Marin Women's Hall of Fame

     Over the past 30 years, perhaps no other woman has consistently impacted the lives of so many Marin County children as Evelyn Callas.  It has been said of her, "She is professional, caring, warm and understanding, unpretentious, low-key and devoted to her young patients.  She does it all, from fixing the pediatric department's broken toys, to hugging a scared child, to giving clear instructions to worried parents."     

     Dr. Callas's advocacy on behalf of children has resulted in legislative changes to protect children from abuse and neglect.  Largely due to her efforts, an important bill was passed which allows physicians to photograph children without parental consent.     

     In 1978, Dr. Callas was appointed Chief of Pediatrics by Kaiser Permanente, the first woman to be appointed a department chief.  She was also Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco and has served as Board Secretary of the Easter Seals Society.     

     When she retired from Kaiser in 1989, Dr. Callas focused on her work at UCSF, becoming Director of Pediatric Urgent Care for five years.  In the fall of 1995, she moved to Mt. Shasta where she utilizes her knowledge of pediatrics by volunteering at a medical clinic and spending one day per week at a school-based health clinic organized by the county schools and the local medical group.  Particularly concerned with the care of acutely sick and needy children, she is involved in various committees concerning emergency medical care for children and school attendance.

Read the extended biography by Nancy Nakai

ROSARIO CARR-CASANOVA, Ph.D.
Community Service
1999

     Dr. Rosario Carr-Casanova's every move is focused on the empowerment of women and the improvement of their status.  Throughout her dual careers as an accomplished psychotherapist and a professor, Dr. Carr-Casanova has demonstrated her belief in this goal.  She has a deep love for education and a dream of providing opportunities for as many people as possible.  As a university professor, she has achieved national acclaim as a cross cultural and multi-racial specialist.  Dr. Carr-Casanova is aware of her impact as an example to young Latinas and encourages young Chicanos to excel.     

     Dr. Carr-Casanova is also highly trained in public policy and works to provide better services to women of all races and to poor and needy families.  She worked to establish the Marin County Minority Mental Health Services, and to have counseling services in Spanish provided though the Family Service agency.  While on the Board of Directors of United Way, Dr. Carr-Casanova brought five Latino agencies in as new members.  At the national level, she has been instrumental in providing birth control information in Spanish to the nation's Hispanic population.  In addition, Dr. Carr-Casanova raises funds for the Chicana/Latina Foundation, helping Hispanic women to access higher education.  In 1994, she was named Citizen of the Year by the Marin Council of Agencies.     

      As a psychotherapist, Dr. Carr-Casanova works with groups of youth who are believed to be dangerous and is successful in bringing out the best in the community's most disturbed and discarded teenagers -- many of whom she has seen become successful business people under her tutelage.     

      Dr. Carr-Casanova is truly a champion of the underdog.  She is continually looking for better ways to understand, represent and serve the Hispanic people.  She advocates that people obey the law, work hard and be of service to their families and to the community.  She stands as a powerful model, especially for women, of focused determined action to uphold human rights and to ensure dignity for all.

Read the extended biography by R.L.S. Kropf

ROSIE CASALS
Sports & Recreation
1995

     Rosie Casals is a championship tennis player, but beyond that she is one of the pioneers of women's tennis.  She has worked tirelessly throughout her career and has been a major force in attending prestige and money for the women's game.  She is a co-founder of the Women's International Tennis Association where women were finally able to speak with a single, strong and effective voice to advance the opportunities for female tennis players.  As an advocate on behalf of women and women athletes, Casals is the founder and President of Sportswomen, Inc., an active force in promoting women-owned businesses.  Her goal is to develop leadership talents in women, motivating them to break down barriers and strive for equality.     

     Casals has provided an opportunity for women, as well as men, to play competitively in their later years with her Tennis Classic, the "Over-30" tournament circuit.  She has supported tennis opportunities for less advantaged young girls and is active in youth organizations, conducting several tennis clinics each year for less advantaged youth.  She supports the Endangered Species Project through the Rosie Casals Celebrity Tennis Invitational.  Not content with simply achieving as an outstanding athlete, she has worked actively to make opportunities available for others, especially women.  A resident of Marin for the past 24 years, she is the tennis pro at Harbor Point Racquet Club in Mill Valley.

HILDA CASTILLO
Environment 
2003

     Hilda Castillo has not wasted a minute of her 22 years in the US.  She came to Sonoma State as an international student to learn English and earn a master's degree, then returned to Venezuela, Before long the University recruited her so back she came with her children, this time to stay.    
     Her education, talents, vision, perseverance, and experience as an immigrant helped Hilda find ways to empower Marin's diverse ethnic population.  Helping other Latinas has been especially important.  Knowing that Spanish-speaking women had no chance to find jobs that would support their families, Hilda collaborated with the Marin Child Care council and the Canal community Alliance to develop a Spanish-language Family Day Care Training series.  Its graduates earn licenses that qualify them to open their own childcare businesses.  These women are independent because of Hilda Castillo.    

     Hilda is the director of Bilingual Studies & Outreach at Headlands Institute.  In  1993 she created the bilingual program for Pacific Environment and Resources Center to provide access to environmental education for Latino students who are English learners.  Recently she developed the bilingual "Family in Nature" program to educate low-income families and children about the environment.     

     Her work with English language learners often involves diverse school groups from under-served communities.  She even provides scholarships when money is tight.  She forged a groundbreaking partnership between the Headlands Institute and the Sausalito-Marin City School District to provide the district's students, families, and teachers with ongoing environmental education and field science experience.     

     Hilda's influence is international.  She has designed environmental activities for Bolivia and other Latin American countries.  She has collaborated with natural history museums, nonprofit environmental organizations, governments, and universities the world over.  "You have no idea how much satisfaction I get from doing this work," says Hilda Castillo, truly a contemporary Renaissance woman.

JEAN BEE CHAN, Ph.D.
Education
1998

     Jean Bee Chan, Lucas Valley resident, is an outstanding educator and mentor.  As a professor of mathematics at Sonoma State University since 1973, Dr. Chan has been instrumental in bringing a sense of community and mutual support to the Mathematics Department which has had an immeasurably beneficial effect on the morale of students and faculty.     

     Dr. Chan has championed a cause, believing that a firm understanding of mathematics and science is critical to success in our highly technical society.  She is committed to providing equal educational opportunities to all.  To this end, she established a family scholarship fund for Sonoma State students entering the teaching profession, and founded the Asian Scholarship Endowment Fund which helps send students of Asian descent to college.  Dr. Chan is passionately concerned about mathematics education for girls, who tend to lag behind boys in math and science.      

     Beyond her own community, Dr. Chan is Chair of the Northern California Section of the Mathematical Association of America, involving over 100 mathematics departments in thousands of mathematics faculty and students.  She has provided leadership for the Marin Chinese Cultural Group and was a founder of the Asian American Alliance of Marin, which is dedicated to bringing justice and equality to all citizens.  As a result of her contributions to the community, Dr. Chan was honored by the Marin County Marin Luther King, Jr., Humanitarian Award in 1996.

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ANNE CHARLES (Posthumous)
Public Affairs
2000

     Anne was an ardent feminist whose indomitable spirit and political skills advanced the cause of human rights for everyone.   She broke ground in the women's movement. As a member of Marin's first Women's Commission in 1974, she started a county process that brought women's issues to public attention.  As Chair of the Commission's Affirmative Action Committee, she led the fight that resulted in Marin County hiring female department directors.     

     Anne was constantly testing limits by venturing into areas dominated by men.  Her vision of what women could accomplish encouraged them to venture goals previously thought unattainable.  She believed in making the world a better place for women and had a passion for getting good women into elected office.     

     As part of her multitude of civic activities, she served as Executive Director of Falkirk, formed the Marin Arts Council and became its first Executive Director after a nation-wide search.  She broke ground as the first female President of the Boyd Science Museum.     

     She founded and empowered several organizations that continue to advance the cause of equality and access for all.  As a skillful and organized administrator she served our community as well as the State Bar of California with verve and focus.  She did all this along with her responsibilities to her husband and four children.     

     Anne is remembered as a woman of great style and panache, a witty and loving person.

KIT M. COLE
Business & Professions
1997

     Kit M. Cole has dedicated her professional life to bringing women into leadership roles in the financial field.  As a young divorcee with five children under six, she left her job teaching to work as an assistant in a brokerage house.  She quickly obtained her brokers license and became one of the first women stockbrokers hired by a major brokerage firm in the United States.     

     Five years later, she founded Cole Financial Group, Inc., an investment advisory firm specializing in providing financial guidance, education  and investment management to women.  Today, Cole Financial Group manages $50 million in investments.  A year after starting Cole Financial, she co founded New Horizons Savings & Loan, securing her destiny as one of the first women in the country to be the founding chairman of the Board of Directors of a financial institution.  It also made New Horizons one of the first financial institutions in the country organized and managed by women.  In 1991, she founded San Rafael Thrift & Loan, and again championed gender equality in decision-making power.  She is currently Chairman/CEO of the Thrift whose assets at year end were over $68 million.     

     Ms. Cole offers programs in personal finance and investments for women and has co-founded two community organizations, Wednesday Morning Dialogue and Marin Forum.  A Girl Scout leader for 17 years, Cole has served on several community boards, including the Bay Area Girl Scout Council, United Way, and Mill Valley Film Festival.  She is currently Vice-Chair of the Marin Women's Commission and Co-Chair of the Commission's Economic Resource Committee.

SISTER M. SAMUEL CONLAN O.P.
Education
1995

     Sister Samuel, a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, is a dedicated and exemplary educator.  She received her Ph.D. in English Literature from Stanford University and joined the faculty of Dominican college in 1957, serving as President of the College from 1968-80. She continues to teach English.  Under her leadership, the college was transformed from an all women's college into a co-educational institution.  She spearheaded the placement on campus of a model Development Center for children with special needs and supported the development of a Special Education Teacher Training Program which earned statewide recognition for excellence.  Seeing the need for the college to be an integral part of the community, she expanded the Board of Trustees to include members of the business and professional community.     

     Through her work in the field of education for over 40 years, Sister Samuel has influenced the lives of scores of students.  She is teaching by example that you can address the world with confidence, serve with courage, principle, elegance, compassion and grace.  In 1980, she received the Dominican College Distinguished Service Award and in 1981, School Master of the Year.  Golden Gate University awarded her an honorary degree in 1980.

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    Lesley Schisgall Currier is the founding Managing Director of Marin Shakespeare Company.
During her 18 year tenure, she has done everything that needed to be done to get the company on a solid financial and artistic footing. “Everything” includes acting, directing, constructing sets and props, board building, fundraising, special events and development in the broadest sense.    

     Marin Shakespeare Company is widely recognized for its professional productions each summer at Forest Meadows Amphitheatre on the campus of Dominican University of California. Under Lesley’s leadership, MSC has garnered national attention and won many awards. MSC is also renowned for its educational outreach programs for thousands of Marin students each year.    

     Innovative programs are Lesley’s hallmark. In 1991 she began education programs that now serve more than 5,000 students annually with classes, summer camps, in-school and after school programs, student matinees, and a Teen Touring Company. More than 35 schools participate each year. There are free outreach programs to young people from Marin City and the Canal neighborhood, as well as to inmates at San Quentin. Lesley empowers students and instills the desire to use their own abilities and expand their creativity.     Directing is another strong point. Her adaptation of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights, which she wrote and directed, was nominated for “Best Overall Production of 2002” by the Bay Area Critics Circle. Her original adaptation of Alice in Wonderland delighted audiences at Marin Shakespeare Company in 2006.    

     Lesley took her vision “on the road” by helping start a Shakespeare festival in Los Barriles in Baja, Mexico. For five years Lesley and husband Robert, Marin Shakespeare’s Artistic Director, put on annual Shakespearean productions with the locals, with Lesley co-directing and acting in all five productions. In 2006 Lesley arranged for Marin and Baja Shakespeare to host the Shakespeare Theater Association of America (STAA) conference in tiny Los Barriles.     

     Lesley holds a B.A. in Religion from Princeton University, where she received the Frances LeMoyne Page Award for Theatre. She served on Theatre Bay Area’s Theatre Service Committee for six years, is past president of STAA, and has twice been a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, an honor bestowed only on the nation’s best and brightest. The proud mother of Jackson and Nate, and only 44, Lesley is an exquisite role model for young women in the arts.

     Janet Daijogo is the consummate teacher -- a role model of strength, flexibility and compassion as she endeavors to fulfill her goal of instilling in children a sense of importance, uniqueness and personal power.  A kindergarten teacher at Marin Country Day Elementary School since 1984, she has had a positive impact on hundreds of children.  She has incorporated an Aikido/Energy Awareness Program into the kindergarten program.  She holds a second degree black belt and uses aikido to build sensitivity and strength, and to teach children to be at peace with themselves and centered.  Prior to teaching kindergarten she spent 18 years working at the Marin Child Development Center in San Rafael, where she helped her students "mainstream" and go on to college and productive lives.      

     Ms. Daijogo understands how emotional trauma can affect a child. In 1942, she and her family were forced to leave their California home and live for three years at a relocation camp where Japanese-Americans were interned during World War II.  Ms. Daijogo received her B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley.  In 1990 she was honored by the California State Department of Education with the California Educator Award for teaching excellence.     

     Through the Resource Directory of Marin Women, she serves as a volunteer speaker to children about her wartime experiences.  A Mill Valley resident, she also designs art-to-wear clothing.

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ANN DIAMOND
Business & Professions
1989

     Newsweek has noted that Ann Diamond founded the first all women-lawyer legal firm in the Bay Area.  In addition to that "first," Ms. Diamond also pioneered the area of family law as a legal specialty.  As a member of the Family Law Advisory Commission of the California State Bar, she helped to set state guidelines for child and spousal support.  She taught law at U.C. Davis.     

     Ms. Diamond came to the U.S. from Hungary at the age of 17, speaking no English.  Within seven years she had graduated from high school, college and law school and passed the bar exam.  She went on to practice law with distinction until retirement at age 73.     

     Ann Diamond can look back on a legacy of the Marin Legal Aid Society, Lawyer Referral Service, developed family mediation techniques and a cadre of lawyers and judges who call her "mentor."  The first woman to serve as President of the Marin County Bar Association,  Ms. Diamond was also the President of the Northern California Chapter of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.     

     Ms. Diamond remains very active with the Family Law Center, Kids Turn and other innovative programs designed to help families at the time of separation.

Read the extended biography by Nancy Nakai

     Faye's passion -- helping create communities of justice, equality and peace for ourselves and the earth -- is clear to all who know her.  She works to change existing policies and resource allocation systems so that access and opportunity are provided to those who are most often neglected, especially women, children and the poor.  She strives to eliminate all forms of oppressive discrimination.   

     From her roots in rural Arkansas to the past 25 years in Marin, whether as attorney, feminist,  community activist, mother, educator or former Peace Corps leader, Faye has excelled.     

     Honored by her years of Peace Corps service, Faye's community development, planning and policy skills have served the legal and non-profit community, including Legal Aid of Marin, Marin Abused Women's Services, Marin's Juvenile Justice Commission, YWCA Legal Clinic, Marin County Bar Association, Marin County Women Lawyers, and the Triangle Alliance of Marin, a gay and lesbian political action committee.  Within these contexts, Faye helped to assist victims of domestic violence, improve access to the legal system, provide pro bono legal assistance, including legal clinics in Spanish, improve conditions at Juvenile Hall and Community Court School Program, and empower lesbians and gays to become involved in the political process.     

     Convinced that "we the people" hold the power, Faye does not sit quietly in the face of injustice, but chooses to act and urges others to act so that we all  have a future with integrity, justice, equality and peace.

Read the extended biography by Shari Rice.

GLORIA DUNCAN
Environment
1991

     Long before waste management became popular, Gloria Duncan was a leader forging a coalition of environmentalists, consumers, business communities and local governments.  Their task was to address issues associated with recycling, resource recovery and litter control.  Working closely with the garbage industry, she played a major role in pioneering curbside recycling.  She also assisted in the development of an internationally-recognized recycling facility in San Rafael, one of the first of its kind in the world.     

     In addition, Ms. Duncan has a record of achievement with environmental issues.  She has served on the statewide committee of the League of Women Voters relating to water issues and solid waste management.  She was a member of the advisory council to the Bureau of Land Management, and participated with the Association of Bay Area Governments in designing the environmental management plan dealing with air, water and solid waste problems of the San Francisco area.  Ms. Duncan served for eight years on the Marin County Planning Commission.  A Fairfax Town Council member for four year she also served as Mayor of Fairfax.  She was President of the Marin Conservation League, and has maintained an active involvement for twenty-five years.  She continues a 20 year membership in the Environmental Forum of Marin, also serving as its President for a term.   She served on the boards of the Marin Conservation Corps and the Marin Waste Management Advisory Council for many years.  Additional leadership roles are with the Bay Model Association, where she is currently the Chair, and the Marin Economic Council, where she is the Vice-Chair.

Read the extended biography by Shari Rice

JOANNE DUNN
Arts
2006

     Describing Joanne Dunn's contributions to Marin is an awesome task. She's served Marin County arts and service organizations as founder, board member, fundraiser, and PR person for 47 years. She's been happily married to Gordon Dunn for more than 50 years. A commitment from Joanne means long-term dedication.   

     Joanne's life is the arts began in the 1960's, when as a board member of the Marin County Junior Theater group, she joined the Masque Unit. This group brings live theater to children all over the Bay Area. Over the years she's been an actress, playwright (10 plays!), director, stagehand, and "gofer." She's still an active performing member.
   Joanne has co-founded four major arts organizations. In the 1970s Joanne and two friends saw the need to supplement arts education in the schools. The result was Youth In Arts, a highly visible and effectve nonprofit serving 30,000 Marin students annually. Simultaneously Joanne founded its volunteer arm, Youth In Arts Auxiliary, she originally underwrote Youth In Arts and sevred as its first executive director (40 volunteer hours/week). Both YIA organizations continue to flourish after 35 years, and Joanne is still involved.   

     In the 1980s Joanne and friends who share her love of the arts saw that the county's many various arts organizations were too small and isolated to have significant impact. Thus the Marin Arts Council, bringing these individual organizations together under one powerful umbrella, was born.   

     In the 1990s downtown San Rafael was on the decline. Joanne et al. saw this as opportunity for the arts community to help and be helped, so Art Works Downtown was born. This nonprofit creative haven provides gallery, studio, and living space to artists at reasonable prices. AWD has been a boon not only to artists and patrons, but it has made a positive impact on Fourth Street's appearance and economic growth. AWD is now regarded as one of the Bay Area's premier galleries.   

     Joanne has also worked tirelessly for the Marin Ballet, Marin Wildcare (formerly Terwilliger center), and San Francisco Theological Center's Montgomery Chapel. Joanne is also mother of a grown daughter, Sunday school pageant director, advisor, friend, and more. The common thread is her vision, imagination, skill, and tenacity. Her talent has not escaped notice. Mike Groza, recently retired from the Marin Community Foundation, remarked. "I think we should nominate Joanne to be the next director of FEMA." We agree!

MARYJANE DUNSTAN
Community Service
2005

     "Learning and teaching are my passions," said Maryjane Dunstan; first, last, and always an educator. After teaching at Merritt College and College of Marin, she was recruited by the State Department to teach in Burma under a Fulbright grant. Her work was so exceptional her one-year appointment was extended to four.      

     Maryjane founded the Communications Department at College of Marin, taught there for 20 years, and co-authored two "future studies" textbooks. A true visionary, she developed courses such as "Inventing the Future," at which Buckminster Fuller spoke. Her "Future Fare" in the early 70s envisioned such unheard of concepts as laser holograms, geodesic domes, and even personal computers.      

     Maryjane believed that educators have responsibility to the community. She served tirelessly on elected and appointed Larkspur commissions. An untiring catalyst for change, Maryjane always knew what to do and didn't hesitate to enlist others in getting it done. She earned the title of "Boss of Larkspur" because no matter how thorny the issue, she could always smile while she twisted arms and persuaded others to see things her way.       

     Maryjane also made her mark in the literary community. Co-owner of the beloved Artist's Proof Bookstore on Magnolia Avenue, she hosted a series of literary lunches first at Fabrizio's, then at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, and finally at the Larkspur Cafe Theater. Not only did she bring in world-class authors, she also engaged them in conversations that went straight to the heart of their work. She stripped away all facades, ultimately revealing each author as "one of us."    

     Before her death in 2002, she left her friends some words of appreciation, along with a few regrets:     

     I regret that I cannot hop out of bed and walk down Magnolia today. . . that I'm not out on the links trying for another hole-in-one! I regret that I am not able to send daily emails to our elected officials seeking their active leadership for peaceful problem solving and UN negotiations rather than wars and more killing fields. Yet treasuring each moment . . . I feel a measure of peace. . . . I have evolved in a culture when we women gained some rights and are now emerging as leaders for a just and peaceful world.       

     Maryjane Dunstan followed her passions until her death in December 2002. What a legacy!