Carita Doggett Corse, From its inception in 1935 through 1942, Carita Doggett Corse served as the Florida director of the Federal Writers’ Project, where she vigorously advocated African-American participation in the collection and writing of Florida History.
Alicia Baro, has dedicated her life to ensuring the rights of Hispanics, women, and other minorities in political representation, education and employment. Born in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, Baro was reared in New York City.
Mattie Belle Davis, Judge Mattie Belle Davis was the first woman in Florida and the second woman nationally to be elected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Born in Ellabell, Georgia, she moved to Miami in 1926 with her family and passed the bar examination in 1936, during the Great Depression.
Ivy Julia Cromartie Stranahan, pioneered in the Fort Lauderdale area at the turn of the century, where she taught Seminole Indians and helped them to adjust to the newly-created reservation at Dania.
Helen Gordon Davis, A legislator for almost two decades, Helen Gordon Davis championed the civil rights of the disenfranchised, particularly women and minorities. Born in New York City, she moved to Tampa in 1948.
Sister Jeanne O’ Laughlin, OP, Ph.D., formerly of Miami led Barry University-the state’s only women-founded institution-advanced from a small college to a thriving university. A native of Michigan, Sister Jeanne raised $140 million as the…
Lynda Keever, Publisher of Florida Trend magazine, one of the oldest and most respected regional business publications in North America, Lynda Keever is the only woman to serve in that position in the magazine’s 43-year history.
Althea Gibson was the first African-American woman to achieve major athletic fame, and the world’s first woman of color to compete and win, at England’s Wimbledon. She was named Woman Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in 1957. In 1958, Gibson won the American Tennis Association’s women’s championship and the U.S. national singles titles.
The ‘Maitland Housewife’-a label she proudly wore as a representative of the average citizen-Senator Paula Hawkins was elected to the Florida Public Service Commission in 1972. In 1980, Hawkins became the first Florida female elected to the U. S. Senate.
Major General Marianne Mathewson-Chapman, Ph.D., was the first woman in the Army National Guard to be promoted to the rank of Major General. The Major General’s active military service began in 1970 when she was commissioned in the Navy Nurse Corps. She currently serves as Deputy Surgeon General and Special Assistant to the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army/Director, Army National Guard. She also serves as the vice-chair on the National Army Guard Equal Opportunity Committee, and has served as Chairperson of the Adjutant General’s Advisory Council on Minorities’ and Women’s Issues. A powerful health care advocate, she specializes in the field of oncology.