Marin Women's Hall of Fame

     For 30 years, Françoise Lepage, PhD, Professor and Dean Emerita at Dominican University of California’s School of Business, has pursued a vision: to enhance Marin’s global perspective. What makes this woman unique is her singular ability to translate her vision into concrete plans and partnerships.    

     In the 1980s she secured a National Science Foundation grant to create a program that would enhance the global perspective of Marin’s K- 2 teachers. What’s unique is that Lepage’s NSF grant was for a social studies program—unheard of from a foundation focused on science and mathematics. NSF funded the program for four years, and then hired Dr. Lepage as a consultant to promote social science grant opportunities within NSF.    

     In the 1990s Dr. Lepage became the founding director of Dominican’s Graduate Program in Pacific Basin Studies. With faculty backing for the new MBA curriculum with an innovative new focus, she secured a grant from the Compton Foundation to establish the program. Lepage’s work has been the foundation of Dominican University’s business program for 25 years.    

     In fall 2007, thanks to Dr. Lepage’s vision, Dominican University will begin its Green MBA program. This innovative curriculum, an offshoot of Pacific Basin Studies, is an example of the way Francoise Lepage works: concept to vision to implementation to reimplementation— accompanied by amazing perseverance, tenacity, and long-term commitment.    

     Along with these formidable academic contributions, Lepage enjoys getting a personal look at the world. Besides meeting alumni in Taipei, Tokyo, Bangkok, and Shanghai, addresses to business groups in Seoul, Sydney, Marrakech, and even San Rafael fill her calendar. She’s also brought an astonishing group of world figures to lecture on campus, among them the late U.S. ambassador to the UN Jeanne Kirkpatrick, former secretary of defense Robert McNamara, anthropologist Louise Leakey, oceanographer Sylvia Earle, psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison, and string theorist Brian Green.    

     Dr. Lepage has received many awards for her achievements, among them a Japan Foundation Fellowship, the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Marin Cultural Center, the Sarlo Distinguished Professor Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Pacific Basin Alumni Award.    

     Marymount University, Lepage’s alma mater, has awarded this outstanding woman a Doctor of Human Letters as a “distinguished alumna and educator.” Young women searching for a role model with the vision, fortitude, and talent to change the world need look no further than Marin’s own Françoise Lepage.

CAROLINE S. LIVERMORE
Environment
1990

     Beginning in the 1930's, Caroline Livermore realized that the beauty of Marin could not last forever without protection and planning.  She devoted her life to that end.  She helped to halt development of Mount Tamalpais, saving its slopes for the valuable watershed it has become.  Later, she was instrumental in having part of the mountain formed into California's first state park.  The Marin Conservation League, under her leadership for twenty years, made successful efforts to save Stinson Beach, which later became California's first state beach park.  She negotiated for the purchase of lands which were subsequently formed into Samuel B. Taylor Park and Tomales Bay State Park.  To protect the scenery from the presence of unsightly roadside billboards, Mrs. Livermore worked with the county supervisors to pass the county's first anti-billboard ordinance.     

     Mrs. Livermore spearheaded a drive to save, relocate and restore the historic Lyford Manson, now a Marin historic site located in the Richardson Bay tidelands area, which she also helped to preserve and protect.  In leading the efforts to preserve Angel Island from private development, Caroline Livermore worked tirelessly for fifteen years lobbying state and national policy makers.  In 1970, Angel Island was declared a state park and a national landmark, with Mt. Livermore, the highest peak on the island, named in her honor.  In addition to these conservation efforts, Mrs. Livermore was a founder of the Marin Audubon Society, the Marin Art and Garden Center, the Richardson Bay Foundation and the Point Reyes National Seashore Foundation.

Read Caroline Livermore's extended biography

PAMELA WRIGHT LLOYD
Environment
1998

     Pamela Wright Lloyd of Mill Valley has devoted much of her life to safeguarding the environment.  She was a founder of the Marin Conservation Corps (MCC), the first local community conservation corps in the U.S. which provides disadvantaged youth with opportunities to learn land stewardship and develop job skills through community service.  In 1972 Lloyd co-founded the Environmental Forum of Marin to inform community members about the environment.  She was also instrumental in developing the nationally recognized Marin Countywide Plan which continues, 20 years later, to provide real protection to Marin's natural environment.     

     Lloyd was the first women President of the Marin Municipal Water  District Board of Directors where she helped guide the county through its first major drought and established policies that were later replicated in other parts of the country.  In 1987 she was appointed to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, and has been called one of its most respected and effective members.  In 1990, she was awarded the Ted Wellman Memorial Award by the Marin Conservation League for outstanding community service in protecting water resources.   
     Lloyd has demonstrated leadership and vision in all her undertakings.  As former Marin County Supervisor Al Aramburu said of Lloyd, his former aide, "She is a woman of uncommon intelligence, dedication and integrity, serving as an exemplary role model for women of all ages."  Lloyd is highly respected for the strength of her environmental convictions, her willingness to respond to the concerns of others, her fair-mindedness, and her general good nature.  Her achievements will benefit Marin County, the Bay Area environment, and its people for decades to come.

Read the extended biography by Stephanie Douglass

MARTHA MARTINEZ
Community Service
1996

    Martha  Martinez volunteered for many organizations that provided services for the Latino population in Marin, especially those that helped the Latinos become more a part of the community.  Where no programs existed, she started them.  One of her most outstanding services was the work she did for the Novato police department in composing Spanish translations for publications.  She worked with the Marin Independent Elders Project, the Marin Housing Authority, Fair Housing La Familia Center, In-Home Support Services of Marin and the Commission on Aging.  Ms. Martinez developed a Language Bank to bring bilingual volunteers to serve low income seniors in Marin.     

     Her respect for elders fueled her and she directed her energies toward the elderly in general and the Latino elderly in particular.  She formed the Corazon Latino groups for senior Latino women and for men.  She founded a program with the Novato Police Department called "Are You OK?", which is still operating, in which volunteers call home-bound seniors every day to check on their safety.  She served as a mentor to many Hispanic women in Marin, encouraging them and promoting higher education.  Ms. Martinez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico.  After attending school in San Antonio, Texas, she worked in Mexico City as a translator for the Rockefeller and Ford foundations as a secretary to the Minister of Agriculture, returning to the United States to live in 1965.  She died September 13, 1995.  Novato Police Chief Brian Brady said, "Martha Martinez's accomplishments and legacy will live on.  The police and this community lost a friend."

ROYCE YVONNE McLEMORE
Social Change
2006

     Royce McLemore is a dynamic activist whose "Women Helping All People" fosters personal achievement, economic independence, and a sense of belonging to a community.    

     In 1990, sixteen Marin City women gathered on Royce's front lawn to express their concern for the community's young women who lived in public housing, had nothing to do, and faced a future of more of the same. Under Royce's leadership, Women Helping Women, a grassroots support service, was formed. Through Royce's strong belief that "you can do anything you want to do," WHW gradually was transformed into something greater, Women Helping All People (WHAP). WHAP's mission is to provide low-income Marin residents - particularly those in public housing - with information, support services, and educational opportunities that develop self esteem, economic self-sufficiency, and a sense of community. (WHAP's programs are open to all Marin residents regardless of race, color, sex, or creed.)    

     Impressed by WHAP's plan, the Marin Housing Authority provided office space. With an office, a $1,000 donation, and a lot of hustling for furniture and equipment, WHAP was a business, and Royce was Executive Director. Assisted by the Marin Housing Authority, Community Action Marin, the Sausalito School District and various county agencies, WHAP's mission expanded again, this time to offer goal-directed bootstrap programs for all low income Marin County residents.    

     WHAP offers an impressive line-up. In- and After School Safe House is a tutorial program for K-12 students. Landscape Services, partnering with Marin Conservation corps, trains young men to be gardeners and provides opportunities to own businesses in public housing areas. The Oracle/Independent Studies Program works with MCOE to offer independent study to enable high school dropouts to earn a diploma. The GED/ESL Literacy Class, in cooperation with Marin Literacy Council, provides tutors to teach English to residents who don't speak English. Vietnamese residents of Marin City have benefited greatly from this program.    

     The Cumper Learning Center teaches computer skills that open the door to better-paying jobs. The Housing Authority provided funds for Computer Repair Training classes, with even better jobs in mind. Finder's Keepers, with help from Ritter house, offers clothing and household items to people in need. Finally, WHAP's Scholastic Academy offers a supportive learning environment for students who perform below grade level and need extra help to improve.    

     Royce's determination, fired by her strong personal faith, is the driving force behind all this. Congratulations, Royce McLemore! 

     Dr Lois Merriweather Moore, a wife, mother, grandmother, and Novato resident, has been an educator for 35 years. She empowers her students to envision their own excellence, and gives them the tools to achieve success.     

     Dr. Moore taught Spanish, English, and English as a Second Language in Marin’s middle and high schools. While famous for setting the performance bar high, Lois set even higher standards for herself. She knew that if she didn’t excel, she couldn’t expect her students to excel. She is a superior role model for students. In addition to speaking appearances and presenting research at international conferences, her professional training included the Women & Power Executive Education Program at Harvard University and the Institute for Social and International Studies in Barcelona, Spain.    

     As an Adjunct Professor in the International & Multicultural Education Department of the University of San Francisco, Dr. Moore teaches other teachers and administrators. She assists doctoral scholars in gathering, organizing, and presenting research at international conferences such as the Hawaii International Conference on Education in Honolulu and the International Association for Intercultural Education Conference in Verona, Italy. Presenting at prestigious conferences gives junior scholars needed exposure that significantly enhances job marketability, and Lois shows them how it’s done.    

     Moore also helps doctoral scholars navigate the arduous road to professional publication – a critical step on the path to tenure. In her second publication, The Dispersion of Africans and African Culture Throughout the World: Essays on the African Diaspora, Moore edited and published the research of several doctoral scholars that she taught. By having a publication on record before they graduated, Moore’s students had an edge in the job market. Dr. Moore’s collaboration in this work was a milestone in the history of USF’s School of Education.    

     Lois Moore teaches more than what’s in the textbook. She’s a living example that education is a lifetime project. She teaches students how to live by exhibiting character, self-respect, perseverance, and integrity. She empowers students by challenging them to perform at levels they thought impossible.   

     Dr. Moore’s commitment to community and educational excellence has been widely recognized. She has received the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award, the Novato Citizen of the Year Award, the Bay Area Blacks in Philanthropy Leadership & Achievement Award, the Carl. A. Grant Multicultural Research Award, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Gates Millennium Scholarship Award. We welcome her to the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame.

    The Marin Women’s Hall of Fame honors Catherine Munson for her past efforts to preserve the Marin County Civic Center, acquire land for permanent open space and create the Point Reyes National Seashore.

    Catherine Munson grew up in a little town in central Nebraska during the depression. Her childhood was simple but she enjoyed an excellent basic education and an outstanding music education. This foundation gave her the tools for a rich and rewarding life. 

    She graduated from the University of Nebraska with a double masters degree in microbiology and biochemistry. She met her first husband, Bill Munson, there. They lived in Chicago before moving to their dream city, San Francisco. When they purchased an Eichler home in Terra Linda, it was the 200th house in this brand new community. They wanted to help shape the destiny of this new community. They were also committed to public recreation in Terra Linda. 

    Catherine went to work for Joseph Eichler. She also worked with Caroline Livermore to raise money for construction and physically worked to build Pixie Place at the Marin Art and Garden Center – the first preschool playground in Marin County.  She was pivotally involved in preserving the Frank Lloyd Wright Civic Center, the acquisition of permanent open space and the Pt. Reyes National Park.

    When Bill died in 1967, she continued working for Joseph Eichler and to support her 3 daughters. She formed Lucas Valley Properties in 1967 and has directed this firm prosperously ever since. Her daughter Shelley has been a principal for almost 30 years.

    In 1975 she married Bud Sthymmel, her real estate mentor.  They traveled the world when not working intensely and enjoyed great happiness with his 3 boys and her 3 girls. 

    Her real estate career includes developments such as Pacheco Valley, Sunrise Pointe, Quarry Mountain Estates as well as five industrial condominium projects, McInnis Park Golf Center and various commercial projects. She continues to be the premier representative of Eichler homes, having sold over 3,000 of these iconic midcentury modern residences.

    She has served on the Board of the Marin Symphony almost continuously since 1965, and has endowed the concert master chair. She has been treasurer of Wednesday Morning Dialogue for 20 years. Her service on the Frank Lloyd Wright Civic Center Conservancy also spans 20 years and her service on the Marin History Museum Board spans the same time.

    A major focus has been her role in founding the Marin Community Bank, later Business Bank of California. Currently she is vice chair of Alta Pacific Bank in Santa Rosa. Her interest in two philanthropies over shadows all others:

The first is Project Amigo – an educational project in Southwest Mexico. She has served as president of the Board for 10 years.  Their efforts have resulted in 26 indigenous children being currently enrolled in the University of Colima, Mexico. 15 have graduated including 2 lawyers and one practicing physician. Started by many Marin County Rotary Clubs,  currently there are over 300 kids in the project from preschool to graduate school.    

    Her second passion is for the Buck Institute for Age Research.  She is currently vice Chair of the Board. She is devoted to basic research into causes of aging and to results which will extend the healthy life span.

    Catherine is an enthusiastic pillar of Marin County, involved in conservation, the arts, and the preservation of Marin County’s history.

 Helping others, seniors, the disabled, the economically disadvantaged, to find affordable housing has been Mary Murtagh’s primary focus since college. After graduating cum laude from Wellesley College, she studied architecture at M.I.T. Mary was assigned to design a bus shelter in a public housing project and saw for the first time, the reality of urban poverty. She was motivated to be part of the solution and abandoned architecture to become involved in urban problems, housing policy and real estate finance.

Mary believes that poverty is very often a women’s issue that has a cascading effect due to discrimination and flawed social policies. Early in her career, Mary saw that the security of housing would provide a secure foundation to give disadvantaged women and their families an opportunity to succeed.

Today Mary serves as President and CEO at EAH Housing, (Ecumenical Association for Housing) and has overseen EAH develop over 5,500 units in 42 municipalities in California and Hawaii - often places where "affordable housing" is an oxymoron.

Mary served as Assistant Deputy Administrator of the Community Redevelopment Agency in Los Angeles and Development Officer for the Urban Development Action Program of HUD. She spearheaded a $4 million renovation of the 174-unit Arlington Hotel in San Francisco for St. Vincent de Paul, an award-winning development, one of the first "sober" residential complexes in the nation for recovering alcoholics.

Mary’s perseverance, innovation, enormous energy, leadership ability and focus on affordable housing has proven to be her life-defining work: growing EAH from a small grassroots organization with 16 properties in Marin to a nationally recognized non-profit housing development, management and advocacy organization serving over 18,000 individuals in two states.

Her innovative policy changes at EAH Housing have included: access to technology for EAH residents, a corporate-wide "green" policy, programs for women re-entering the job force, residential training programs and child care facilities. Mary championed the first computer learning center in HUD’s Western Region; a network of 13 centers in EAH developments. She is committed to preserving properties at risk of conversion to Market Rate housing by keeping them available for low-income families and seniors.

From bureaucracy and NIMBYs, dried-up financial support systems, to an ever increasing demand for affordable housing, Mary has faced set-backs and challenges with grit and tenacity. Whether it is Edgewater Place, Mackey Terrace, Cecilia Place or one of a dozen others, she sees each property as a vital safe harbor for families who are working hard to keep their lives together.

The Hall of Fame is proud of Mary’s enduring quest to provide affordable housing for those in need.

     Edna Muse is a volunteer dedicated to many Marin organizations.  She has committed countless hours to many causes that impact the quality of life for local residents, including the American Cancer Society, the Novato Human Needs Center, the Novato Unified School District, and numerous local hospitals.  She co-founded the Concerned Parents of Novato, a multiracial organization that raises scholarship money for local African-American youth.  Her ability to walk in someone else's shoes has made her a valuable asset to the Novato Police Advisory and Review Board.  Her service ranges from helping to collect emergency foods, to serving on speakers bureaus, to being in charge of fund-raising.  She's upbeat and possesses an uncanny ability to find the common bound between diverse groups of people.  An active member of her church, she is an extraordinary singer and soloist in the choir.     

     Ms. Muse's contributions have been recognized in numerous awards including the Humanitarian Award from the Marin County Human Rights Commission.  A close friend wrote, "It can be truly said of Edna Muse that she has played a part in fulfilling the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  She has tried to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit those who were in prison;  she has tried to love and serve humanity."

Read Edna Muse's extended biography

HELEN NELSON
Public Affairs
1989

     Helen Nelson has devoted most of her adult life to consumer advocacy and education.  With a focus on American consumer, she has promoted fairness and truth.  Often in the public spotlight, she has held press conferences, testified before state legislatures and the U.S. Congress, addressed countless audiences and worked with numerous national and international leaders.  Helen began her consumer work by becoming Consumer Counsel to California Governor Edmund Brown.  In this position - the first of its kind in the country - she drafted and recommended consumer legislation.  She had to work against "special interest" lobbyists, especially those representing industries who did not want to label the contents in their products (such as the food and cosmetics industries), who did not want to provide the actual cost of credit ("truth in lending") and who did not want to otherwise inform the spending public.     

     In addition to her work in Sacramento, Helen served on the Consumer Advisory Council to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.  Later, she was the Public Governor of the American Stock Exchange from 1972 - 1978, as well as Consumer Consultant to the U.S. Congress.  For fifteen years she served on the Board of the Consumers Union.  Under President Jimmy Carter, she was appointed a member of the President's Export Council, as well as Consumer Advisor to the Federal Reserve Board.  In 1979, she founded the Consumer Research Foundation, which makes policy recommendations on consumer matters throughout the world.  In 1996, she was featured as the commentator on a video of the history of the American consumer movement entitled "Change Makers: The Struggle for Consumer Rights".

Read Helen Nelson's extended biography