Honoring Arizona Women

The Arizona Women's Hall of Fame's mission is to honor, celebrate, and preserve the stories of exceptional women who have contributed to the development and quality of life in Arizona.

Board of Directors

If you are interested in joining our volunteer Board, click here.

Mary Jo West

Board Member

Mary Jo West made broadcasting history in Phoenix when she became the city's first prime time anchorwoman in 1976 at KOOL-TV Channel 10, the CBS affiliate. She did not just stand in front of the camera; she went out and worked on issues that until then were not in the forefront. She was the first woman to go into the Arizona State Prison in Florence and interview inmates for a documentary on sexual assault, for which she won a Rocky Mountain Emmy. In 1982, CBS News asked her to come to New York to be one of the anchors of their Night Watch show. Mary Jo has won her industry's top awards including the Peabody, two Rocky Mountain Emmys, 13 Arizona Press Club awards, and the national "Gracie Allen Award" from American Women in Radio and TV. She was the first news woman inducted into the Arizona Broadcasters' Hall of Fame. She has been a tireless advocate for mental health issues, the homeless and is a strong supporter of the arts. Mary Jo has made a difference. She led the way for female television broadcasters in Phoenix and has made a change in mental health awareness in our state and in the country at large.

Connie Robinson

Board Member

Connie Robinson has over 25 years’ experience as a human resources executive and corporate consultant. Currently, she manages the Gideon Group’s DE&I, Human Resources and Philanthropic Services division. She has been a human resources executive with Motorola, the Arizona Supreme Court, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation and the Dial Corporation. Her current and former nonprofit boards include the 48 Women, Arizona’s Most Intriguing Women, Chair; Paradise Valley Community Advisory Council; Arizona State Capitol Museum Guild; Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame; Arizona Center for African American Resources; ASU Center for the Study on Race and Democracy; Friends, Arizona Historical Society; FBI Citizens’ Academy Association; Valley Leadership, the Phoenix Women’s Commission and the Women’s Funding Network. Motivated by her commitment as a community volunteer helping to build a better community, Connie has leveraged her unique expertise to bridge corporate, public, philanthropic, non-profit and education sectors. Management graduate from ASU. W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Women’s Funding Network’s Leadership Development training program graduate.

Dora Vasquez

Board Member

Dora Vasquez is a lifelong resident of Arizona and a native of Pinal County. She is the Executive Director of the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, an organization comprised of 50,000 union retirees and seniors in Arizona who work to ensure social and economic justice and full security. As a non-profit consultant, Dora provides expertise in the areas of policy, grant administration, federal and state contract compliance, storytelling and more. She has more than twenty-five years’ experience in local and state government and served as an advisor to former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as the Director of the Governor’s Office of Boards and Commissions. She has served on numerous state boards and commissions including Chair of the Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board, Chair of the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission, Co-Chair Arizona State Quarter Commission and as a member of the Arizona Centennial Commission. Currently, Dora is a Board Member Emeritus for the Kino Border Initiative and is currently the President of the Arizona Capitol Museum Guild. She holds an undergraduate degree in Justice Studies from Arizona State University and a Master’s degree in Public Management from Northern Arizona University.

Brenda Thomson

Vice Chair

Brenda Thomson, J.D., has served as the Executive Director of Arizona Humanities since 2010. Prior to joining Arizona Humanities, Thomson directed The Center for Law Leadership and Management at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU and was also the Executive Director of the Maricopa County Bar Association. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Az Women’s Hall of Fame, specializing in nonprofit management, community relations, and leadership governance. She currently serves on the boards of the Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission, and Phoenix Burton Barr Library Advisory Board. B.A. in English, Yale University, J.D., Yale Law School.

Melanie Sturgeon

Board Chair

Melanie Sturgeon retired as the State Archivist and Director of the Arizona State Archives in 2016. She is the co-founder and President of the Arizona Women’s History Alliance. Under her leadership the Alliance commissioned a statue of Arizona suffragist Frances Willard Munds, hired a female sculptor from Arizona, raised $270,000 in funds, and dedicated the statue on a site in Wesley Bolin Plaza on May 4, 2024. Melanie has served as President of the Southwest Oral History Association, the Coordinating Committee for History in Arizona, the Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists, and as Deputy Coordinator of the Arizona Historical Records Advisory Board. She also served as a Board member of the Council of State Archivists and the National Association of Government Records Archivists and Administrators. MA and PhD in History, Arizona State University

Jane Rosenbaum

Secretary

From its establishment in 1980 to the present, Jane has held leadership roles in the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame. She was a Founding Organizational Member, chaired its Steering Committee, Executive Committee, and currently serves as Secretary of Board. Jane's professional career spans public (Special Assistant to Governor Bruce Babbitt) and private sectors (Laven Art Source and Impact Associates). Her civic participation includes an appointment to the 50 State's Project, a Presidential Task Force; the Arizona Arts Commission; and holding leadership positions in state and national non-profit organizations. Jane has been recognized for cultural bridge building and her efforts to amplify how women shape Arizona's history.

Christine Marin, PhD

Board Member

Christine Marin is Professor Emerita and Archivist/Historian at Arizona State University (ASU). She is the Founder of the prestigious archival repository, the Chicano/a Research Collection and Archives at the Hayden Library, ASU, in Tempe, Arizona. She has published multiple articles in anthologies and state and national journals. Her current publications include Christine Marin and Luis F. B. Plascencia, “Mexicano Miners, Dual Wage, and the Pursuit of Wage Equality in Miami, Arizona.”pp 203-225 in Mexican Workers and the Making of Arizona. Luis F.B. Plascencia and Gloria H. Cuádraz, Editors. (Tucson: Univ. of Arizona Press), 2018. Christine Marin and Monica De La Torre. “Amazing Grace Keeps the Platters Spinning. A Photo Essay on Radio and Television Trailblazer Graciela Gil Olivarez.” Feminist Media Histories. (2021) 7 (4); 107-135. Christine is the President of the Tempe History Society and a Board member of the Arizona Women’s History Alliance. She is also affiliated with the Emeritus College, Advisory Council, ASU. She is the recipient of the 2021 Arizona Humanities Friend of the Humanities Award and received an Honorary Lifetime Membership in the Western History Association in 1921. Dr. Marin is a native of Globe, Arizona.

The History of the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame

Established in 1980
The Arizona Women’s Commission, the Tucson Women’s Commission, and the Office of Governor Bruce Babbitt established the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame (AzWHF) in 1980. It is the oldest organization in the state dedicated to honoring the many accomplishments of women. With a grant from the Arizona Humanities Council, the Governor’s Office oversaw the administrative aspects of the organization. The Governor appointed an independent Executive Steering Committee that mapped out the general parameters for a series of seminars around the state and the course of action to establish the AzWHF. He also appointed an impartial statewide Selection Committee to review nominations and choose inductees. Arizona was the fourth state in the country to create a Women’s Hall of Fame. The first Induction Ceremony was held in 1981 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Phoenix where six women were inducted. By 1991sixty-three women had been inducted.

1982-1991 AzWHF Administrative Duties Transferred to the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records
In 1982 the AzWHF Executive Steering Committee asked the Arizona State Library, Archives andPublic Records (at that time a legislative agency) to oversee all administrative aspects of the Hall of Fame. The Selection Committee would remain as an impartial statewide body and the Executive Steering Committee would continue to conduct public education programs, encourage nominations, and organize induction ceremonies. The AzWHF continued their annual inductions through 1991.

1991 Controversy
In 1991 some legislators and members of the public complained when the Selection Committee designated Margaret Sanger Slee as an inductee into the AzWHF. Although the honor was bestowed for her work in building hospitals in Tucson, Slee’s role in promoting birth control and establishing the Planned Parenthood Federation made her unacceptable to many legislators. Because the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records was a legislative agency, the Legislature had the power to step in and halt the activities of the AzWHF. They did so soon after the 1991 Induction Ceremony. Legislative support for the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame disappeared and the inductions ceased. For almost ten years former members of the Executive Steering Committee presented
programs in the old Carnegie Library about the sixty-three inducted women. In addition, they frequently lectured across the state about women in Arizona’s history.

Resumption of the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame
As the 75th anniversary of the 19th amendment to the US constitution approached in 1995, support for the AzWHF increased. In 1998, interest in restarting the Hall of Fame inductions grew as the 150th anniversary of the Senneca Falls Convention approached. Former AzWHF committee members held a series of meetings with the Director of the State Library and with legislators to discuss a way forward. Finally, in January of 2000 the legislative Library Board of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records gave permission to resume the AzWHF nomination and induction process. A coalition of agencies including the State Library, the Arizona Historical Society, the Sharlot Hall Museum, and the Arizona Humanities Council reviewed the standards and procedures used from 1981 to 1991. These agencies continued their involvement with the Hall of Fame, with the State Library again assuming all administrative functions. The first Induction Ceremony since 1991 was held on October 24, 2002, when three women were honored for their achievements. In 2015 the AzWHF inducted two living women for the first time. The Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame was organized as a private nonprofit 501 (3) corporation in 2018.