Timeline: 1951-Present

Sister Mary Kenneth Keller

Sister Mary Kenneth Keller was the first U.S. woman to earn a Ph.D. in computer sciences and worked to expand access to computers in education.

Gwen T. Jackson

Gwen T. Jackson dedicated her life to serving others and volunteered for the American Red Cross for more than half a century.

Marci Bowers

Dr. Marci Bowers is an internationally respected surgeon who specializes in gender-affirming surgery and clitoral restoration.

Lucinda Gordon

Lucinda Gordon was a civil rights activist who founded an alternative school for teen mothers and advocated for Black art in Milwaukee.

Angela Lang

Angela Lang is a community organizer in Milwaukee and the founder and executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities.

Francesca Hong

Francesca Hong is a professional chef and restaurant owner, as well as Wisconsin’s first Asian American state legislator.

Anne Nicol Gaylor

Anne Nicol Gaylor was an activist who worked to make abortion legal for Wisconsin women and to protect the separation of church and state.

Peg Lautenschlager

Peg Lautenschlager was the first female district attorney for Winnebago County, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, and the first female Attorney General of Wisconsin.

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.
Edna Ferber

Edna Ferber

Edna Ferber was a short story writer, playwright, and Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist who portrayed strong women characters.