# Arizona Women's Hall of Fame

The Arizona Women's Hall of Fame recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Arizona for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. In 1979, the office of Governor Bruce Babbitt worked with the Arizona Women's Commission to create the Hall of Fame. The first inductees were in October 1981. During its first decade, the Hall of Fame was overseen by the Arizona Historical Society and the Arizona Department of Library, Archives and Public Records. A steering committee would each year select a varying number of women to be inducted. The 1991 inclusion of Planned Parenthood creator Margaret Sanger resulted in disapproval being heard from some in the Arizona Legislature, and funding dried up. With the lone exception of María Urquides in 1994, there were no Hall of Fame inductees for over a decade. Inductions finally resumed in 2002, when the Hall of Fame has only inducted new honorees every two years. The award returned to being annual in 2018.
In 2023, AZWHF created a scholarship awarded to an individual pursuing a degree in a museum program or a history discipline with an emphasis on women.
As of 2024, sponsorship of the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame is provided by Arizona Humanities, the Arizona Secretary of State, the Arizona State Capital Museum, Arizona State Libraries and Archives, Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park, SRP, Arizona Community Foundation, PBS - Horizonte, the Arizona Historical Society, C.L. Russell, and Front Doors.

## Inductees

Arizona Women's Hall of Fame :
| Name | Birth–Death | Year | Area of achievement |
| Rosa Bruce | (-2017) | 2025 | Casa Grande housing director |
| Lillian Piñon Carrillo | | 2025 | |
| Dora Perry | (1926–2022) | 2025 | artist |
| Angela Ruíz Tewksbury | (1926–2011) | 2025 | activist and first Latina to serve on the Globe Unified School District Board of Education |
| Myra Dinnerstein | (1934-) | 2025 | founding director of the women's studies program at the University of Arizona |
| Gabby Giffords | (1970-) | 2025 | politician and gun control activist |
| Socorro Hernandez-Bernasconi | | 2025 | activist |
| Josephine Pete | | 2025 | activist and educator |
| Ofelia Zepeda | (1952-) | 2025 | professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona known for her efforts in the preservation of and promotion of literacy in Tohono O'odham |
| LaVerne Williams | (1922–2018) | 2023 | Bisbee politician and community organizer |
| Eleanor Ragsdale | (1926–1998) | 2023 | American civil rights activist |
| Theodora Marsh | (1867–1936) | 2023 | Businesswoman and politician |
| Terri Cruz | (1927–2017) | 2023 | Prominent community advocate and activist |
| Octaviana J. Trujillo | | 2023 | Activist bringing educational reform and change to indigenous people of Arizona |
| Emma Torres | | 2023 | Co-founder and executive director of Campesinos Sin Fronteras |
| Denise Resnik | | 2023 | President/CEO of First Place AZ, co-founder of the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, and founder and CEO of DRA Collective |
| Diana Yazzie Devine | | 2023 | CEO of Native American Connections |
| Dosia Carlson | (1930–2021) | 2022 | Pastor, composer of religious hymns, disability and geriatric rights advocate, professor, and writer |
| Sheila Grinell | | 2022 | Science communication and co-developer of the concept of interactive concept museums |
| Edna Landin | (1897–1967) | 2022 | Led the revitalization of Tombstone, Arizona |
| Janet Napolitano | (b. 1957) | 2022 | 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security, and president of the University of California |
| Victoria Mary Stephens | (b. 1951) | 2022 | First Native American woman to earn a doctor of medicine degree in the state of Arizona and orthopedic surgeon |
| Pearl Tang | (1922–2021) | 2022 | First Asian-American physician who began pre-natal clinics, maternity, and infant care that greatly decreased infant mortality in Arizona |
| Barbara Barrett | (1950-) | 2021 | Political advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, a member of the U.S. Afghan Women's Council and President of the International Women's Forum |
| Armida Guerena Bittner | (1938–2022) | 2021 | Educator |
| Mary Black | (1950–2020) | 2021 | Founder and CEO of Black Family & Child Services |
| Margie Emmerman | | 2021 | Executive Director of the Arizona Mexico Commission, Policy Advisor for Latin America and Mexico, Director of Tourism and Director of the Department of Commerce |
| Jane Dee Hull | (1925–2020) | 2021 | Governor of Arizona |
| Gerda Weissmann Klein | (1924–2022) | 2021 | Holocaust survivor |
| Betsey Bayless | (b. 1944) | 2020 | Arizona Secretary of State |
| Jana Bommersbach | (1945–2024) | 2020 | Journalist |
| Betty Fairfax | (1918–2010) | 2020 | Philanthropist see Betty H. Fairfax High School |
| Jean E. Fairfax | (1920–2019) | 2020 | Activist and philanthropist, Director of Community Services of the NAACP from 1965 to 1984 |
| Gracia Liliana Fernandez | (1875–1957) | 2020 | Education |
| Michele Halyard | | 2020 | Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Mayo Clinic |
| Pauline O'Neill | (1865–1961) | 2020 | Suffragist |
| Karrin Taylor Robson | (b. 1964/1965) | 2020 | Arizona Board of Regents founder of Arizona Strategies |
| Catherine Steele | | 2020 | Teacher and academic administrator working with the San Carlos Apache community |
| Carolyn Warner | (1930–2018) | 2020 | Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction |
| Shelley Cohn | | 2019 | Former chair Arizona Community Foundation, Arizona Commission on the Arts |
| Kate Cory | (1861–1958) | 2019 | Photographer, sculptor, painter and muralist |
| Emma Lee French | (1836–1897) | 2019 | Established and maintained Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River |
| Sharon Harper | | 2019 | President, CEO and co-founder of Plaza Companies |
| Guadalupe Huerta | (1920–2000) | 2019 | Arizona lobbyist for the elderly in Washington during the Clinton administration |
| Cindy Hensley McCain | (b. 1954) | 2019 | Board Chair of the McCain Institute |
| Rosa Lyons McKay | (1881–1934) | 2019 | First female legislator from Cochise County |
| Barbara Rodriguez Mundell | (b. 1955) | 2019 | First female and first Hispanic to be selected as Presiding Judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court. |
| Erma Bombeck | (1927–1996) | 2018 | Columnist, author |
| Josefina Franco | (1897–1972) | 2018 | Newspaper owner, editor, community leader |
| Maria Garcia | (1898–unknown) | 2018 | Community activist |
| Margaret Injasoulian | (1936–2015) | 2018 | Media and community leader |
| Alison Levine | (b. 1966) | 2018 | Mountain climber, explorer, author |
| Bridgie M. Porter | (1929–2001) | 2018 | Arizona Legislature |
| Mary Jo West | | 2018 | Broadcaster |
| Rebecca Dallis | (1896–1971) | 2017 | Educator |
| Sister Clare Dunn | (1934–1981) | 2017 | First US nun in public office, only nun to serve in the Arizona State Legislature (1974–1981). |
| Gladys McGarey | (b. 1920) | 2017 | M.D., M.D.H, co-founded the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA) |
| Clara M. Schell | (1872–1955) | 2017 | First female optometrist in the Territory of Arizona |
| Louise Serpa | (1925–2012) | 2017 | Rodeo photographer |
| Christine Kajikawa Wilkinson | (b. 1944) | 2017 | First minority female Vice President in the history of Arizona State University |
| Julia Zozaya | (1926–2004) | 2017 | Vice-president for both the National Federation for the Blind and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). In addition, Julia owned and operated the first 24 /7 Spanish-speaking FM radio station in Phoenix. |
| Marietta Bryant | (1911–2003) | 2015 | African American teacher who brought a suit against the school district that closed her school |
| Daisy Moore | (1908–1985) | 2015 | African American teacher who brought a suit against the school district that closed her school |
| Lorraine W. Frank | (1923–2005) | 2015 | Founder and first executive director of the Arizona Humanities Council |
| Louise Foucar Marshall | (1864–1956) | 2015 | First female professor in Arizona |
| Helen K. Mason | (1912–2003) | 2015 | Founder and executive director of the Black Theatre Troupe |
| Lucy Sikorsky | (1899–1972) | 2015 | Physician |
| Rose E. Collom | (1870–1956) | 2013 | Botanist and authority in the native plants of Arizona; Mentzelia collomiae named for her |
| Jean Chaudhuri | (1937–1997) | 2013 | Muscogee-Creek activist, author and storyteller |
| Helen Sekaquaptewa | (1898–1990) | 2013 | Hopi author and matriarch of the Eagle Clan |
| Jacque Yelland Steiner | (1929–2003) | 2013 | Legislator, Founder of the Children's Action Alliance |
| Dorothy Elaine Powell | (1921–2003) | 2013 | Community and social activist, advocate for elderly |
| Helene Thomas Bennett | (1901–1988) | 2010 | First woman elected to the Yuma School Board, founding member of Arizona Public Health Association |
| Alice M. Birdsall | (1880–1958) | 2010 | Arizona's second female attorney |
| Pauline Bates Brown | (1901–1963) | 2010 | Journalist |
| Jean Maddock Clark | (1909–1991) | 2010 | Educator, scout leader, first women in Arizona to be awarded the Golden Eaglet from the Girl Scouts of the USA |
| Anne E. Lindeman | (1932–2001) | 2010 | Arizona House of Representatives, Arizona Senate |
| Betty Accomazzo | (1926–1989) | 2008 | Author, editor, 1983 Inductee National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame |
| Katharine Bartlett | (1907–2001) | 2008 | Anthropologist associated with Museum of Northern Arizona |
| C. Louise Boehringer | (1878–1956) | 2008 | First female Superintendent of Schools, Yuma County |
| Sister Kathleen Clark | (1919–2003) | 2008 | Roman Catholic nun who established Casa de los Ninos, a nursery for abused infants and toddlers |
| Jessie Gray Bevan | (1872–1963) | 2006 | Arizona House of Representatives |
| Lucretia Breazeale Hamilton | (1908–1986) | 2006 | Botanist, illustrator |
| Ethel Maynard | (1905–1980) | 2006 | First African American woman elected to the Arizona state legislature |
| Patricia Ann McGee | (1926–1994) | 2006 | President, Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe, granddaughter of Viola Jimulla |
| Polly Rosenbaum | (1899–2003) | 2006 | Arizona's longest-serving state senator |
| Veora Johnson | (1910–2001) | 2004 | Educator |
| Louise Lincoln Kerr | (1892–1977) | 2004 | Musician |
| Winona E. Montgomery | (1898–1990) | 2004 | Educator |
| Clara Lee Tanner | (1905–1997) | 2004 | Anthropologist, authority on Southwest indigenous culture |
| Mary Elizabeth Post | (1841–1934) | 2002 | Educator |
| Annie Dodge Wauneka | (1910–1997) | 2002 | Navajo Tribal Council, worked to eradicate tuberculosis on the reservation, awarded the Medal of Freedom by Lyndon B. Johnson on December 6, 1963 |
| Maria Urquides | (1908–1994) | 1994 | Educator |
| Margaret Bell Douglas | (1880–1963) | 1991 | Botanist, horticulturalist |
| Margaret Taylor Hance | (1923–1990) | 1991 | First female Mayor of Phoenix |
| Polingaysi Qöyawayma (Elizabeth Q. White) | (1892–1990) | 1991 | Hopi who converted to Christianity, became educated in white schools, and returned to teach on the Hopi Reservation |
| Margaret Sanger Slee | (1879–1966) | 1991 | Birth control advocate |
| Ola Young | (1869–1966) | 1991 | Early settler in Pleasant Valley, postmistress, rancher |
| Clara Osborne Botzum | (1894–1986) | 1990 | Arizona House of Representatives |
| Vernell Coleman | (1918–1990) | 1990 | Community activist |
| Josephine Brawley Hughes | (1839–1926) | 1990 | Early settler and wife of Arizona Governor L. C. Hughes |
| Elizabeth Shannon | (1906–1985) | 1990 | Educator |
| Minnie McFarland Stevens | (1911–1986) | 1990 | First woman creel census taker, operated the Sterling Springs fish hatchery for twenty-seven years |
| Florence Brookhart Yount | (1909–1988) | 1990 | Physician |
| Guess Eleanor Birchett | (1881–1979) | 1989 | The Birdlady of Tempe |
| Polly Hicks Brown | (1883–1966) | 1989 | Rancher, business owner, became a rodeo queen at age 83 |
| Jessie Benton Evans | (1866–1954) | 1989 | Artist |
| Mary "Mollie" E. Fly | (1847–1925) | 1989 | Photographer, wife of C. S. Fly |
| Elizabeth S. Oldaker | (1884–1975) | 1989 | Historic preservationist |
| Minna Vrang Orme | (1892–1970) | 1989 | Founder of The Orme School |
| Grace Chapella | (1874–1980) | 1988 | Hopi potter |
| Josephine W. Goldwater | (1875–1966) | 1988 | Mother of Barry Goldwater, Arizona's first female golf champion |
| Hallie Bost Wright Hopkins | (1885–1978) | 1988 | Farmer |
| Sister Clara Otero | (1850–1905) | 1988 | Educator, Roman Catholic nun |
| Thamar Richey | (1858–1937) | 1988 | Educator |
| Mary V. Riley | (1908–1987) | 1988 | First female elected to the White Mountain Apache Tribal Council |
| Eulalia "Sister" Bourne | (1897–1984) | 1987 | Author, educator, rancher |
| Ann-Eve Mansfeld Johnson | (1908–1981) | 1987 | Historic preservationist, children's advocate |
| Abbie W. Keith | (1888–1984) | 1987 | Arizona Cattle Growers Association |
| Jessie Harper Linde | (1887–1965) | 1987 | Patron of the arts, co-founder American Association of Concert Managers and the Salt River Valley Community Concert Association |
| Hattie Greene Lockett | (1880–1962) | 1987 | Author, rancher |
| Clara T. Woody | (1885–1981) | 1987 | Collector of Arizona history |
| Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter | (1869–1956) | 1986 | Architect who designed multiple structures in the Grand Canyon National Park |
| Helen Congdon D'Autremont | (1889–1966) | 1986 | Founder Tucson chapter of the League of Women Voters; founding trustee of Prescott College, co-founder Tucson Medical Center, co-founder Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum |
| Minnie K. Guenther | (1890–1982) | 1986 | Missionary to the White Mountain Apache Tribe |
| Viola Jimulla | (1878–1966) | 1986 | First chieftess of Yavapai tribe |
| Nampeyo | (1860–1942) | 1986 | Hopi potter |
| Ruth Reinhold | (1902–1985) | 1986 | Aviator |
| Clarissa Winsor | (1880–1974) | 1986 | Historic preservationist; curator of the Yuma Territorial Prison museum |
| Ida Redbird | (1892–1971) | 1985 | Master Maricopa potter |
| Sarah Herring Sorin | (1861–1914) | 1985 | First woman attorney in Arizona and the first woman to try a case in front of the United States Supreme Court unassisted by a male attorney |
| Grace M. Sparkes | (1893–1963) | 1985 | Historic preservationist, tourism booster, community organizer |
| Louisa Wade Wetherill | (1877–1945) | 1985 | Authority on Navajo culture |
| Rachel Emma Allen Berry | (1859–1948) | 1984 | Arizona House of Representatives, first woman in the United States elected to a state legislature |
| Nellie Cashman | (1845–1925) | 1984 | Restaurateur, advocated against violence and against public hangings, caregiver to orphans |
| Sallie Davis Hayden | (1842–1907) | 1984 | Rancher |
| Elsie Toles | (1888–1957) | 1984 | First woman superintendent of public instruction |
| Carmen Soto Vasquez | (1861–1934) | 1984 | Founder of El Teatro Carmen |
| Mary Bernard Aguirre | (1844–1906) | 1983 | Educator |
| Angela Hutchinson Hammer | (1870–1955) | 1983 | Newspaper publisher |
| Laura E. Herron | (1892–1966) | 1983 | Educator, physical education |
| Edith Stratton Kitt | (1878–1968) | 1983 | Historian |
| Ann Cornwall Neal | (1888–1972) | 1983 | Community activist |
| Jane H. Rider | (1889–1981) | 1983 | Arizona's first female civic engineer |
| Nellie T. Bush | (1888–1963) | 1982 | Riverboat pilot, justice of the peace, Arizona House of Representatives, Arizona Senate |
| Eulalia Elias | (1788–1865) | 1982 | Rancher |
| Ana Frohmiller | (1891–1971) | 1982 | Politician |
| Maie Bartlett Heard | (1868–1951) | 1982 | Co-founder Heard Museum |
| Frances Lillian Willard Munds | (1866–1948) | 1982 | Women's suffrage movement, member Arizona Senate |
| Placida Garcia Smith | (1896–1981) | 1982 | Educator |
| Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton | (1889–1971) | 1981 | Co-founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona |
| Cordelia Adams Crawford | (1865–1943) | 1981 | Early settler known for her healing skills, developed trust and friendship with the Apache |
| Sharlot Hall | (1870–1943) | 1981 | Journalist, poet, historian, Sharlot Hall Museum named in her honor |
| Isabella Greenway King | (1886–1953) | 1981 | First U.S. congresswoman from Arizona |
| Lorna Lockwood | (1903–1977) | 1981 | Chief Justice, Arizona Supreme Court; first woman state Chief Justice in United States history |
| Anna Moore Shaw | (1898–1976) | 1981 | Author, born on the Gila River Indian reservation |