneer in the development of the Valencia orange, a crop of appreciable importance to Florida.

Frances Bartlett Kinne, The first woman president of a Florida university, she became president of Jacksonville University, a private institution, in 1979. She became Chancellor in 1989 and Chancellor Emeritus in 1994.