Category: Education

Image description: A photo of Milele Chikasa Anana standing at a podium.

Milele Chikasa Anana

Milele Chikasa Anana was the first Black school board member in Wisconsin and the longtime editor and publisher of the magazine UMOJA.
Image description: A black-and-white photo of Maud Neprud Otjen standing in front of bare trees.

Maud Neprud Otjen

Maud Neprud Otjen was the first woman in Wisconsin to be a county superintendent of schools and encouraged women to be involved in civic life.
Image description: A black-and-white headshot of Nellie Wilson.

Nellie Y. McKay

Nellie Y. McKay was one of the first scholars to bring attention to the writing of African American women authors.
Image description: A headshot of Danae D. Davis.

Danae D. Davis

Trained as a lawyer and committed to equity, Danae Davis is passionate about “success for every child, in every school, from cradle to career.”
Image description: A portrait-style photo of Millie Zantow in front of a wall of plastic bottles.

Milly Zantow

Milly Zantow pioneered the plastics recycling movement and invented the numbered-triangle system used for identifying different kinds of plastic.
Image description: A black-and-white headshot of Helen C. White.

Helen C. White

Helen C. White was the first woman to hold a full professorship in the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Image description: A black-and-white headshot of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

The first book in author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s popular LITTLE HOUSE series is about Wilder’s childhood in Wisconsin.
Image description: A headshot of Ramona Villarreal.

Ramona Villarreal

Ramona Villarreal is a Mexican American activist who has devoted her life to fighting for equality and justice for people with Mexican/Latinx heritage in Wisconsin.
Image description: A portrait-style photo of Chia Youyee Vang.

Chia Youyee Vang

Chia Youyee Vang is a leading advocate for Hmong cultural preservation and education.
Image description: A black-and-white headshot of Lutie Eugenia Stearns.

Lutie Eugenia Stearns

Lutie Stearns, “the Johnny Appleseed of books,” started free libraries all over Wisconsin and was an outspoken advocate for social justice.