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The first woman to earn a PhD in urban planning from Harvard University, Marcia Marker Feld dedicated her career to teaching the next generation of urban planners to base their work on the needs and desires of a community instead of imposing their own visions on neighborhoods.
Cecile Ruth Sands served for six years as the only woman on the New York City Board of Education, where she took a stand against McCarthyism and advocated for school integration.
A lifelong diplomat with a strong record of defending women’s rights and human rights, Tamar Eshel capped her career with two terms as a member of the Knesset from 1977–1984.
Ruby Daniel’s memoir of her life in India revealed not only the rich culture of her childhood but also her experiences as a Jewish woman in the Indian Navy, serving alongside Muslim and Hindu men.
A skilled pilot and aeronautics engineer, Amanda Simpson made history in 2010 when she became the first openly transgender presidential appointee, as senior technical advisor to the Bureau of Industry and Security.
Rosika Schwimmer’s uncompromising vision of women’s equality and world peace helped advance the women’s movement but caused a backlash that cost Schwimmer everything.
As the tireless head of the Department of Children’s Emigration in the Reich Association of Jews in Germany, Käte Rosenheim managed to save over seven thousand Jewish children from the Nazis.
A social reformer ahead of her time, Bertha Floersheim Rauh initiated dozens of vital services and completely overhauled Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Welfare.
Shulamith Nardi helped shape relations between Jews and gentiles in the fledgling State of Israel through her analysis of Jewish literature and her work as advisor on Diaspora affairs to four Israeli presidents.
At a time when widowed mothers often had no way to support their children, Sophie Irene Simon Loeb helped create support systems for needy children and their mothers.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg sparked debate and controversy over women’s opportunities and hurdles in the workforce with her first book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.
Harriet Lowenstein gave the Joint Distribution Committee its name and led many of the organization’s efforts to aid those trapped in Europe during both World Wars.
The first woman ever appointed to the Federal Communications Commission, Frieda Barkin Hennock argued that women had a disproportionate stake in the media and helped establish public broadcasting.
Magdalen Flexner worked as an American ambassador in Europe, serving for decades as consul general in France at a time when women were rarely given such responsibility.
Charlene Barshefsky was a powerful proponent of free trade in Bill Clinton’s administration as the United States Trade Representative, a Cabinet-level post.
Caroline Klein Simon fought for gender and racial equality and made the first laws against real estate brokers using “blockbusting” tactics to force sales of homes.
Ruth Hagy Brod’s varied career as a journalist, documentary filmmaker and literary agent made her the ideal publicity director for Job Orientation In the Neighborhoods, helping high school dropouts train for careers.
Ann Lewis served as White House director of communications under Bill Clinton before lending her talents to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s own historic bid for the presidency.
