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Mariska Hargitay Founder, Joyful Heart Foundation, Actress (Wikimedia Commons) Mariska Hargitay Founder of Joyful Heart Foundation Actress, Producer, Director Almost all of Americans have heard of Mariska Hargitay, the actress who plays Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I’m not sure how many people know that in 2004 she founded the Joyful heart Foundation, which helps survivors…

Virginia Apgar, M.D. Obstetrician, Anesthesiologist (https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Virginia_Apgar) Women and Adversity: Virginia Apgar Obstetrician, Anesthesiologist Invented Apgar Score Method to Assess Newborn’s Health Virginia Apgar has saved millions of lives. She developed the Apgar Score in 1952, a method that has been accepted as the global standard for assessing a newborn’s health. At…

                        Cherie DeVaux                         First Woman Trainer to win the Kentucky Derby Cherie DeVaux, First woman trainer to win Kentucky Derby (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cherie_DeVaux_2026.png)   Cherie DeVaux (pronounced Sheh REE⸍ Deh VOH⸍)  grew up in a family of ten children. She is not the oldest or the youngest sibling, but her parents, Janet and Adrian “Butch”…

Christina Koch, Astronaut, Member of Artemis II Crew (Christina Koch Thumbnail (751899268179).jpg Christina Koch, Astronaut Member of Artemis II Crew STEM Woman Role Model From the time she was a child, Christina Hammock Koch (pronounced Cook) wanted to be an astronaut. She says frontiers and unexplored places attracted her attention, and as a teen attended space camps in Huntsville, Alabama. She…

Lyda Hill, “Philanthropreneur” IF/THEN Initiative (Wikipedia.com) Lyda Hill Founder: IF/THEN Initiative To Advance Women in STEM Texas residents are probably aware of Lyda Hill’s philanthropy, but I had never heard the name although I had heard of H.L. Hunt, the Texas oilman who was once the richest man in America. Lyda is his granddaughter. Her resume goes beyond the limits of this blog, but…

La June Montgomery Tabron (Tabron_LaJuneMontgomery_wm.jpeg)  La June Montgomery Tabron CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation March is Women’s History Month The breakfast cereal mogul Will Keith Kellogg of Battle Creek, Michigan, founded the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in 1930 to invest in the future welfare of children. This is one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. In 2014 La June Montgomery…

Women and Adversity: Mary Jane Owen Advocate for Disabled Rights March is Women’s History Month Mary Jane Owen, Advocate, Disabled Rights (httpsmn.govmnddcindex.html.jpeg) People in the U.S. are accustomed to seeing “Handicapped” parking spaces and the accompanying symbol, ramps for easy access and restrooms with grip bars in the stalls wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs. They can thank Mary…

Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO, Feeding America (feedingamerica.org) Women and Adversity: Claire Babineaux-Fontenot Chief Executive Officer Feeding America February is Black History Month Claire Babineaux-Fontenot (Bab⸍ ih no-Font⸍ ih no) became chief executive officer of the Feeding America board of directors in 2018, and in 2020, Time magazine named her among the 100 most influential people in…

Alexandria “Alex” Stapleton Documentary Filmmaker (IMDb)     Women and Adversity: Alexandria Stapleton  Documentary Filmmaker  February is      Black History Month Alexandria “Alex” Stapleton has a host of award-winning and high-rated documentaries, the most recent of which is the December 2025 release of  Netflix’s Sean Coombs: The Reckoning that she directed. She came to New York to interview…

Eline van der Velden, Creator of Tilly Norwood (360 dopes) Women and Adversity: Eline van der Velden Creator of Tilly Norwood Eline van der Velden is brilliant although few Americans have heard of her or would recognize her. She created a firestorm of publicity and controversy with the labor union SAG-AFTRA, Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, over her…

(png-image_15159751.png) WELCOME TO MY WOMEN AND ADVERSITY BLOG FOR 2026 WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD OVERCOME OBSTACLES DESPITE ADVERSITY. MY GOAL WITH THIS BLOG IS TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF THOSE WOMEN.  A FEW OF THE WOMEN I FEATURED IN 2025: ANA MARIE  ARGILAGOS, PRESIDENT OF HISPANICS IN PHILANTHROPY PEGGY CHERNG, CO-CHAIR AND CO-CEO OF PANDA RESTAURANT GROUP DAVONNE REAVES, ENTREPRENEUR, HOTEL…

Dr. Chevy Humphrey, President, CEO, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (mg_9481-1024×683-chevy-humphrey-latest-blog-edit.jpg) Women and Adversity: Dr. Chevy Humphrey President, Chief Executive Officer Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago Forbes 50 Over 50  I couldn’t leave out a Chicago woman, so I’m reposting this April blog about Chevy Humphrey. She is the first Black…

Laurie-Adams-Women for Women International CEO (Headshot-June-2019-2.jpg) Women and Adversity Laurie Adams, CEO Women for Women International One of Forbes 50 Over 50 In December I repost the women I featured through the year. It was tough choosing only a few women from the 20 I included. I came close to picking a name from a hat, but Laurie Adams stood out because I had never heard of the…

Isabella Aiukli Cornell, Native American Activist (maxresdefault-photo-by-Doug-Hoke-e1763985654835.jpg)    WOMEN AND ADVERSITY ISABELLA AIUKLI CORNELL CITIZEN, CHOCTAW NATION                   OF OKLAHOMA            ACTIVIST FOR  NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN Isabella Aiukli(Eye⸍ ah klee)Cornell gained attention in 2018 when she wore her red prom dress bearing an appliqué across the bodice with Choctaw…

LaDonna Harris (Staff Photo by Joe Miller. Original Photo 01/15/1970. Published on 1-15-70. 2012.201.B0250.0647, Oklahoma Publishing Company, Photography Collection, OHS) WOMEN AND ADVERSITY:      DONNA HARRIS FOUNDED AMERICANS FOR INDIAN OPPORTUNITY NOVEMBER: NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH  Ladonna Vita Tabbytite’s mother was Lilly Tabbytite, a Native American Comanche, but her father, Donald…

María Corina Machado Parisca, Nobel Peace Prize 2025 (_perfil-wikipedia-1.jpg) WOMEN AND ADVERSITY: MARÍA CORINA MACHADO PARISCA VENEZUELAN POLITICAL ACTIVIST     AWARDED NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 2025 María Corina Machado Parisca has demonstrated the determination, tenacity and perseverance to make democracy Venezuela’s form of government. She began protesting against Hugo Chávez’s government in 2004…

Elinor Ostrom, Nobel Prize, Economic Sciences, 2009 (Press_Conference_KVA-33_cropped.jpg)    WOMEN AND ADVERSITY ELINOR “LIN” AWAN OSTROM                     2009 FIRST WOMAN TO WIN A NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMIC SCIENCES Elinor “Lin” Awan Ostrom was of the era when women were discouraged from pursuing an education or a career other than teaching, nursing or secretarial. Ostrom was also discouraged…