In honor of Women’s History Month, AAUW’s Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz will be speaking at a Capitol Hill press conference on March 30 to show our support for reintroducing the National Women’s History Museum bill in Congress. No matter where you are on Wednesday, you can show your solidarity in this effort by wearing purple to honor American women and their contributions to our nation’s history.
My last contribution to More.com featured some fantastic women who have broken through barriers. Since there are so many women whose achievements are worth celebrating, let’s continue the conversation here on AAUW Dialog by taking a few moments to note four more fabulous women.
Sheila Johnson
From left: Michele Wetherald, Sheila Johnson, Ruth Sweetser, and Linda Hargrove.
Sheila Johnson has achieved more than a few “firsts,” including being the first black woman billionaire. The co-founder of Black Entertainment Television is also the first black woman to be an owner or partner in three professional sports franchises (Washington, D.C., NHL, NFL, and WNBA teams), smashing the stereotypes against women in both business and sports. To celebrate the 35th anniversary of Title IX, the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) honored Johnson and Washington Mystics General Manager Linda Hargrove with an award during the halftime program at a Mystics game in 2007.
Johnson is also an active philanthropist who, while traveling the world, became passionate about fighting AIDS, especially in Washington, D.C. She’s a wonderful example of how women can help other women.
Shelby Knox
Shelby Knox has been championing sex education since her high school days in Lubbock, Texas. Filmmakers even documented her rise to activism in 2006’s The Education of Shelby Knox. Now she travels across the country as a speaker and an organizer, specializing in designing workshop programming for youth leaders.
Knox has appeared on the Today show, Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, and in the pages of Glamour, Bust, and Seventeen magazines as an advocate for comprehensive sex education. She also blogs on feminism and sexual health for the Huffington Post and contributes to the feminist quarterly The F-Word. AAUW is fortunate to have Knox joining us as a keynote speaker for NCCWSL in June.
Zainab Salbi
Zainab Salbi is an activist, social entrepreneur, and author who founded the humanitarian organization Women for Women International to help women whose lives have been torn apart by war.
Since 1993, Women for Women International has helped 271,000 women access social and economic opportunities through a program of rights-awareness training, vocational skills, education, and access to income-generating opportunities. Salbi has been honored by President Bill Clinton for her work in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was recently nominated by Clinton as one of the Harper’s Bazaar 21st Century Heroines because of her actions, faith, and determination.
Martine Rothblatt
Martine Rothblatt has led the charge in developing satellite technology that is widely used today, including in the booming satellite radio business. She has authored five books, which range in subject from satellite communications to gender studies to world ethics. In 1996, Rothblatt founded a new biotechnology company, United Therapeutics, which became the fastest-growing company in the Washington, D.C., area. As chair and CEO of United Therapeutics, she has led the efforts to make new medicines available for pulmonary arterial hypertension and ovarian cancer. Also a lawyer, she is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Rothblatt and her partner of 25 years have started two nonprofit foundations, the PPH Cure Foundation and the World against Racism Foundation. For her many accomplishments, Rothblatt was honored as a NCCWSL Woman of Distinction in 2009.
Each of these women brings something unique to the table, and they are all inspirational. I can think of nothing better to do for Women’s History Month than to honor these positive role models for women and girls.
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