31 Days of Notable Women- Marilyn Diaz, first female cop in Pasadena CA!

When Marilyn Diaz joined the Pasadena Police Department in 1974, she had to change into her uniform in the bathroom. There was no women’s locker room — because she was the department’s first female patrol officer. In March 2006, she was sworn in as chief of the Sierra Madre Police Department, becoming the first woman to head a city police department in Los Angeles County and one of fewer than a dozen female chiefs of municipal departments in California.

Source: http://articles.latimes.com/2006/mar/28/local/me-chief28

31 Days of Notable Women- Dolores Huerta, advocate for farm workers

Meet an advocate for farm workers who isn’t a man! For more than 50 years, activist Dolores Huerta has worked tirelessly to advance the cause of marginalized communities. She is internationally recognized as a feminist, a farm worker advocate, a gay rights activist, and a labor leader among other things.

Source cited: http://doloreshuerta.org/

31 Days of Notable Women-Lisa Leslie, first WNBA slam dunk

Lisa Deshaun Leslie-Lockwood (born July 7, 1972) is a former American professional women’s basketball player in the WNBA. She is a three-time WNBA MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medal winner. Leslie, a 6’5″ center, is the first player to dunk in a WNBA game. She was considered a pioneer and cornerstone of the league during her WNBA career. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history.

Source cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Leslie

31 Days of Notable Women- Kathryn Bigelow, first female director to win an Oscar

Kathryn Bigelow, who directed Zero Dark Thirty, was the first woman to win an Oscar as best director.

Source cited:
http://www.care2.com/causes/where-are-all-the-minority-directors-at-the-oscars.html#ixzz2HxRepmmI

31 Days of Notable Women- Margaret Heckler, freedom fighter

Margaret Mary O’Shaughnessy Heckler (born June 21, 1931), Republican politician from Massachusetts served in the United States House of Representatives for eight terms, from 1967 until 1983. She became the Secretary of Health and Human Services and Ambassador to Ireland under President Ronald Reagan. She was an ardent advocate of women’s rights and the ERA.

Source: http://womenincongress.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=104

31 Days of Notable Women-Anna Garlin Spencer, first woman minister of Rhode Island

“It is an old error of man to forget to put quotation marks where he borrows from a woman’s brain!” – Anna Garlin Spencer

April 17th is the anniversary of the birth of Anna Carpenter Garlin Spencer (1851 – 1931), minister, feminist, educator, pacifist, reformer and writer on ethics and social problems.

“She was the first woman in Rhode Island to be ordained and served as the minister of the Bell Street Chapel in Providence.”

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Garlin_Spencer

 

31 Days of Notable Women- Sarah Culberson, woman world leader, actress

Sarah Culberson, Co-Founder and president of the Kposowa Foundation, was honored at the 50/50 Leadership & UNA’s 4^th Annual Women of the World Awards and World Leadership Day. Culberson was born in Morgantown, West Virginia to an African father and a white mother. As an infant, she was given up to foster care, adopted by a loving white family, and grew up contemplating her identity and her biracial roots. In early childhood, Culberson fell in love with theatre and later won an acting scholarship to attend West Virginia University. She earned her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and joined the Los Angeles acting community.

Source: http://www3.saintmarys.edu/news-events/news-coverage/sarah-culberson-is-multiethnic-commencement-celebration-speaker-2012

31 Days of Notable Women- Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukrainian Prime Minister

Yulia Tymoshenko, the charismatic Orange Revolution heroine, served as prime minister and was running for president of the Ukraine, fell in love with the white tiger, Tigryulia, and made the animal a key image of her campaign. Afterward, Tigryulia was placed in the Yalta zoo and a Tymoshenko ally brought in the Bengal tiger, Patrice, from France to keep her company, but the two didn’t hit it off at first. Tymoshenko lost the 2010 presidential election to her longtime foe, the Orange Revolution nemesis President Viktor Yanukovych, and was sentenced to seven years in prison in October on charges of abuse of office. The trial was condemned by the West as politically motivated.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/yulia-tymoshenkos-tigress-cubs_n_1508900.html

31 Days of Notable Women-Carmen Mary Lawrence, Australia’s first Premier

“We all construct world views that give us a sense of meaning. Mostly it is about belonging to a group and having a sense of identity and purpose.” – Carmen Lawrence

Carmen Mary Lawrence (born March 2, 1948) is a retired Australian politician; a former Premier of Western Australia and the first woman to become Premier of a State of the Commonwealth of Australia.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Lawrence

31 Days of Notable Women- Dove Pressnall, women in leadership positions

Dove Pressnall, Founder and Executive Director of Survivors’ Truths; was honored at the  50/50 Leadership & UNA’s 4^th Annual Women of the World Awards and World Leadership Day. A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Dove also brings a degree in Business Administration and extensive program coordination and management expertise to the organization. She is a member of a number of professional organizations and has been a presenter on social justice-related topics at conferences around the world.

Source: http://survivorstruths.org/our-team/directors