Maryland Women's Hall of Fame

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One of the 2026 awards

The Maryland Women's Hall of Fame (MWHF) recognizes significant achievements and statewide contributions made by women who are Maryland-natives or state residents. It was established in 1985 by the Maryland Commission for Women and the Women Legislators of Maryland. Honorees are selected by an independent committee each year and are inducted in March during Women's History Month.[1][2]

Name Image Birth–Death Year Area of achievement Ref(s)
Sharon Camp (1943–2025) 2026 Women's reproductive health advocate [3]
Wendy Chun-Hoon 2026 President and executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy [3]
Annunciata Lombardi D'Alesandro (1909–1995) 2026 Political strategist, social worker, entrepreneur, and wife of Baltimore mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. [3]
Margaret Oakley Dayhoff (1925–1983) 2026 Biophysicist and pioneer in the field of bioinformatics [3]
Elda Devarie 2026 Entrepreneur and founder of E.M.D. Sales, Inc. [3]
Delores G. Kelley (b. 1936) 2026 Former state delegate (1991–1995) and state senator (1995–2023); first African American person elected to the Maryland General Assembly from Baltimore County [3]
Emily Perez (1983–2006) 2026 First African American and first Latina woman to serve as cadet command sergeant major, and the first African American female officer in U.S. military history to be killed in combat [3]
Susan Turnbull (b. 1952) 2026 Former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party and vice chair of the Democratic National Committee [3]
Donna Abbott 2025 First woman chief of a Maryland tribe in known recorded history [4]
Maggie McIntosh (b. 1947) 2025 First woman to chair the Appropriations Committee in the Maryland House of Delegates [4]
Joseline Peña-Melnyk (b. 1966) 2025 Highest-ranking Latina in the Maryland General Assembly [4]
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (b. 1951) 2025 First female lieutenant governor of Maryland [4]
Adrienne A. Jones (b. 1954) 2024 First female and first African-American Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates [5]
Susan C. Lee (b. 1954) 2024 First Asian American to serve as Maryland Secretary of State, first Asian American to be elected to the Maryland Senate, and first Chinese American and first Asian American woman to serve and be elected to the Maryland House of Delegates [6]
Brooke Lierman (b. 1979) 2024 34th Comptroller of Maryland, first female Comptroller and first woman to be elected to an independent state government office in Maryland; member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2015 to 2023 [7]
Aruna Miller (b. 1964) 2024 10th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, first immigrant elected to a statewide office; member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2010 to 2019 [8]
Nancy Pelosi (b. 1940) 2024 First woman to serve as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023 [9]
Janeen L. Birckhead (b. 1969) 2023 Brigadier General, Commander of the Maryland Army National Guard, Assistant Adjutant General, Maryland Joint Force Headquarters, Baltimore, Maryland; Deputy Commanding General-Reserve Affairs, United States Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania [10][11]
Charlotte M. Cooksey (b. 1947) 2023 District Court of Maryland, District 1, the first presiding judge of Baltimore's Mental Health Court [12]
Ana Sol Gutierrez (b. 1942) 2023 Maryland House of Delegates from District 18, first Latina elected to state office [13]
Gloria G. Lawlah (b. 1939) 2023 Secretary of the Maryland Department of Aging, Maryland state senator from the 26th district [14]
Jackie Ronne (1919–2009) 2023 Antarctic expedition (1947–48) [15]
Dorothy Blum (1924–1980) 2022 Computer pioneer, cryptanalyst [16]
Mary L. Cleave (1947–2023) 2022 American engineer and a former astronaut [17]
Gloria Richardson (1922–2021) 2022 Civil rights activist [18]
Beatrice Rodgers 2022 Community activist for people with disabilities [19]
Odessa M. Shannon (1928–2020) 2022 Founder of the Montgomery County Human Rights Hall of Fame; recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteerism from President Barack Obama [20]
Elizabeth Bobo (b. 1943) 2021 Elected to serve as the Howard County Chief Executive, served 20 years as a representative in the Maryland House of Delegates, and served on the Howard County Council. [21]
Margaret Briggs Gregory Hawkins (1877–1969) 2021 Educator, suffragist [22]
Ruby Reese Moone (b. 1938) 2021 Civil rights [23]
Nancy K. Welker (b. 1941) 2021 Physicist, expert in superconducting electronics [24]
Celeste Revillon Winans (1823–1861) 2021 Ran a soup house for the poor [25]
Victorine Quille Adams (1912–2006) 2020 Baltimore City Council [26]
Evelyn O. A. Darden 2020 Lawyer [27]
Claire L. Parkinson (b. 1948) 2020 Climate Scientist [28]
Nancy Grace Roman (1925–2018) 2020 Astronomer [29]
Leslie R. Wolfe (1943–2017) 2020 Women's rights leader [30]
Marielsa A. Bernard 2019 Senior Judge of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County [31]
Augusta T. Chissell (1880–1973) 2019 Suffragist; Vice President of Baltimore NAACP [32]
Dominique Dawes (b. 1976) 2019 Olympic champion gymnast [33]
Virginia Hall (1906–1982) 2019 Intelligence officer in Vichy France during World War II [34]
Rosa Gumataotao Rios (b. 1956) 2019 43rd Treasurer of the United States [35]
Evelyn Williams Townsend (1922–2008) 2019 Community activist; President of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center [36]
Phyllis B. Trickett (b. 1927) 2019 Community activist; equal rights [37]
Pauline Woo Tsui (1920–2018) 2019 Anti-discrimination activist; co-founder of the Organization of Chinese American Women [38]
Sandra I. Barnes 2018 Child welfare advocate; Assistant Attorney General, Maryland Department of Human Services [39]
Sandra Williams Ortega (b. 1937) 2018 Maryland's first African American woman commissioned as a U.S. Air Force Officer, community service [40]
Emily Saunders Plummer (1815–1876) 2018 Former slave [41]
Rita L. Robinson (1936–2019) 2018 Professor at Bowie State University [42]
Hattie N. Washington 2018 Professor of Education at Coppin State University [43]
Marsha Coleman-Adebayo (b. 1952) 2017 Founder of the No FEAR Institute, an organization devoted to educating the American public about federal sector discrimination and the implementation of the No FEAR Act. [44]
Carolyn Colvin (b. 1942) 2017 Deputy Commissioner for Social Security [45]
Donna Edwards (b. 1958) 2017 First African American woman to represent Maryland in the US House of Representatives [46]
Mary Garrett (1854–1915) 2017 Suffragist and philanthropist [47]
Katharine Blodgett Gebbie (1932–2016) 2017 Astrophysicist [48]
Kathleen Ledecky (b. 1997) 2017 Olympic gold medalist for swimming [49]
Helen Maroulis (b. 1991) 2017 Gold medalist 2015 World Wrestling Championships [50]
Lilian Welsh (1858–1938) 2017 Physician, educator, suffragist [51]
Sophia Arabatzis Balis (1930–2018) 2016 Professor Emeritus of the University of Maryland Dental School [52]
Oretha Bridgwaters-Simms 2016 Educator [53]
Mary C. Goodwillie (1870–1949) 2016 Established the Junior League of Baltimore [54]
Elaine Danforth Harmon (1919–2015) 2016 2009 Congressional Gold Medal for U.S. Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II [55]
Joanne Katz 2016 President of the Faculty Senate of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Institutional Review Board chair [56]
Lizette Woodworth Reese (1856–1935) 2016 Poet [57]
Beverly B. Byron (1932–2025) 2015 U.S. House of Representatives [58]
E. Gail de Planque (1945–2010) 2015 Physicist, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission [59]
Mary Feik (1924–2016) 2015 Aviation, pilot, flight engineer, master mechanic [60]
Katherine O'Brien (b. 1963) 2015 Physician, member of the World Health Organization's Scientific Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) [61]
Linda L. Singh (b. 1964) 2015 Adjutant General of the Maryland National Guard [62]
Sue Fryer Ward (1935–2014) 2015 Government service, advocate for human rights [63]
Dorothy F. Bailey 2014 Civic activist [64]
Agnes Kane Callum (1926–2015) 2014 Founding member of the Baltimore Afro American Historical Genealogic Society [65]
Renee E. Fox 2014 Executive director of the Institute for a Healthiest Maryland [66]
Susan K. Goering (b. 1952) 2014 Civil rights attorney [67]
Henrietta Lacks (1920–1951) 2014 HeLa the oldest and most commonly used human cell line came from cervical cancer cells taken from Lacks. [68]
Ann Cipriano Rees (b. 1943) 2014 Philanthropist [69]
Helen Delich Bentley (1923–2016) 2013 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 1995 [70]
Jean B. Cryor (1938–2009) 2013 Member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 15 [71]
Charlene Mickens Dukes (b. 1954) 2013 President of Prince George's Community College [72]
Ellen R. Sauerbrey (b. 1937) 2013 Former head of the United States Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration [73]
Linda A. Shevitz 2013 Equity Office Director at the Maryland State Department of Education [74]
Beatrice P. Tignor (b. 1940) 2013 Maryland House of Delegates [75]
Maureen Black (b. 1945) 2012 Physician [76]
Margaret Dunkle (b. 1947) 2012 Equal opportunities for women in athletics [77]
Nancy K. Kopp (b. 1943) 2012 Treasurer of Maryland [78]
Alice Manicur (1924–2017) 2012 Educator [79]
Diana Gribbon Motz (b. 1943) 2012 United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [80]
Gwendolyn Rooks 2012 Community service [81]
Carol W. Greider (b. 1961) 2011 Molecular biologist [82]
Barbara Holdridge (1929–2025) 2011 Co-founder Caedmon Records, founder Stemmer House Publishers [83]
Ligia Peralta (b. 1961) 2011 University of Maryland School of Medicine [84]
Gertrude Poe (1915–2017) 2011 Journalist [85]
Lucy Diggs Slowe (1885–1937) 2011 Advocate for black women [86]
June A. Willenz (1924–2020) 2011 Author, military veterans advocate; Executive Director of the American Veterans Committee (AVC) [87]
Claire M. Fraser (b. 1955) 2010 Microbiologist [88]
Anne Catharine Hoof Green (c. 1720–1775) 2010 Publisher The Maryland Gazette [89]
Irene Morgan Kirkaldy (1917–2007) 2010 Jailed in 1944 for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a Greyhound bus; 1946 Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, United States Supreme Court overturned Virginia state law requiring segregation on interstate transportation. [90]
Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps (1793–1884) 2010 Educator, publisher [91]
Bernice R. Sandler (1928–2019) 2010 Women's rights [92]
Lillie D. Shockney (b. 1956) 2010 Leader in breast cancer treatment [93]
Ilia Fehrer (1927–2007) 2009 Environmentalist [94]
Diane Griffin (1940–2024) 2009 University Distinguished Professor, and a Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, department chair from 1994 to 2015 [95]
Harriet Legum (b. 1944) 2009 Advocate for research and treatment of women's breast cancer [96]
Allyson R. Solomon (b. 1961) 2009 Brig. General, Maryland National Guard, Assistant Adjutant General, Air, Maryland National Guard [97]
Anne St. Clair Wright (1910–1993) 2009 Historic preservationist [98]
Ramona McCarthy Hawkins (1928–2018) 2008 Pharmacist [99]
Ellen Moses Heller (b. 1941) 2008 Judge [100]
Billie Holiday (1915–1959) 2008 Jazz singer [101]
Pauline Menes (1924–2009) 2008 Maryland House of Delegates [102]
Toby Orenstein (b. 1937) 2008 Patron of the arts [103]
Emily Wilson Walker (1904–2007) 2008 Physician [104]
Annette M. Deener (b. 1953) 2007 Brigadier General Maryland National Guard, Director MD Joint Staff Hdqt [105]
Sally T. Grant 2007 Volunteerism, women's right, co-founder of Maryland Women's Hall of Fame [106]
Prasanna Nair 2007 Primary Health Care physician, specifically with infants of mothers with HIV/AIDS or substance abuse issues [107]
Karen H. Rothenberg 2007 Dean, Marjorie Cook Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Law School [108]
Audrey E. Scott 2007 Community activist [109]
Susan P. Baker (b. 1930) 2006 Doctor of Public Health [110]
Liebe Sokol Diamond (1931–2017) 2006 Orthopedics [111]
Bea Gaddy (1933–2001) 2006 City Council Woman, advocate for the poor and the homeless [112]
Marilyn Hughes Gaston (b. 1939) 2006 Physician [113]
Rebecca Alban Hoffberger (b. 1952) 2006 Founder American Visionary Art Museum [114]
Grace Snively (1913–2014) 2006 Civil rights, community activism [115]
Shoshana Shoubin Cardin (1926–2018) 2005 Philanthropist, volunteerism [116]
Bessie Olive Cole (1883–1971) 2005 "First Lady of Maryland Pharmacy" [117]
Susan R. Panny (b. 1943) 2005 Physician [118]
Edyth H. Schoenrich (1919–2020) 2005 Health care [119]
Emily Edmonson (1835–1895) 2004 Freed black woman, abolitionist [120]
Nancy T. Grasmick (b. 1939) 2004 Former Maryland state Superintendent of Schools [121]
Esther McCready (1931–2020) 2004 Nurse, educator [122]
Margaret Byrd Rawson (1899–2001) 2004 Dyslexia research [123]
Vivian V. Simpson (1903–1987) 2004 Lawyer [124]
Virginia Walcott Beauchamp (1920–2019) 2003 Author, woman's advocate [125]
Edith Clarke (1883–1959) 2003 First woman employed as an electrical engineer in the United States, as well as the country's first female professor of electrical engineering [126]
Kathryn J. DuFour (1910–2005) 2003 Chief justice, Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Maryland [127]
Ruth L. Kirschstein (1926–2009) 2003 Pathologist [128]
Etta H. Maddox (1860–1933) 2003 Lawyer, suffragist [129]
Deborah A. Yow (b. 1950) 2003 Athletic Director for the University of Maryland [130]
Mabel Houze Hubbard (1936–2006) 2002 Judge, first African-American woman to serve as a judge of the District Court of Maryland [131]
Florence Peterson Kendall (1910–2006) 2002 Physical therapist [132]
Mary Young Pickersgill (1776–1857) 2002 Flag maker during the War of 1812; sewed the Star-Spangled Banner (flag) [133]
Lorraine Sheehan (1937–2009) 2002 Maryland General Assembly [134]
Kathleen Feeley (b. 1929) 2001 Former president College of Notre Dame of Maryland [135]
Misbah Khan, MD, MPH, FAAP 2001 Pediatrician, medical school teacher and researcher, health policy advisor, and medical director for numerous community health programs [136]
Charmaine Krohe 2001 Founder St. Ambrose Family Outreach Center [137]
Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921–2009) 2001 Special Olympics [138]
Sandra W. Tomlinson (1942–2000) 2001 Educator [139]
Constance Urciolo Battle (b. 1941) 2000 Pediatrician [140]
Lois Green Carr (1922–2015) 2000 Economic and social historian, specialist in the history of colonial Maryland[141] [142]
Sonia Pressman Fuentes (b. 1928) 2000 Co-founder National Organization for Women [143]
Josephine Jacobsen (1908–2003) 2000 Poet, short story writer, critic [144]
Rosetta Stith (1945–2017) 2000 Director of the Laurence G. Paquin Middle/Secondary School for Expectant Teenage Mothers [145]
Florence Riefle Bahr (1909–1998) 1999 Artist [146]
Lillian C. Compton (1884–1973) 1999 Educator [147]
Edith Houghton Hooker (1879–1948) 1999 Suffragist, first woman accepted into Johns Hopkins University Medical School [148]
Elizabeth Fran Johnson (1928–2025) 1999 Educator, volunteerism [149]
Bernice Smith White (1924–2020) 1999 Community activist, women's equality [150]
Constance Ross Beims (b. 1938) 1998 Educator [151]
Mary Katherine Goddard (1738–1816) 1998 Publisher, postmistress [152]
Elaine Ryan Hedges (1927–1997) 1998 Journalist with the Feminist Press [153]
Mary Carter Smith (1919–2007) 1998 Poet, story teller [154]
Diane L. Adams (b. 1948) 1997 Physician [155]
Sol del Ande Mendez Eaton (1932–2020) 1997 Research chemist, civil rights, women's rights, health care [156]
Catherine R. Gira (1932–2019) 1997 Educator [157]
Helen L. Koss (1922–2008) 1997 Maryland House of Delegates [158]
Rosa Ponselle (1897–1981) 1997 Opera singer, honored on a U.S. postage stamp [159]
Madeleine L. Ellicott (1856–1945) 1996 Women's suffrage [160]
Ethel Llewellyn Ennis (1932–2019) 1996 Jazz musician [161]
Mary Digges Lee (1745–1805) 1996 Provided aid to George Washington's troops [162]
Brigid G. Leventhal (1935–1994) 1996 Physician [163]
Barbara A. Robinson (b. 1938) 1996 Maryland House of Delegates [164]
Jill Moss Greenberg (b. 1943) 1995 Volunteerism, civil rights, women's rights [165]
Mary L. Nock (1903–1987) 1995 Maryland General Assembly [166]
Amanda Taylor Norris (1849–1944) 1995 First woman physician in Maryland [167]
Nettie Barcroft Taylor (1914–2016) 1995 Library services [168]
Euphemia Mary Goldsborough Willson (1836–1896) 1995 Nurse during the Civil War [169]
Rosalie Silber Abrams (1916–2009) 1994 Maryland House of Delegates, Maryland State Senate, first female and Jewish majority leader of the state Senate. [170]
Mary Elizabeth Banning (1822–1903) 1994 Mycologist, painter, naturalist [171]
Harriet Elizabeth Brown (1907–2009) 1994 1937 legal case against Calvert County; was one of the foundations for the Maryland Teachers Pay Equalization Law [172]
Constance A. Morella (b. 1931) 1994 United States Ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [173]
Mary Adelaide Nutting (1858–1948) 1994 Nursing educator [174]
Rosalyn Blake Bell (b. 1923) 1993 Judge [175]
Lucille Clifton (1936–2010) 1993 Poet Laureate of Maryland [176]
Elizabeth King Ellicott (1858–1914) 1993 Women's suffrage [177]
Jean Spencer (1933–1992) 1993 Deputy Chancellor of the University of Maryland system [178]
Martha Ellicott Tyson (1795–1873) 1993 Quaker elder, abolitionist, author [179]
Annie Armstrong (1850–1938) 1992 Missionary [180]
Anna Ella Carroll (1815–1894) 1992 Politician [181]
Rose Kushner (1929–1990) 1992 Journalist, author of Why Me? What Every Woman Should Know About Breast Cancer to Save Her Life [182]
Margaret Collins Schweinhaut (1904–1997) 1992 Maryland State Senate [183]
Carmen Delgado Votaw (1934–2017) 1992 Civil rights [184]
Rita Colwell (b. 1934) 1991 Environmental microbiologist [185]
Mary Elizabeth Lange (1789–1882) 1991 Foundress of the Oblate Sisters of Providence [186]
Claire McCardell (1905–1958) 1991 Fashion designer [187]
Bessie Moses (1893–1965) 1991 Gynecologist and obstetrician who advocated birth control practices for women [188]
Alta Schrock (1911–2001) 1991 First Mennonite woman in the United States to receive her doctoral degree [189]
Lucille Maurer (1922–1996) 1990 Former Maryland Treasurer [190]
Enolia Pettigen McMillan (1904–2006) 1990 First female national president NAACP [191]
Pauli Murray (1910–1985) 1990 Activist, civil rights, women's rights [192]
Adele Hagner Stamp (1893–1974) 1990 Dean of Women Emeritus from the University's Board of Regents [193]
Mary Lemist Titcomb (1857–1932) 1990 Library services [194]
Bertha Sheppard Adkins (1906–1983) 1989 Under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under Dwight D. Eisenhower [195]
Eugenie Clark (1922–2015) 1989 Ichthyologist [196]
Lavinia Margaret Engle (1892–1979) 1989 Maryland House of Delegates, Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, organizer, National American Women's Suffrage Association, director and co-founder Maryland League of Women Voters, various positions within the Social Security Administration and the Welfare Administration. [197]
Lena King Lee (1906–2006) 1989 Maryland House of Delegates [198]
Estelle R. Ramey (1917–2006) 1989 Professor George Washington University Medical School [199]
Barbara A. Mikulski (b. 1936) 1988 United States Senate [200]
Sadie Kneller Miller (1867–1920) 1988 Photojournalist [201]
Mary Risteau (1890–1978) 1988 Maryland House of Delegates [202]
Martha Carey Thomas (1857–1935) 1988 Educator and feminist [203]
Verda Freeman Welcome (1907–1990) 1988 Maryland State Senate [204]
Clara Barton (1821–1912) 1987 Founder American Red Cross [205]
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1824–1911) 1987 Author, poet, abolitionist [206]
Juanita Jackson Mitchell (1913–1992) 1987 First African American woman to practice law in Maryland [207]
Mary Shaw Shorb (1907–1990) 1987 Research scientist [208]
Helen Brooke Taussig (1898–1986) 1987 Founded the field of pediatric cardiology [209]
Lillie Caroll Jackson (1889–1975) 1986 Civil rights advocate, organized Baltimore branch of NAACP [210]
Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774–1821) 1986 Roman Catholic Saint [211]
Henrietta Szold (1860–1945) 1986 Educator, first president of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America [212]
Jeanette Rosner Wolman (1902–1999) 1986 Lawyer and woman's rights advocate [213]
Hiltgunt Zassenhaus (1916–2004) 1986 German philologist who worked as an interpreter in Hamburg, Germany during World War II, and later as a physician in the United States [214]
Margaret Brent (c.1601–c.1671) 1985 Estate owner, lawyer [215]
Rachel Carson (1907–1964) 1985 Author Silent Spring [216]
Rita C. Davidson (1928–1984) 1985 First woman on Maryland Court of Appeals [217]
Gladys Noon Spellman (1918–1988) 1985 United States House of Representatives [218]
Harriet Ross Tubman (1820–1913) 1985 Abolitionist; escaped slave and conductor on the Underground Railroad, suffragist [219]

Further reading

References

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