# Iowa Women's Hall of Fame

The Iowa Women's Hall of Fame was created to acknowledge the accomplishments of female role models associated with the U.S. state of Iowa, and is an endeavor of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW).

## History

In 1972, the state of Iowa created the ICSW to oversee women's issues, with Cristine Swanson Wilson as its first chair. Since the Hall of Fame's beginnings in 1975, four annual nominees are inducted by the ICSW and the Governor of Iowa in a public ceremony. The event is held on Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the August 26, 1920 ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that gave women the right to vote. The honorees are nominated by the public via online forms available on the ICSW website. The ICSW also created the annual "Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice" in 1982. Wilson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.
The initial inductees were Iowa's first female Secretary of State Ola Babcock Miller, who created the Iowa State Patrol; president and founding member of Iowa Woman Suffrage Association, Amelia Bloomer; president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and founder of the League of Women Voters, Carrie Chapman Catt; and Annie Turner Wittenmyer who founded the Women's Christian Temperance Union, formed an aid society to support Union Army soldiers during the Civil War, as well as helped to pass pension legislation for nurses in that same war. Catt was the first inductee.
In the ensuing years, the Hall of Fame ranks were joined by women from all walks of life. As of the 2017 inductee ceremonies, there have been 172 women inducted. The list of inductees includes civil rights pioneers, global issues leaders, community volunteer workers, elected officials, artists, the medical profession and a large cornucopia of contributions by the state's women. Two First Ladies of the United States, Lou Henry Hoover and Mamie Eisenhower were added in 1987 and 1993 respectively. Environmental preservationist Gladys B. Black made the list in 1985. Mycologist Lois Hattery Tiffany was added in 1991 for her career of educating the public about mushrooms. The military is represented by Women's Army Corps veteran Rosa Cunningham in 1980 and by former United States Army Judge Advocate General officer Phyllis Propp Fowle in 2001. Vietnam War era anti-war activist Peg Mullen was inducted in 1997. Pulitzer Prize winner Susan Glaspell was a 1976 inductee. Hualing Nieh Engle, who in 1976 was co-nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, became a Hall of Fame inductee in 2008. Cattle breeder Mary Garst was added in 1981. Several women farmers are on the list, and added in 2001 was attorney Phyllis Josephine Hughes who had also been honored by Pope John Paul II for her legal assistance to the farm community.

## Inductees

Iowa Women's Hall of Fame :
| Name | Birth–Death | Year | Area of achievement |
| Romonda D. Belcher | (b. 1968) | 2023 | District Associate Judge |
| Paula S. Dierenfeld | (b. 1954) | 2023 | Mayor of Johnston, Iowa |
| Bridget D. Reed | (b. 1977) | 2023 | Registered nurse |
| Elizabeth Bates Cowles | (1900–1976) | 2022 | Civic activist |
| Mary Elaine Richards | (b. 1936) | 2022 | County attorney, activist |
| Laurie Schipper | (b. 1962) | 2022 | Executive director of the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence |
| Mary Swander | (b. 1950) | 2022 | 2009-2019 Poet Laureate of Iowa |
| Cornelia Clarke | (1884–1936) | 2021 | Nature photographer, academic contributor, book illustrator |
| Jan Mitchell | | 2021 | Educator, 35-year veteran of the Marshalltown Community School District |
| Donna Reed | (1921–1986) | 2021 | Actress, 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| Roxann Marie Ryan | (b. 1955) | 2021 | Iowa Commissioner of Public Safety, Assistant Iowa Attorney General |
| Mark Cady | (1953–2019) | 2020 | Chief Justice, Iowa Supreme Court from 2011 to 2019, wrote the Varnum v. Brien opinion that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa in 2009. |
| Betty Jean Dillavou Durden | (1923–2017) | 2020 | WWII WAVES US Navy veteran, one of the founders of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women |
| Ann Fry Jorgensen | (b. 1939/1940) | 2020 | Agriculture |
| Helen Miller | (b. 1945) | 2020 | Former Iowa State Representative |
| Mary Elizabeth Young Bear | (b. 1959) | 2020 | Meskwaki native American birth name "Bo na bi go". Artist and art conservator, educator, cultural historian, civic leader and political activist, humanitarian, community leader and mentor |
| Ruth B. Klotz | (1922–2020) | 2019 | Attorney, first probate judge in the State of Iowa in 1978; former Special Counsel to the Iowa Department of Revenue |
| Mona Kadel Martin | (b. 1934) | 2019 | Iowa House of Representatives |
| Ione Genevieve Shadduck | (1923–2022) | 2019 | Founding member of both the Iowa Women Attorneys Association and the Iowa Women's Political Caucus; member of the Governor's Committee to remove sexism from the Iowa Code |
| Florine Mary Schulte Swanson | (b. 1942) | 2019 | Teacher, coach, organizer |
| Dianne G. Bystrom | (b. 1953) | 2018 | Director of Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University |
| Ruth Harkin | (b. 1944) | 2018 | Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement at Drake University |
| Jean Y. Jew | (b. 1948) | 2018 | University of Iowa’s College of Medicine. Won a landmark harassment legal case against the University of Iowa. Jean Y. Jew Human Rights Award named in her honor. |
| Peggy Whitson | (b. 1960) | 2018 | Astronaut |
| Jane Boyd | (1869–1932) | 2017 | Social worker, namesake of the Jane Boyd Organization |
| Joni Ernst | (b. 1970) | 2017 | United States Senator from Iowa |
| Christine Hensley | (b. 1949) | 2017 | Des Moines City Council |
| Kim Reynolds | (b. 1959) | 2017 | Governor of Iowa |
| Grace Amemiya | (1920–2017) | 2016 | Nurse |
| Angela Connolly | (b. 1952) | 2016 | Polk County Board of Supervisors |
| Michele Devlin | | 2016 | Professor of Global Public Health and Chair of the Division of Health Promotion and Education at the University of Northern Iowa and Director of the Iowa Center on Health Disparities |
| Viola Gibson | (1905–1989) | 2016 | Founder of Cedar Rapids Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) |
| Joyce Boone Chapman | | 2015 | First female president of the West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, the West Des Moines Development Corp. and Rotary Club of Des Moines Foundation. The first female executive vice president at West Bank, director of West Bank since 1975. |
| Michelle D. Johnson | (b. 1959) | 2015 | Lt. General and superintendent of the United States Department of Defense Service Academy, the first woman to serve in that position |
| Linda K. Neuman | (b. 1948) | 2015 | Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court |
| Marsha Ternus | (b. 1951) | 2015 | Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court |
| Renee Hardman | (b. 1961) | 2014 | Owner of the human resources business Hardman Consulting |
| Mary O'Keefe | (b. 1956) | 2014 | Former vice president and marketing chief at Principal Financial Group |
| Maggie Tinsman | (b. 1936) | 2014 | Former Iowa State Senator |
| Christie Vilsack | (b. 1950) | 2014 | Literacy advocate and politician |
| Mary Louise Sconiers Chapman | (b. 1948) | 2013 | First woman to be the executive dean at Des Moines Area Community College |
| Patty Judge | (b. 1943) | 2013 | 46th Lieutenant Governor of Iowa and Secretary of Agriculture for Iowa |
| Barbara Marie Mack | (1952–2012) | 2013 | Journalism professor at Iowa State University; first female corporate secretary and general counsel for the Des Moines Register and Tribune |
| Deborah Ann Turner | (1950–2024) | 2013 | First African American woman to be certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in gynecologic oncology |
| Judith A. Conlin | (b. 1941) | 2012 | Educator and co-founder of the Iowa Women's Studies Association |
| Teresa Marie Hernandez | (b. 1956) | 2012 | Director of the Chrysalis Foundation |
| Nancy Dunkel | (b. 1955) | 2011 | Banking industry, mentor to women in business |
| Jacqueline Easley McGhee | (b. 1957) | 2011 | Community activist |
| Charlotte Bowers Nelson | (1931–2023) | 2011 | Civic leader |
| Mildred Hope Fisher Wood | (1920–2014) | 2011 | Physician, learning disabilities |
| Julia Addington | (1829–1875) | 2010 | Elected 1869 Superintendent of Schools in Mitchell County, first woman in Iowa elected to office |
| Mary Lundby | (1948–2009) | 2010 | Iowa State Senator |
| Ruby L. Sutton | (1932–2015) | 2010 | African American civil rights worker, community civic activist |
| Charese Yanney | (b. 1949) | 2010 | Business woman, fund raiser and civic leader, helped launch Women's Power Lunch and Women United |
| Linda K. Kerber | (b. 1940) | 2009 | Historian |
| Mary E. Kramer | (b. 1935) | 2009 | Iowa State Senator |
| Adeline Lavonne McCormick-Ohnemus | (1921–1996) | 2009 | Osteopath, rural doctor and county Medical Examiner |
| Lyn Stinson | (b. 1937) | 2009 | Community activist |
| Joan Urenn Axel | (b. 1943) | 2008 | Lawyer, civic leader; founding member of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics |
| Barbara Moorman Boatwright | (1924–2012) | 2008 | Worked to help women run for political office; helped bring global peacemakers to Iowa; Boatwright Political Action Award established in her name by the Iowa Association of Social Workers |
| Hualing Nieh Engle | (1925–2024) | 2008 | Novelist, poet, nominated (with her husband) for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 |
| Marilyn A. Russell | (1932–2007) | 2008 | Executive Director of Visiting Nurses in Des Moines |
| Ruth Ann Gaines | (b. 1947) | 2007 | Educator, created Sisters for Success mentoring program. Inductee of National Teachers Hall of Fame and Iowa African American Hall of Fame |
| Emma J. Harvat | (1870–1949) | 2007 | Pioneer in government service; Emma J. Harvat and Mary E. Stach House is on the NRHP in Johnson County |
| Ada Hayden | (1884–1950) | 2007 | Botanist who added 10,000 specimens to the state herbarium |
| Connie Wimer | (b. 1932) | 2007 | Community leader, publisher, business woman |
| Jeanette Eyerly | (1908–2008) | 2006 | Young adult fiction writer |
| Christine Grant | (1936–2021) | 2006 | University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame, Athlete and athletic director, University of Iowa |
| Dorothy Marion Bouleris Paul | (1927–2024) | 2006 | Human rights |
| Margaret Wragg Sloss | (1901–1979) | 2006 | Veterinary medicine |
| Johnie Wright Hammond | (b. 1932) | 2005 | Politician, civic leader |
| Brenda LaBlanc | (1928–2020) | 2005 | Advocate for low-income needy |
| Susan Schechter | (1946–2004) | 2005 | Social worker |
| Jo Ann McIntose Zimmerman | (1936–2019) | 2005 | 43rd Lieutenant Governor of Iowa |
| Joy Cole Corning | (1932–2017) | 2004 | 44th Lieutenant Governor of Iowa |
| Mary Ann Evans | (b. 1939) | 2004 | Co-founder Iowa State University's International Women in Science and Engineering, and ISU Program for Women in Science and Engineering |
| Ruth Cole Nash | (1922–2002) | 2004 | Social activist, patron of the arts |
| Sally J. Pederson | (b. 1951) | 2004 | 45th Lieutenant Governor of Iowa |
| Diana L. Findley | (b. 1948) | 2003 | Established Iowa CareGivers Association |
| May E. Francis | (1880–1968) | 2003 | Educator and author of Jim Bowie's Lost Mine |
| Jean Hall Lloyd-Jones | (b. 1929) | 2003 | Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives |
| Margaret Mary Toomey | (b. 1937) | 2003 | Volunteerism |
| Bonnie Campbell | (b. 1948) | 2002 | 32nd Iowa Attorney General |
| Sue Ellen Follon | (1942–1998) | 2002 | Executive director Iowa Commission on Status of Women |
| Alice Yost Jordan | (1916–2012) | 2002 | Musical composer |
| Shirley Ruedy | (b. 1936) | 2002 | Journalist |
| Ursula Delworth | (1934–2000) | 2001 | Psychologist, academician |
| Phyllis L. Propp Fowle | (1908–2000) | 2001 | First female in the United States Army to serve as an officer with the Judge Advocate General, and the only female in that position deployed overseas in World War II |
| Phyllis Josephine Hughes | (1912–2005) | 2001 | Honored by Pope John Paul II for legal aid to farmers; Democratic Party activist; novelist |
| Ann Dearing Holtgren Pellegreno | (b. 1937) | 2001 | Musician |
| Betty Jean "Beje" Walker Clark | (1920–2005) | 2000 | Public service, Beje Clark Residential Center bears her name |
| Denise O'Brien | (b. 1949) | 2000 | Organic farmer; founder of Women, Food and Agriculture Network, represented farmers at the United Nations, serves on many coalitions representing rural women |
| Adeline Morrison Swain | (1820–1899) | 2000 | Women's rights |
| Margaret Boeye Swanson | (1919–2011) | 2000 | Volunteerism |
| Mary Jaylene Berg | (1950–2004) | 1999 | Professor of pharmacy, advocate of women in health careers and pharmacy |
| Rosa Maria Escudé de Findlay | (1936–2019) | 1999 | Latino rights advocate |
| Helen Navran Stein | (1923–2010) | 1999 | Neighborhood cooperation, working with the blind |
| Elaine Eisfelder Szymoniak | (1920–2009) | 1999 | Iowa State Senator |
| Bess Streeter Aldrich | (1881–1954) | 1998 | Author |
| Janice Ann Beran | (b. 1931) | 1998 | Educator, community and church leader |
| Lynn Germain Cutler | (b. 1938) | 1998 | Political worker and organizer |
| Maude Esther White | (1913–2003) | 1998 | Educator, volunteer |
| Charlotte Hughes Bruner | (1917–1999) | 1997 | Pioneer for African women writers |
| Margaret "Peg" Mullen | (1917–2009) | 1997 | Vietnam War era anti-war activist |
| Annie Nowlin Savery | (1831–1891) | 1997 | Women's suffrage |
| Beulah E. Webb | (1895–1998) | 1997 | African American civic organizer |
| Meridel Le Sueur | (1900–1996) | 1996 | Writer |
| Joan Liffring-Zug Bourret | (1929–2022) | 1996 | Photojournalist who documented 1950s civil rights movement in Cedar Rapids |
| Janette Stevenson Murray | (1874–1967) | 1996 | Educator, voting rights for women, civic leader |
| Mary E Wood | (1902–1998) | 1996 | Business leader, YWCA executive |
| Sue M. Wilson Brown | (1877–1941) | 1995 | Civil rights advocate |
| Mary E. Domingues Campos | (b. 1929) | 1995 | Human rights advocate |
| Gertrude Dieken | (1910–2002) | 1995 | Economist, journalist |
| Rowena Edson Stevens | (1852–1918) | 1995 | Women's suffrage |
| Mildred Wirt Benson | (1905–2002) | 1994 | Children's author who helped develop Nancy Drew books; pilot and journalist |
| Lois Eichacker | (1932–2018) | 1994 | Advocate for disadvantaged, advocate for economic development |
| Gertrude Durden Rush | (1880–1962) | 1994 | First African American female lawyer in Iowa |
| Evelyne Jobe Villines | (1930–2017) | 1994 | Political activist |
| Julia Faltinson Anderson | (1919–2012) | 1993 | Global community worker, included involvement with the Peace Corps and UNESCO |
| Mamie Doud Eisenhower | (1896–1979) | 1993 | First Lady of the United States |
| Phebe W. Sudlow | (1831–1922) | 1993 | Educator |
| Jean Adeline Morgan Wanatee | (1910–1996) | 1993 | First woman elected to the Meskwaki tribal council |
| Virginia Harper | (1929–1997) | 1992 | African American pioneer of integration |
| Helen Brown Henderson | (1919–1997) | 1992 | Advocate for the mentally challenged |
| Eve Schmoll Rubenstein | (1907–1993) | 1992 | Broadcaster |
| Mary Beaumont Welch | (1841–1923) | 1992 | Women's rights, home economics |
| Mabel Lossing Jones | (1878–1978) | 1991 | Educator spent her career teaching in India as the request of the Methodist Episcopal Church |
| Mary Louise Duncan Putnam | (1832–1903) | 1991 | Helped develop the Davenport Academy of Sciences |
| Marilyn E. Staples | (1926–2022) | 1991 | Volunteerism |
| Lois Hattery Tiffany | (1924–2009) | 1991 | Mycologist, educating the public on mushrooms |
| Mary Jane Coggeshall | (1836–1937) | 1990 | Carrie Chapman Catt nicknamed Coggeshall "The Mother of Woman's Suffrage in Iowa" |
| Merle Wilna Fleming | (1926–2006) | 1990 | Civil rights and education reform |
| Betty Jean Furgerson | (1927–2018) | 1990 | Advocate for leadership skills, human rights, civil rights |
| Glenda Gates Riley | (b. 1938) | 1990 | Historian, women's advocate |
| Nancy Maria Hill | (1833–1919) | 1989 | Civil War nurse who became a doctor; advocated for pregnant women and children |
| Georgia Rogers Sievers | (1924–2014) | 1989 | Community activist |
| Ruth Wildman Swenson | (1924–2018) | 1989 | Scientist, encouraging women to enter science professions |
| Cristine Swanson Wilson | (1945–1991) | 1989 | Women's rights |
| A. Lillian Edmunds | (1892–1955) | 1988 | African American advocate for children and youth |
| Twila Parker Lummer | (1917–2016) | 1988 | Advocate of care and education for pregnant teenagers |
| Marilyn O. Murphy | (1921–2012) | 1988 | Volunteerism; civic leader |
| Sister Patricia Clare Sullivan | (1928–2018) | 1988 | Health care |
| Jolly Ann Horton Davidson | (1930–2023) | 1987 | Educator, member of various public broadcasting boards and committees |
| Gwendolyn Wilson Fowler | (1907–1997) | 1987 | First licensed African American woman pharmacist in Iowa |
| Lou Henry Hoover | (1874–1944) | 1987 | First Lady of the United States |
| Nellie Verne Walker | (1874–1973) | 1987 | Sculptor |
| Marguerite Esters Cothorn | (1909–1999) | 1986 | African American musician and civic leader |
| Willie Stevenson Glanton | (1922–2017) | 1986 | First African American woman elected to the Iowa State Legislature |
| Jessie M. Parker | (1879–1959) | 1986 | Educator |
| Dorothy Schramm | (1909–2006) | 1986 | Global affairs |
| Gladys B. Black | (1909–1998) | 1985 | Ornithologist and environmental preservationist |
| Edna M. Griffin | (1909–2000) | 1985 | 1948 State of Iowa v. Katz, civil rights landmark ruling |
| Anna B. Lawther | (1872–1957) | 1985 | Advocate for voting rights, women's education |
| Alice Van Wert Murray | (1912–2014) | 1985 | Farmer, community leadership, National Safety Council, Associated Country Women of the World Conference, Living History Farms |
| Fannie R. Buchanan | (1875–1957) | 1984 | Music promoter and organizer |
| Mary Frances Clarke | (1803–1887) | 1984 | Founder of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
| Mary Louise Petersen | (1932–2011) | 1984 | Volunteerism |
| Edith Rose Murphy Sackett | (1901–1987) | 1984 | Volunteerism |
| Virginia Bedell | (1895–1975) | 1983 | First United States female serving on a regularly appointed parole board |
| Evelyn K. Scott Davis | (1921–2001) | 1983 | Advocate early childhood education |
| Beverly George Everett | (1926–2001) | 1983 | Advocate for women's equality |
| Helen LeBaron Hilton | (1910–1993) | 1983 | Public service |
| Peg Stair Anderson | (b. 1928) | 1982 | State chair Iowa Women's Political Caucus, served on numerous boards and commissions |
| Ruth Bluford Anderson | (1921–2013) | 1982 | Author, university professor, civic leader |
| Pearl Hogrefe | (1889–1977) | 1982 | Scholar, author, educator |
| Jeanne Montgomery Smith | (1917–2015) | 1982 | Physician |
| Mary Newbury Adams | (1837–1901) | 1981 | Founded Northern Iowa Suffrage Association, founded Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs |
| Roxanne Barton Conlin | (b. 1944) | 1981 | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, Assistant Attorney General of Iowa |
| Mary Garst | (1928–2014) | 1981 | Cattle breeder, state director Iowa Beef Improvement Assn, president Iowa Simmental Cattle Assn, served on many organizations, including League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood of Iowa, and Iowa Children's and Family Services |
| Louise Rosenfield Noun | (1908–2002) | 1981 | Community activist, patron of the arts |
| Rosa Cunningham | (1890–1987) | 1980 | Served in the Women's Army Corps in World War II, women's rights advocate |
| Mary Grefe | (1922–2018) | 1980 | Educator, consultant |
| Arabella Mansfield | (1846–1911) | 1980 | First female lawyer in the United States |
| Catherine G. Williams | (1914–2020) | 1980 | Social worker |
| Minnette Doderer | (1923–2005) | 1979 | Iowa House of Representatives, advocate for women's rights |
| Mabel Lee | (1886–1985) | 1979 | Physical education |
| Mary Jane Neville Odell | (1923–2010) | 1979 | Broadcaster |
| Louise Rosenfeld | (1906–1990) | 1979 | USDAHome economics extension agent |
| Jacqueline Day | (1918–2002) | 1978 | Civic leader, public relations officer for Veterans Administration, part of Congressional fact finding team to Vietnam during war |
| Dorothy Houghton | (1890–1972) | 1978 | Director of the Office of Refugees, Migratory and Voluntary Assistance during the Eisenhower Administration |
| Carolyn Pendray | (1881–1958) | 1978 | Iowa House of Representatives; first female in the state legislature |
| Ruth Suckow | (1892–1960) | 1978 | Author |
| Jessie Binford | (1876–1966) | 1977 | Juvenile Protective Association leadership, social worker and advocate for Hull House |
| Jessie Field Shambaugh | (1881–1971) | 1977 | Known as "The mother of 4-H clubs" |
| Ida B. Wise | (1871–1952) | 1977 | Suffragette, National president Women's Christian Temperance Union, served on White House Conference on Child Health and Protection during Herbert Hoover administration. |
| Mary Louise Smith | (1914–1997) | 1977 | First female Chair of the RNC |
| Susan Glaspell | (1876–1948) | 1976 | 1931 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Alison's House |
| Cora Bussey Hillis | (1858–1924) | 1976 | Helped organize the Iowa Child Welfare Association |
| Agnes Samuelson | (1897–1963) | 1976 | Educator |
| Ruth Buxton Sayre | (1896–1980) | 1976 | Farm spokeswoman, co-founder Association Country Women of the World, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower both appointed her to Presidential positions. |
| Amelia Jenks Bloomer | (1818–1894) | 1975 | President and founding member of Iowa Woman Suffrage Association |
| Carrie Chapman Catt | (1859–1947) | 1975 | President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, founder of the League of Women Voters |
| Ola Babcock Miller | (1872–1937) | 1975 | First female Iowa Secretary of State; instituted the Iowa State Patrol; Ola Babcock Miller Building named in her honor |
| Annie Wittenmyer | (1827–1900) | 1975 | Established the Keokuk Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society to assist Union Army soldiers during the Civil War. Assisted with passage of an 1892 bill to give pensions to Civil War nurses. Founder and President of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. |