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The vision, courage and tenacity of women who have made a significant impact on Delaware will be explored in the exhibit, Women in Leadership - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, which will be on display Feb. 29 through Dec. 31, at the Delaware Visitor Center and Galleries, 406 Federal St., Dover.
An opening reception for the press and invited guests, hosted by Delaware Secretary of State Harriet Smith Windsor, will take place at the Visitor Center at 10 a.m., Friday, Feb. 29.
Cosponsored by the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs (HCA) and the Delaware Commission for Women, the exhibit shines a spotlight on a representative sample of the many women whose compelling stories have touched Delaware and made life better for future generations from all backgrounds and time periods.
The women and organizations featured in the exhibit are organized under the following headings:
• Women in Leadership -Yesterday: Haile L. Alford, Delaware Superior Court justice; Roxana Cannon Arsht, Delaware Family Court Justice and philanthropist; Emily P. Bissell, campaigner against tuberculosis; Mary Louise Chambers Corkran, founder, Rehoboth Art League; Sen. Vera Gilbride Davis, legislator and community activist; Ethel Pennewill Brown Leach, artist; Jane E. Mitchell, healthcare leader and community activist; Mabel Lloyd Fisher Ridgely, artist and historic preservation activist; and Cecile Long Steele, pioneer of Delaware’s broiler-chicken industry.
• Women in Leadership - Today: Carolyn Berger, Delaware Court of Chancery and Supreme Court justice; Anna “Silver Feathers” Coker, officer and activist for the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware; Phyllis Yoshie Edamatsu, director of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research, Delaware State University; Rep. Tina Fallon, legislator and educator; Marian L. Harris, founder and volunteer executive director of The House of Pride; Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, executive, legislator and public servant; Jean “Princess Laughing Water” Norwood, director, Nanticoke Heritage and Cultural Affairs, and tribal activist; Brenda L. Sammons, deputy attorney general, Delaware Department of Justice; Nancy Churchman Sawin, artist and educator; Carolann D. Wicks, P.E., engineer and secretary, Delaware Department of Transportation; and Dr. Harriet Smith Windsor, educator and Delaware secretary of state.
Women in Leadership -Tomorrow: 4-H, a youth program that encourages leadership, citizenship, and life skills; Girls Incorporated, a youth organization that inspires girls to be strong, smart and bold; and Girl Scouts of the USA, an organization that helps girls build character and skills for success in the real world.
In tandem with the exhibit, an adjacent gallery within the Visitor Center will host the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women - The Legacy Endures, a display that honors the 92 women who have been inducted into the hall from 1981 through 2006.
Created by the Delaware Commission for Women in 1981, the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women recognizes the lasting contributions and achievements of Delaware women in a variety of fields including agriculture, the arts, business, education, government, health, homemaking, human rights, industry, media, science, sports and volunteer work.
Additional displays on notable women will be presented at the following locations:
• John Dickinson Plantation, 340 Kitts Hummock Road, Dover: Display on Jane Richards Worth, founding member of the Friends of the John Dickinson Mansion
• Johnson Victrola Museum, 375 S. New St., Dover: Display on operatic soprano and Victor recording artist Rosa Ponselle
• New Castle Court House Museum, 211 Delaware St., New Castle: Display on historic preservation activist Louise Evelina du Pont Crowninshield
• Zwaanendael Museum, 102 Kings Highway, Lewes, Delaware: Display on pioneering astronomer Annie Jump Cannon.
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