Marin Women's Hall of Fame

History is interesting, but HERstory is fascinating!

The year was 1987.  Five women had been collaborating on several women focused projects.  As they worked together, the topic of creating a record of the substantial contributions women have made to the life, culture, mores, even the landscape of Marin County  were discussed.   They discovered that there were virtually no records of women's achievements.  That strengthened their resolve to redress the situation and write Marin women into our county history.  They began to establish and organize a comprehensive method of institutionalizing the amazing, creative, life-changing contributions that Marin County women have made to the quality of our lives.

And so, "Marin Women's Hall of Fame" was formed, echoing the same effort in place at the historic Suffragette site in Seneca Falls, New York.  The founders detailed plans: how to discover these women, how to objectively guage their contributions; how to shine a bright light upon their accomplishments so the public could become aware of these outstanding women.  One frightening thought was when they contemplated what if they gave this "party" and nobody cared - or came!   21 years of successful celebrations have confirmed that they had made the right decisions and were heading in the right direction.

As the project progressed, more women from the Women's Commission and from American Association of University Women joined the cause.  The Commission provided "seed money" ($200.00).  The steering committee made community contacts for nominations and judging.  Dominican College hosted the "sell out" crowd.  the "little idea that could" was launched.

The original Founders were Bonnie Rose Hough and Ann Kennedy representing the YWCA; Commissioner Rita Levy, Nancy Nakai and Patricia Warren representing the Women's Commission. they were later joined by Commissioner Anne Latta and AAUW representative, Carol Shellenberger. 

The missions of the founding organizations

The YWCA, founded in 1855, is a membership movement engaged in the struggle for peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all people through programs of service, action, advocacy, and leadership.  Our purpose is to empower women and girls to participate fully as independent, self-sufficient members of their communities, while working to improve the lives of all.  The YWCA's Imperative is to eliminate racism.

The Marin Women's Commission is a non-partisan county commission comprised of three women from each of the five districts appointed by their Supervisor, plus two Commissioners-at-Large appointed by the Board of Supervisors of Marin.  The MWC was founded in 1974 to advocate for equality for women.  The MWC also serves as a liaison and resource in the county and seeks to assist in the development of programs and legislation on women's issues.

The American Association of University Women, founded in 1881, is a network comprising over 135,000 college graduates committed to creating opportunities and choices for women and girls.  Over 1,800 branches sponsor political forums and support women re-entering higher education and the job market.