Marin Women's Hall of Fame

    When Elaine Petrocelli opened a bookstore 32 years ago, she envisioned a place that would bring the world to Marin and vice versa. That she has done so successfully, against the odds, is in itself a great story.    

    Elaine Petrocelli has always been the face and heart of Book Passage, with her husband, Bill, working in the background. She announces speakers, introduces new programs, speaks to the community, and will recommend a string of books at the slightest request. She has worked hard to ensure that Book Passage remains Marin’s favorite bookstore.    

    Innovation, hard work, optimism, and community spirit are Elaine’s trademarks. When celebrity authors visit the Bay Area, they want to come to Book Passage. The store hosts 700 author events each year – nearly two a day – of presidents, pundits, Nobelists, and first time novelists. Many people come hours early or sit on the floor, just to glimpse their favorite authors.    

     Book Passage classes and conferences help make it more than just a business. Book Passage teaches everything from writing memoirs to marketing your manuscript. The calendar is anchored each year by the Mystery Writers Conference, the Children’s Book Conference, and the Travel Writers Conference. With a reputation for solid content, an engaging professional faculty, and an international base for students, Book Passage has brought the community bookstore to a new level.    

     Elaine makes sure to give back to the community. Under her guidance, Book Passage events raise money for Hospice of Marin, Marin Community Clinic, Buckelew Programs, Canal Community Alliance, Marin Abused Women Services, Marin Aids Projects, Breast Cancer Action, Performing Stars, Marin Literacy Project, Marin Education Fund, and many other programs. Book Passage becomes a rallying-point in times of crisis. When the literary community wanted to put on a fund-raiser on short notice to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Book Passage stepped in with an extraordinarily successful event.    

     Elaine and Book Passage are widely recognized beyond Marin, with a newsletter reaching 40,000 people worldwide. Other independent booksellers consider her an innovator and mentor. Elaine has been named “Bookseller of the Year” by Publishers Weekly and recognized as a “Woman Making History” by the International Women’s Forum. She has received a “Creative Achievement Award” from Mill Valley as well as an “Inspiring the Future Award” from the Marin Education Fund. Elaine Petrocelli has written herself into the heart of the community and the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame.

REBECCA PORRATA
Community Service
1992

     Rebecca Orosco de Porrata was born in a barrio in Southern California.  Although her alcoholic father was frequently absent from the home because of his work as a longshoreman, her mother was always present to guide and encourage her, and remains her role model to this day.  Ms. Porrata studied nursing at Creedmore State Hospital School of Nursing  Adelphi University, and Sonoma State University.  She worked as a psychiatric nurse at hospitals in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and California.  She also developed a practical nursing program in New Jersey for low income and minority women.  Through the course, the women gained entry level health care job skills.     

     When she moved to West Marin, Ms. Porrata became aware of the growing Hispanic population's unmet needs - the health problems, community isolation, language barrier, and illiteracy.  As a public health nurse, she worked with the local community to integrate that population and solve those problems.  In her position as Health Services Coordinator at the West Marin Family Center, based at the West Marin School, she works closely with a variety of organization to identify outreach strategies for the Hispanic community and to assist them in identifying their own needs.     

     Her daughter  Alexandra is a graduate of the nursing program at Dominican College and her daughter Yolanda currently attends San Francisco State University.

MARILYN PRICE
Sports & Recreation
2006

     "Marilyn Price" and "Trips for Kids" are rarely mentioned separately. The terms are two sides of an equation. And Trips for Kids (TFK) is why Marilyn has been named to the Marin Women's Hall of Fame.    

     For the past twenty years, TFK has been the focus of Marilyn's life. She works 70 to 80 hours a week to provide at-risk children ---kids who need it most---with the opportunity to ride mountain bikes. Not only do the kids take bike trips supervised by caring adults, they also learn to fix and maintain their equipment. They can even learn bike repair and earn credits to purchase a bike for themselves. In the process they make friends, learn skills, and discover that exercise is fun. Less obvious are learning to set and accomplish goals, gaining respect for the environment, and finding that dreams are achievable---maybe a bike ride away.    

     A native of St. Louis, Marilyn earned a B.A. in sociology from the University of Michigan. She moved to Marin 40 years ago and has two grown children. She has experience in non-profit management, environmentalism, social work, and bicycle advocacy. She worked for the Resource Renewal Institiute, developed local recycling projects, volunteered with homeless youth, and worked at the first mountain bike shop in Marin.    

     Perseverance is one of Marilyn's hallmarks. By persevering she was able to succeed in a male-dominated sport. "Sustained commitment is vital." she says. "You have to set your sights and keep at it."    

     Perseverance is also evident in the success of TFK. Originally a volunteer-run program run on a hope and a dream out of Marilyn's living room, TFK now has an office, a staff of 15, and hundreds of volunteers. So far more than 28,000 low-income, inner city, at-risk kids across the country have taken a ride with TFK.    

     Seeing Marilyn in action is to witness selfless giving. Though eager to get on with her "to do" list, she always has time to check in with staff and visitors to the office. She's a big reason why Trips for Kids has caught on across the U.S. 

     Marilyn has awards from the Marin County Human Rights Commission, the Marin Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Girl Scouts, and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Marilyn Price has rightly earned her place in the Marin Women's Hall of Fame.

RACHEL NAOMI REMEN, MD
Health/Medicine
2005

      Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, a 1962 graduate of Cornell Medical School, is a visionary and medical reformer. A pioneer in the development of Holistic and Mind/Body medicine, her life's work has successfully legitimized and reintegrated the human spirit into contemporary medical care and education. Dr. Remen is Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine. Her courses for medical students enable them to see beyond the disease process and strengthen the mind, heart and spirit of their patients. Her course  "The Healer's Art" was featured in US News and World Report's Best Graduate Schools 2002 to illustrate the future of medical education and is now taught at 33 medical schools.       

     Under her guidance as Founder and Director of the Institute for the Study of Health and Illness at Commonweal, thousands of physicians and medical educators have studied the principles and practices of a medicine of healing. Her programs for graduate physicians have helped doctors recover from the wounding of their training and reclaim their commitment to the heart and soul of medicine.       

     As a clinician for 20 years, Dr. Remen worked with people with cancer and their families and practiced in Marin County. In 1986 she became co-founder and medical director of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Bolinas, featured by Bill Moyers in his PBS series "Healing and the Mind." She was among the first to recognize the psychological and spiritual impact of cancer on people and their families and develop innovative methods to mobilize the healing power of every individual in recovering their personal wholeness.        

     Dr. Remen has a 52-year personal history of Crohn's disease and her work uniquely blends the viewpoints of physician and patient. A master storyteller and speaker, over the past thirty years she has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country, reminding them of their courage, the importance and healing power of their stories and their ability to make a difference.        

     Dr. Remen wrote The Human Patient (Doubleday 1981), one of the earliest books on the medicine of the whole person. She is the best-selling author of Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal and My Grandfather's Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge and Belonging.  Her books have been translated into 18 languages and are textbooks in many nursing and medical schools here and abroad. Dr. Remen has spoken at many medical school graduations and holds three honorary degrees.

DAISY MARIA SAEZ
de IBARRA
(posthumous)
Community Service
2007

     Daisy Maria Saez de Ibarra was a feminist before the word became a movement. One of a handful of women in the 1940s and 1950s to attend law school in Cuba, Daisy worked as a lawyer and social worker in her native country. In those days, such jobs always belonged to men.    

     She and her husband Octavio found conditions in Communist Cuba growing intolerable. In 1960 they left their homeland in search of freedom and a new life. After settling in Marin, Daisy never returned to her beloved Cuba again.   

     Daisy’s keen intelligence, boundless generosity, and personal and professional integrity helped her adjust to her new home. Eager to help other immigrants adjust, Daisy co-found La Familia Center, a place where Spanish speaking people could find jobs, learn English, and find housing. Although her title was “Trabajadora Social” (social worker), she was much more. She was the “go-to” person who connected people to services and resources, helped them solve problems, and encouraged them with the words, “Si, se puede!” (yes, you can).    

     Her training in the law had sharpened Daisy’s sense of injustice. She recognized exploitation when she saw it and was quick to help people seek legal assistance and redress. Because of her own traumatic experience as a newcomer, Daisy knew that celebrating traditional cultural events was a good way to help immigrants forge a new community. She encouraged these celebrations, and this legendary cook would bring her famous Cuban flan to every event.    

     After leaving La Familia, Daisy saw the need for another place to serve the growing Hispanic community. She encouraged Marta Martinez to start the Multicultural Program at Whistlestop. Today the program thrives, with three fulltime employees providing seniors with language programs, referral and translation services, ESL and citizenship classes, and more.   

     The final career stop for Daisy was the Marin Department of Health and Human Services. For 14 years she helped Spanish-speakers work through legal regulations to determine if they qualified for Medical, food stamps, or cash benefits.    

     Daisy was a fully realized human being, a woman of integrity and action. Cuba was always in her heart, while she worked tirelessly to provide friendship and assistance to others trying to adjust to a new home. Daisy and her legacy of service to her community will not be forgotten.

DEBORAH SANTANA
Social Change
2007

     Deborah Santana is a true Renaissance woman. To say she’s an author, business woman, wife, mother, and philanthropist is to scratch the surface. Perhaps the best way to understand this woman is to look at her memoir, Space Between the Stars. With grace and wisdom, she explores issues of faith, spirituality, race, sexuality, love, marriage, motherhood and womanhood. Through writing, Deborah shares her ongoing quest to believe in and express her best self—and, in doing so, to love and serve humanity.   
     Born in San Francisco in the 1950s, Deborah grew up in a culture in profound transition. Her father, a pioneering African-American blues guitarist and singer, and her mother, an independent Irish/British-American career woman, married before interracial unions were legal in many states—and at a time when wives were not expected to work outside the home. They created a colorblind household where all dreams were possible. The speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the songs of Mahalia Jackson helped form Deborah’s sense of equality and social justice.     

     Ms. Santana emerged as a successful entrepreneur in the early ’70s. At the age of twenty-two, she owned and managed a thriving vegetarian restaurant in the heart of San Francisco. She met musician Carlos Santana at a concert at the Marin Civic Center. They married in 1973 and have three children together. In 1994, the couple assumed management of the Santana Band.   

     In 1998, the Santanas established the Milagro Foundation, a nonprofit organization serving children and youth in the areas of health, education and the arts. The Milagro Foundation –milagro meaning miracle – has made hundreds of grants to underserved and underprivileged children and youth in 30 states and 35 countries, with a focus on agencies in Marin County.    

     Santana’s accomplishments have been widely recognized. In 2000, Ms. Santana received the UCLA César E. Chávez Spirit Award in recognition of her philanthropic work. In 2004, she received a Women of Distinction Award from Soroptimist International for her outstanding achievements in business and leadership. She and Carlos have been recognized by YOUTHAIDS for their efforts battling the AIDS pandemic in Africa. In 2006 Deborah received one of the Marin Human Rights Commission’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Awards. Deborah Santana has earned her place in the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame.

     In 1983, Judge Savitt became the first woman to serve on the Marin County Superior Court bench.  She earned her law degree at Bolt Hall School of Law at U.C. Berkeley.  She and two other attorneys formed the first all-female law firm in the country.  She was the eighth woman to join the Marin County Bar Association and the second to serve as its President.  She has generously contributed her time and energy to the education of lawyers and judges, particularly in the area of family law.  She has been the founding member of many important organizations whose central purpose is to empower women and ensure that their voices are heard:  the California Women Lawyers, the Marin Chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus of Marin, and the Center for Families in Transition.     

     In the 1970's she was active with the Marin County Chapter of the League of Women Voters when she analyzed and made recommendations for improving the juvenile court system in Marin.  She also served as Vice Chair of the Juvenile Justice Commission.     

     While serving on the Marin Council for Civic Affairs, Judge Savitt recommended reforming the grand jury selection system and developed a questionnaire for the court which is still in use.  She has been instrumental in planning and implementing many changes to improve the quality of justice in Marin County -- including initiating a new way to handle family law matters and promoting alternative dispute resolution.  In 1983 she was honored with the Women Making History award.  Although she retired from the bench in 1995, Judge Savitt still serves as a private judge.

REV. FU NANCY SCHROEDER
Religion
2008    

     Fu Schroeder is a Buddhist priest, a teacher, an activist, an innovator, an organizer, and a visionary. She is a mother, a mentor, a friend. Ordained in 1986, Fu has been part of the San Francisco Zen Center for 30 years. She serves as Director at Green Gulch Farm, and as president of the Marin Interfaith Council. But these words don’t reveal the person, or show why Fu has been nominated to the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame.    

     At Green Gulch Fu has worked towards positive change, for ways to bring Buddhism to the greater community. She developed a Work Practice Apprenticeship program that enables people on limited income to participate in life at Green Gulch. She initiated a Three Week Intensive Medication Period that enables staff to use quieter times at the center to renew their personal spiritual practice. She established a Coming of Age program that offers teens a year in which they examine issues of maturity, responsibility, and service while exploring meditation and self expression.    

     Fu has helped make Green Gulch a place that welcomes diversity. She has helped make the center more accessible to people with disabilities. She has led retreats designed to present Buddhist teachings in a safe environment for the LGTBQQ community. She has served on the Diversity and Multiculturalism committee at the center and Marin Horizon School, which her daughter attends.    

     Fu also initiated a unique cultural exchange program with members of the Little Singer Community School on Navajo land. One summer several Navajos visited Green Gulch, and the next Fu led a group to the Navajo lands in the Four Corners. Among the contingent was Fu’s African American daughter who has physical challenges. This trip gave Fu the chance to practice plenty of patience, compassion, leadership, and love, day to day. The impact of this cultural exchange on all the participants cannot be measured.    

     As a Buddhist priest, Rev. Fu bears witness to the importance of women as leaders in religion. Through her work, she creates a peaceful space for people to come together in the spirit of harmony and understanding. When she was ordained, candidate Nancy Schroeder received a “dharma” name meant to express some of her unique qualities. The name she was given, “Furyu Doshin,” translates from the Japanese as “Wind and Stream, Way Seeking Heart.” This name clearly captures the qualities Fu manifests.  

     Vera Schultz was a trailblazer for Marin County women's involvement in politics.  During her lifetime, she was a living demonstration that women can make a constructive contribution to society.  She was first elected to the Mill Valley City Council.  Within a few years, she became the first woman ever elected to the Marin County Board of Supervisors.  She distinguished herself quickly, pushing for the professionalization of services offered by the county government.  She was instrumental in the creation of the County Administrator, Public Works Commissioner and County Counsel positions and she actively supported the establishment of a County Personnel Commission.  She served on the ad hoc committee that formed the Marin Women's Commission.  She was selected as a director of the California State Supervisors Association, again one of the first women to serve in that role.  Ms. Schultz was also active in the Marin leadership of the League of Women Voters and was involved with the creation of Marin General Hospital.     

     For all of her numerous contributions to Marin, Vera Schultz, is best remembered for her leadership in obtaining the services of world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design the Marin County Civic Center.  Through numerous obstacles, Ms. Schultz' enthusiasm and drive kept the construction on track.  The Civic Center is a landmark building that is now visited by lovers of architecture from around the world.  It is this legacy to Marin of which Vera Schultz was most proud.

Read the extended biography by Ms Sally Hauser

     Ethel Seiderman is nationally recognized for her creative approaches to childcare and family, establishing cooperative nursery schools tied to parent education programs.  Growing up in the Bronx during the Depression years, and educated at Brooklyn College during the McCarthy era, Ms. Seiderman worked in the settlement movement, first at the Henry Street Settlement House in the lower east side of Manhattan and later at the Roxbury Neighborhood Center in  Boston.  Under the auspices of San Francisco State University she directed the nurseries in the Cross Cultural Education programs providing experiences to children and opportunities to parents in order to build a greater sense of community and communications across diverse populations.  She established and directed one of the first infant care programs in the state, the Florence Crittendon Infant Center, geared to providing quality childcare to teenage mothers while they finished school.      

     In 1973, she founded the Fairfax-San Anselmo Children's Center which has served as a model for other programs throughout the nation.  The Center consists of the infant-toddler program, pre-school and after-school programs, and the "Get Well Room."  Her exemplary Parents Service Project provides workshops, support groups, respite care, and family events, all of which contribute to  enhance the  leadership and sense of competency of low income families from diverse backgrounds.

     A long time consumer activist, as founder of TURN (Toward Utility Rate Normalization) in 1973, Sylvia Siegel became the main protagonist and protector of all utility paying consumers.  After finding that no one was really challenging the utilities companies, Ms. Siegel became a self-taught expert of complicated utility law.     

     Ms. Siegel's work led to the utility industry changing its rate structure to eliminate a discount for increased usage - so that it now supports reduced use.  Her efforts also helped to mandate a "lifeline rate" - a minimum amount of gas and electric made available at reasonable rates for those who needed it most - the segment of the population on fixed incomes.     

     She utilized her ability to interpret complicated data and communicate the findings into the "everyday language that consumers can understand," and make it "juicy" enough so that people would listen.  Among some 250 consumer advocates in California, Ms. Siegel became the most visible and viable advocate in the state.  Upon her retirement from TURN, she was hired by the Marin County Board of Supervisors to represent the interest of the consumers of Marin with Viacom Cable.  She went on to organize a statewide group called Consumers Cable Commission.     

     Recently elected to the Marin Health Care District Board,  Ms. Siegel continues to be an active advocate and voice of the consumer, and serving her second term on the Board of KQED.

Read Sylvia Siegel's extended biography

Gloria's work and focus are from three sources: love and respect for children; an understanding of the profound benefits of art and play as healing tools; a belief that everyone has something of value to contribute and that everyone needs opportunities to give back.

At thirteen, she became a child advocate, as a volunteer in a NYC pediatric hospital where she painted with critically ill children. After high school she traveled and founded three small schools for children in Spain, Holland and Peru. Using art she followed her lifelong dreams and passion and created a unique way for children to cope and to begin healing.

Gloria received a B.F.A. from The Cooper Union in New York City and an M.A. in counseling psychology and an honorary M.A. degree in expressive art therapy from The California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. In 1980 she moved to the Bay Area. In 1981, she began therapeutic art programs at two San Francisco hospitals; California Pacific Medical Center/University of California, and San Francisco’s Moffitt Hospital. At the Children’s Cancer Research Institute, she created an arts program to help children cope and express themselves. "The children," she remembers, "taught me to listen and to sit with pain."
In1989, she founded the DrawBridge Foundation: An Arts Program for Homeless Children, in the canal district of San Rafael.  It has served over 10,000 children in family shelters: providing safety, stability and respect for homeless children offering art, collage, role-playing and other artistic methods.
DrawBridge also has 30 sites in seven bay area counties. As one of the earliest and most successful programs for the homeless population of Marin, DrawBridge has become a model for other states and also established international partnerships with groups in Afghanistan, Palestine, India and Mexico. Over the past ten years, Gloria offered training in working with children in crisis in Europe and Africa, with a focus on children affected by HIV/AIDS.

Gloria Simoneaux was founder, fund-raiser and Executive Director of Drawbridge for nineteen years.  She recently started a new organization, Harambee Arts, which partners with African grassroots programs to train local caregivers to provide art programs for vulnerable children in an environment that fosters their sense of joy, creativity and exuberance. Harambee, a Swahili word for "Let’s Pull Together" sums up Gloria’s desires for helping children.

Gloria’s vision and perseverance have raised social consciousness and advanced human rights throughout the world. Her work has empowered others, especially children. In 2008 Gloria was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to lecture and do research at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, for a year.

The Hall of Fame honors Gloria in Social Change, for her continued dedication to help homeless children.

RUTH SLUSER
Education
1997

     Ruth Sluser's 35-year teaching career has encompassed serving "at risk" and special education students and administering programs for teenage mothers.  Devoting herself to helping those with special needs help themselves, she has made a practical difference in the lives of many young women.  She has provided the vision to see a high-risk person as a successful graduate and member of the work force.  She has inspired her charges to find appropriate career paths and remain goal-oriented, despite the many obstacles they encountered.     

     Through the Cal Learn program, Sluser provides guidance to teenage mothers and pregnant teens who are attempting to complete their high school education and enroll in vocational programs designed for economic independence.  She mentors at least a dozen girls at any given time, seeing each one at least weekly.  She arranges parenting classes, nutrition workshops, counseling sessions and transportation.  She celebrates their success and teaches them how to solve adult problems with patience.  She is remembered by one of her students as "the first adult who really listened to me and helped me feel I was worth something."  Many of the young women she has helped stay in touch and seek her counsel, wisdom and wit.  She attributes her success to her mother who returned to work to provide the financial support  for Sluser to complete both B.S. and M.S. degrees at the University of Illinois.  Retired from teaching, she continues to administer the Cal Learn program and serve the needs of young women, offering tough love, guidance and support.

Read the extended biography by Wendy Norwood

    In the 1940's, Annette Klang Smail began her career as a social reformer by working for the Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.) in Chicago.  Long an advocate of solutions to economic problems, she has lobbied at the local, state and national levels against poverty, racism and gender discrimination.  Ms. Smail spearheaded the grassroots efforts to have a bill passed in Congress to extend medical and pension benefits to divorced wives of men who had been in the military twenty years or more, overturning a Supreme Court case denying those benefits.    
     Ms. Smail was co-founder of the Novato Human Needs Center and served on its board for seven years.  In 1980, she was selected as a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging, and in 1984, she was a member of the California Task Force on the Feminization of Poverty.  She was the founder of the Older Women's Political Caucus and served as its President from 1977 until 1995.  Annette has long been a leader in the movement for gender equality on government commissions, and was instrumental in the creation in 1996 of the President's Interagency Council on Women.  This Council is designed to identify and eliminate laws and policies that hinder the lives of women.  The recipient of the 1994 Eleanor Roosevelt Women of Vision Award, Annette has actively supported a Marin Abused Women's Services program to address the problem of domestic violence.

Read Annette Smail's extended biorgraphy

     Marilyn Smith's middle name must be "Music." She arrived in the Bay Area from Kansas (just like Dorothy) in 1957, with a degree in Music Education from Kansas University. Typical of the time, Marilyn placed her career on hold while she and her husband Bob raised five children, who all attended Mill Valley Public Schools.     

     Marilyn became involved with the music program at Old Mill School. Before she knew it, was producing musicals for Steve Riffkin, then a student teacher. Concurrently, she produced outdoor concerts for the Marin Symphony and the Children's Fun Concerts with Hugo Rinaldi at the Veteran's Auditorium at the Civic Center. In 1976, with funding from Mill Valley, Marilyn produced Steve Riffkin's original Bicentennial Suite and presented it in the Headlands. This production involved setting up a shuttle bus system, which led to her next adventure.     

     The Board of the Mountain Play found itself without a production staff; they had filled in the 1976 program with a free band concert and picnic. They discovered they needed a shuttle bus system to get crowds on and off the mountain, so they asked Marilyn to produce the next year's play, mainly because she had busing experience. Marilyn's first Mountain Play (1977) was "Clothes," a musical written by George Leonard and Susan Trott, with original music by Steve Riffkin. A takeoff on "The Emperors New Clothes," the play was an instant hit. With "Clothes" the Mountain Play discovered that Marin audiences love musical theater.     

     During the next three years, Marilyn continued as a volunteer producer of the event. She brought in Martin Frick, Michelle Swanson and Ben Dickson as Artistic Directors. In 1981, James Dunn, then head of the Drama Department at the College of Marin, came on board, bringing access to an enthusiastic talent pool from the College. Dunn added "surprise" elements to almost every production. But Marilyn would be the one who scouted and located the "special effects" requested by Dunn. The effects ran the gamut from a World War II airplane, to a cow, a horse-drawn carriage, a motorcycle, even Cuban dancers; effects that gave the productions authenticity.        

     For the last quarter century musicals have continued to thrill Mountain Play audiences. Marilyn continued as Executive Director until retiring in 1999, her 23rd year with the organization. Today the Mountain Play, in its 92nd season, is thriving. This wouldn't have happened without Marilyn Smith. 

      The Rev. Spahr first began serving people in Marin in 1975 as Associate Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in San Rafael.  In 1979 she was forced to resign as Executive Director of the Oakland Council of Presbyterian Churches when she "came out" as a lesbian.  She founded and served as Executive Director of Spectrum Center for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns (Formerly Ministry of Light).  Since 1980 Spectrum has been the only social service agency serving the needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Marin County by starting such programs as the Marin Aids Project, Marin Chapter for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Rainbows End Youth Program, Lesbian/Gay Parents Group, AIDS Interfaith of Marin, New Horizons and Women's Spirituality Group.     

     In December, 1991, the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York chose the Rev. Spahr to be one of their four co-pastors.  Eleven months and two Presbyterian court battles later, the Rev. Spahr was denied permission to act as pastor due to her sexual orientation.  In spite of this setback, the Rev. Spahr was chosen as the first nationwide lesbian Presbyterian Evangelist educator.  She has and will continue to encourage and strengthen thousands of people who share her hopes and dreams for the just treatment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in our community and throughout the country.

    Jean Starkweather has worked for many years to preserve the beauty and natural features of Marin County.  One person has commented that "Anytime there is a public hearing on an issue that will affect the environment, Jean Starkweather is present, both with information and a readiness to take action."     

     Ms. Starkweather has worked on preservation and restoration of wetland habitats.  She has taught classes and led fieldtrips for children and adults to further their knowledge and enjoyment of the natural environment.  Acting on her firm belief that the natural resources are valuable community resources, and that people must work to protect them, she insists "the quality of the community is dependent on the people getting involved in it".     

     Among her many civic activities, Ms. Starkweather has been President of Marin Audubon and the Marin Conservation League.  She is a long term docent and board member of Audubon Canyon Ranch.  As a member of the Marin County Parks, Open Space and Cultural Commission, she served as Commission Chair for two years, and works on issues in county parks and open space, and on the extension of bicycle paths and routes throughout the county.     

     Ms. Starkweather is the recipient of the 1979 Environmental Award from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in recognition of her outstanding environmental contributions to the Bay Area.       

     Jean continues to serve on the MCL Board of Directors and is active on several committees.  She served as MCL President from 1993-95 and received the Marin Green Award from MCL in 1998.  Jean is particularly known for her knowledge of San Rafael shoreline ecology, her habitat restoration work in that area and her suggestions regarding San Francisco Bay Trail design. 

Read Jean Starkweather's extended biography

     Frances Steadman's selection for the 1998 Marin Women's Hall of Fame is an appropriate tribute to her courage and leadership in the cause of peace and justice.  Born to Quaker parents with strong convictions, Steadman grew up with a commitment to oppose all warfare and to disallow discrimination against people of other races.  For more than three decades, Stedman has risked her own welfare and freedom on behalf of disenfranchised peoples in this country and around the world.  She has immersed herself in social issues such as civil rights, nuclear war, prison reform, homelessness, human rights and environmental degradation.  Her selfless dedication to others is truly inspiring.     

     In the early sixties, Steadman traveled into the South to support black suffrage and to register black voters.  She was also a vocal supporter of the nuclear disarmament movement, and withstood a jail sentence for protesting against nuclear weapons.  At some risk to her own life and health, she has spearheaded the collection and distribution of material aid to people in Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Chiapas.     

     Steadman has been a longtime chair of the Social Concerns Committee of the Marin Unitarian Fellowship, and a leading spirit of the Marin Gray Panthers.  She has been an activist with the Marin Advocates for Justice and a board member of the Marin Interfaith Task Force, as well as a member of the Marin Welfare and Immigration Network (Marin WIN).  She has organized the peace and social justice contingent of the Corte Madera Fourth of July Parade for the past two decades.  Despite all of this activity, she finds time on a weekly basis to lead the singing at a local senior day care center.     

     Frances Steadman has demonstrated the tremendous energy, organizing ability, charm and goodwill that women can bring to causes that serve not only the needy, but also society.  She is an exemplary role model for her family, her friends, and her community.

Read the extended biography by Rita Gardner

ELLEN TIRZA LOTTE STRAUS
Environment
1996

     Ellen Tirza Lotte Straus is a rancher and an environmentalist who has dedicated her life to preserving a viable agricultural community in West Marin.  She is credited with building a bridge between Marin's dairy ranchers and its environmentalists.  She co-founded the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), the first agricultural land trust in the nation and a model for protecting agricultural lands.  Almost alone among the ranchers, she and her husband supported the creation of the Point Reyes National Seashore, opposed high-density in the West Marin General Plan, and supported A-60 zoning.  Mrs. Straus and her family have been dairy ranchers for more than fifty years, providing a model for environmental awareness within the farming community.  Since 1960, she has opened the ranch to students and others to teach about agricultural life.  Her family recently transformed their dairy into an organic operation, the first one west of the Mississippi.     

     She helped conceive and produce "Farming on the Edge" by John Hart, the story of agricultural land preservation in Marin.  She holds a B.A. in Natural Science and Mathematics from Bard College in New York.  She is on the board of the Greenbelt Alliance, the Tomales Bay Advisory Committee, and the Rural Land Use Committee of the Marin Conservation League, and is a member of the West Marin Growers Group.  She has also served on the environmental Action Committee of West Marin, the Environmental Forum of Marin and the Community Partnership Committee of the Marin Community Foundation.  She is an artist and a former member of Artisans Gallery.   

Read the extended biography by Barbara Euser