The first female judge appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Judge Lenore Carrero Nesbitt served as a role model for women lawyers. Judge Nesbitt graduated first in her law class at the University of Miami in August 1957, a time when few women entered the profession. She worked as a research assistant to the chief judge of Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, the first woman to hold such a position.
Jessie Ball duPont, as wife and adviser to Alfred I. duPont, was responsible for his vast business enterprises in Florida and the principal trustee of his estate. She used her personal wealth to enhance the lives of others by supporting education, social services, communities and the arts in Florida. She funded hundreds of scholarships for college students, and supported charities, religious organizations, children’s homes, hospitals, historic buildings, libraries and art museums.
Frances Langford Stuart was a chief entertainer for American service men with Bob Hope during his wartime duties. Stuart began her career in radio at the age of sixteen when Vaudeville star, Rudy Vallee, discovered her in a talent contest in Miami. Stuart’s biggest break came when she replaced Judy Garland in Bob Hope’s Pepsodent Radio Show in 1941. Stuart starred with Ronald Reagan and George Murphy in “This is the Army.” She co-starred in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” with James Cagney and “The Girl Rush” with Robert Mitchum.
Toni Jennings was the first Republican woman Senate President, serving two
successive terms. Jennings launched Florida’s successful efforts to move
citizens from the welfare rolls into the workforce. A champion for public
education, she ushered Florida’s fi rst school readiness program through the
state legislature, ensuring the readiness of the state’s youngest citizens to enter
school for the fi rst time.
Victoria Joyce Ely, RN, the first licensed midwife in Florida, began her career at St.
Luke’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO. Ely became a reserve nurse in the Army Nurse
Corps during World War I, serving in France, until her return to the United States
in 1919. She then joined the American Red Cross serving as a company nurse
from 1923-30 in Perry, Florida. After the passage of the Midwifery Practice
Act, Ely was hired by the State Board of Health to expand and supervise the
midwifery training program and was the fi rst licensed nurse midwife in
Florida.
Mary R. Grizzle of Belleair Shore has been a pioneer in passing laws to expand the rights of women and protecting the environment. She was the first female Republican to serve in the Florida Legislature when elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1963 and the first woman elected to a leadership position, when she served as House Republican Leader Pro-Tempore in 1974-1978. She was elected to the Senate in 1978. In, 1970 the Married Women Property Rights Act, which Mary introduced and passed, giving a married woman, for the first time, the right to own property solely in her name and to transfer that property without her husband’s signature.
Internationally renowned singer/songwriter, Gloria Estefan of Miami, is the single most successful crossover performer in Latin music history. In 1978 she graduated summa cum laude from the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Psychology. Within all of her professional accomplishments, including Five Grammy Awards, her commitment to helping others is what sets her apart.
Sarah Ann Blocker of Live Oak completed her education and became an inspiration to a generation of Florida educators despite economic and severe educational limitations for African-Americans in the south. At only twenty-two years of age, Blocker founded Florida Memorial College (FMC), one of the most enduring testaments to African-American education in the state of Florida since 1879.
Judith Kersey was the first woman guidance systems engineer in the history of NASA Kennedy Space Center and a strong advocate for women in science and engineering. Ms. Kersey played major roles in the Apollo/Saturn, Space Shuttle and Space Station programs and rose to the position of a senior manager within NASA.
Marion P. Hammer is a nationally renowned firearms/civil rights advocate and a dedicated, effective protector of the Second Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. Elected in 1996 as the first woman President of the National Rifle Association of America, she has been a leader in championing gun safety training at the local, state and national levels.