Chia Youyee Vang is a leading advocate for Hmong cultural preservation and education.

Emma Toft is known as “Wisconsin’s First Lady of Conservation” for her efforts to save an ancient forest in Door County from being destroyed by logging and commercial development.

Helen Van Vechten co-owned the Philosopher Press in Wausau and became an expert in hand-printing books.

Betsy Thunder was a respected Ho-Chunk medicine woman known for her skill in making remedies from roots and plants.

Doris Thom, who helped open higher-paying jobs to women in Wisconsin, was the first woman to hold leadership positions in her local labor unions.

Transgender advocate Sheri Swokowski, a former colonel in the U.S. Army, has worked to end discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

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

Nobel Peace Prize winner and Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first female head of state of any African country.

Donna Shalala was the first woman to head a Big Ten university and the longest-serving secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Caroline Sandin was a respected civic leader and served on the University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents.