National Women’s Hall of Fame announce 2017 inductees

The Honorable Matilda Raffa Cuomo (1931-   ) A dedicated advocate for women, children and families, Matilda Raffa Cuomo has led state, national and international initiatives that brought heightened visibility to such causes as children’s rights, volunteerism and mentoring. She currently chairs the New York State Mentoring Program.

Dr. Temple Grandin (1947-   ) An animal sciences pioneer and champion of farm animal welfare whose innovations transformed the livestock handling industry. Diagnosed at age two with Autism Spectrum Disorder she went on to apply her personal insights in designing systems to reduce animal stress during the handling process.

A groundbreaking playwright and essayist, Lorraine Hansberry is best known as the author of ARaisin in the Sun.  She was the first African American playwright and the youngest American to receive, in 1959, the prestigious New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best American Play.

Entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, and collaborator, Ms. Jackson has shaped a paradigm-breaking approach to medical research, connecting 175 innovative problem solvers from 28 countries and even more diverse fields of expertise in an unprecedented model of collaboration to tackle autoimmune disease.” Ms. Jackson is a prolific author and in-demand speaker, and her iconic beauty line thrives to this day.

The first woman to head a major film studio (20th Century Fox), and who later served as Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, Sherry Lansing earned a reputation as a trailblazer, a visionary leader and a creative filmmaker.  Her foundation is dedicated to public education and encore career opportunities as well as health and cancer research.

Clare Booth Luce’s many accomplishments include being editor in chief of Vanity Fair, a front-line female European and Asian war journalist in WWII, an acclaimed author and playwright, a two-term U.S. Congresswoman, and the first woman appointed U.S. Ambassador to a major nation. In 1983 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Clare Boothe Luce Program Endowment has become one of the single most significant sources of private support for women in science, mathematics and engineering.

Aimée Mullins is an inspirational leader, an Olympic athlete, ground-breaking high fashion model, a beacon for design tech, dedicated advocate and avant-garde actor. Ms. Mullins learned to walk on prosthetic legs by age two. In college, she became the first woman with a “disability” to compete in the NCAA. Ms. Mullins is currently appearing in immensely popular original series “Stranger Things”.

Carol Mutter served for over 31 years in the US Marine Corps, attaining the rank of Lieutenant General and is the first woman Marine three-star general, first woman to be qualified as Command Center Crew Commander / Space Commander at US Space Command, and first woman of general/flag rank to command a major deployable tactical command. General Mutter was and continues to be a strong leader, advocate and role model for women in the military.

Janet Rowley was a geneticist whose research established that cancer is a genetic disease. Her work revolutionized medical understanding of the role of genetic exchange in causing disease. Her research also led to the development of one of the most effective targeted cancer therapies to date, essentially curing 90% of certain forms of leukemia. Dr. Rowley is a 2009 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Alice Waters is a chef, author and food activist, and the founder and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California. She has been a champion of local sustainable agriculture for over four decades, is credited with popularizing the organic food movement, and is a national advocate for farmer’s markets and bringing organic, local foods to the general public.