Hall of Fame
The Starr Women's Hall of Fame recognizes Kansas City women who have made our community a better place to live and preserves the history of their accomplishments. By sharing their stories, the Hall of Fame encourages and inspires women everywhere.
Marjorie Powell Allen*
Philanthropist and community organizer
Inducted 2015
Marjorie Powell Allen had the heart of a social reformer and the talent for attracting other
women to her ideas for making Kansas City better. Her special interest was philanthropic
groups that could bring together indigent women with the well-to-do women who could provide
opportunities and services.
Allen founded the Women's Foundation, in part to bring other women into the donor fold,
and the Women's Employment Network, which aids women in their quest for financial
independence. She helped create the Central Exchange network for working women. She was the
first woman to chair the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and the University of
Kansas City Trustees, and she was voted Philanthropist of the Year by the Greater Kansas
City Council on Philanthropy in 1988. She also provided funds for Powell Gardens.
Lucile Bluford*
Journalist and civil rights activist
Inducted 2017
Lucile Bluford left her mark on Kansas City in two respects - as a reporter and a civil rights pioneer. Her 70-year career inspired countless other women to pursue careers in journalism and social justice.
Bluford served as editor and publisher of The Call newspaper, one of the oldest African-American newspapers still in publication. Under her leadership, The Call became a voice for the civil rights movement. She also served on the national board of the NAACP for many years. With the help of the NAACP, she sued the University of Missouri to enroll in its Graduate School of Journalism. Her efforts led to the establishment of a School of Journalism at the historically black Lincoln University in Jefferson City.
Sister Corita Bussanmas*
Co-founder, Operation Breakthrough
Inducted 2021
Sister Corita Bussanmas (1933-2021) and Sister Berta Sailer founded the nationally-accredited nonprofit childcare organization Operation Breakthrough. Together, Sister Corita and Sister Berta provided education and social services to more than 10,000 of KC’s most vulnerable children and their families. Noted for their fierce and all-encompassing brand of child advocacy, Sister Corita and Sister Berta boldly knocked on the doors of politicians, philanthropists and professional athletes to solicit support for the underserved children in their care.
Sister Corita and Sister Berta educated wealthy and middle-income citizens on the plight of poor single mothers and children, often on bus tours of the urban core neighborhoods where the Operation Breakthrough children live. The two nuns served as foster parents to 80 children, and adoptive parents of four. In 2014, they were awarded the John and Marion Kreamer Award for Social Entrepreneurship from the UMKC Bloch School of Management, as well as the Bank of America Neighborhood Builder Award.
Sarah Chandler Coates*
Civil and women's rights activist
Inducted 2017
From an early age, Sarah Chandler Coates pushed the boundaries of bravery, patriotism and what it means to be a woman. In 1856, Coates and other women in Kansas City sheltered an anti-slavery leader from pro-slavery ruffians, eventually helping him to escape. When the Civil War began, she offered the cellar of her home as an arsenal and her living room as a clinic for wounded soldiers.
Following the war, Coates personally founded nine women’s associations, including the Equal Suffrage Association of Kansas City. She was also one of the founding members of All Souls Unitarian Church, which is still active today. Throughout her lifetime, Coates fought for the freedom of all people, providing a shining example of how women can defend our nation’s values, even against great odds.
Karen L. Daniel
Community leader and business executive
Inducted 2023
UMKC alumna Karen L. Daniel (MS ’81 accounting) is a recognized leader in Kansas City. The first African American woman to be a Major League Baseball owner since her addition to the Kansas City Royals ownership group in 2020, Daniel is retired executive director, CFO and president of Global Finance and Technology Solutions at Black and Veatch. She was the first African American female to chair the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and has been a leader and advocate for restoration of the Liberty Memorial Tower at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. She has created a legacy fund for scholarships to support Black college students. President Barack Obama named Daniel vice chair of the Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa in 2015.
Sister Rosemary Flanigan
Teacher and civil rights activist
Inducted 2017
Sister Rosemary Flanigan is one of the revolutionary “Sisters of Selma” or the “Selma Six,” a group of Catholic nuns who led a civil rights march across the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Her impact, however, extends far beyond that day.
For nearly two decades, Flanigan worked to elevate the rights of patients, establishing
ethics committees in hundreds of hospitals across the country. Thousands of students also
know her as a teacher. Flanigan taught English and philosophy in Kansas City
schools for more than 30 years, instilling in her students the importance of a virtuous
life. Flanigan has spent her life affirming the dignity of all human beings. Her students,
remember her not just for the lessons she taught, but for the way she lived her life — with
humility and virtue.
Rafaela “Lali” Garcia*
Community activist and political leader
Inducted 2021
Rafaela “Lali” Garcia (1927-2021) was a founding member of La Raza, now UnidosUS. The organization is committed to building a stronger community by creating opportunities for Latinos, a cause to which Garcia devoted her life. She is recognized as a powerful and committed activist for her community, combining passionate enthusiasm with a commonsense approach to problem solving. She was often referred to as the “Queen Bee” in the Latino community because she was so involved in so many organizations. She led multiple successful voter registration drives and served on the Jackson County Human Relations Citizens Complaint Board and the Civil Rights Consortium. She was a former Jackson County Commissioner and served on the boards of Guadalupe Centers, the Hispanic Economic Development Corp. and MANA, a national Latina organization empowering women through leadership development, service and advocacy. She was also recognized with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Humanitarian of the Year award.
Dr. Alice Berry Graham*
Co-founder, Children's Mercy Hospital
Inducted 2017
At a time when few women practiced medicine and even fewer specialized in children’s care, Dr. Alice Berry Graham and her younger sister, Katharine, dedicated their lives to taking care of poor and sick children in Kansas City. “The Berry sisters,” as they are affectionately known, founded Children’s Mercy Hospital in 1897 and managed it for the rest of their lives. They also began a nursing school and encouraged women to fight for an equal place in the medical community.
Graham was not only a dentist, but also a master fundraiser and community organizer. She personally worked with hundreds of groups that contributed to Children’s Mercy’s success. Admirers describe Graham as gentle and diplomatic, working tirelessly to raise money and friends for the hospital.
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Shirley Bush HelzbergArts advocate
Inducted 2015
Shirley Bush Helzberg's generous spirit and compassion have made her a good neighbor to
all of Kansas City.
Helzberg is a tireless friend of the arts, devoting time and funds to organizations such as
Starlight Theatre, the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, the Kansas City Ballet and the
Kansas City Symphony. She currently chairs the board of trustees of the Nelson-Atkins Museum
of Art. In 2013, UMKC and its Conservatory of Music and Dance conferred the doctor of
musical arts honoris causa on Helzberg for her many contributions to music.
In 2000, Helzberg turned her attention to revitalizing the Crossroads Arts District. She has
renovated several historic structures in the area, including the Webster School and
Vitagraph buildings. In 2011, the nearby Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and its
breathtaking Helzberg Hall opened their doors to worldwide acclaim.
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Laura Rollins Hockaday*Journalist and champion of diversity
Inducted 2019
Laura Rollins Hockaday (1938-2017), longtime society editor for The Kansas City Star, transformed race relations by expanding the newspaper’s previously racially restrictive society page to be inclusive. When Hockaday took on the role of society editor, she developed new relationships and wrote stories about less-publicized individuals. Minority communities noticed the shift as the society pages became more integrated, featuring the organizational and philanthropic work of African American and Hispanic women in Kansas City. She believed society reporting should be a medium for bringing people together, instead of setting people apart. She opened the society pages for all to meet a diverse group of women heralded by their own ethnic communities. In recognizing and addressing the injustice in lack of coverage, she quickly and efficiently used her small part of the paper as the impetus for wider change for Kansas City as a whole..
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Lea HopkinsLGBTQIA advocate
Inducted 2023
Lea Hopkins has been an advocate and activist for LGBTQIA communities for more than four decades. She co-founded the Christopher Street Association, a gay and lesbian advocacy organization, in 1977 and organized the first Pride parade in Kansas City in 1979. She founded the Kansas City Gay Injustices Fund, which provided legal support for LGBTQIA people who were arrested based on their orientation. She was a member of the inaugural leadership team of the UMKC Gay Students’ Union. Hopkins is an accomplished poet, watercolor artist and collagist.
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Dr. Norge JeromePioneer of Nutritional Anthropology
Inducted 2021
Norge Jerome, Ph.D., served as director of USAID, the federal international development and humanitarian agency. She is credited with launching the field of nutritional anthropology, which considers local and ethnic culture to encourage healthy food habits and good nutrition. With USAID, she worked on five continents, most heavily in Egypt, where she studied the social, economic, biological, behavioral and psychological consequences of hunger and poor nutrition.
A professor and author of three books, she received the U.S. Department of Labor Spotlight Award for expanding the scope of food and nutrition services to poor women and families in developing countries; a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Caribbean Studies; and is the inspiration for the Norge W. Jerome Award for Excellence in Preventive Medicine at the University of Kansas.
Alice Kitchen
Advocate for women and children
Inducted 2023
UMKC alumna Alice Kitchen (MPA ’89) has been a longtime advocate for human rights, healthcare and children and women’s issues. She is co-founder of the Women Quality Coalition and the Child Protection Center. A longtime director of social services at Children’s Mercy Hospital, she was a board member of the Kansas City Housing Authority who helped with neighborhood cleanups and worked to help young mothers obtain health insurance. She was honored by the White House as a Champion of Change for her work on education for the Affordable Care Act in 2015.
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Carol MarinovichFirst woman mayor of Kansas City, Kansas
Inducted 2021
Carol Marinovich was the first woman mayor of Kansas City, Kansas. She led the successful conversion to a Unified County Government and the development of the Kansas Speedway NASCAR racetrack, resulting in a complete economic renaissance for her community. She later served as a vice president at Fleishman-Hillard Inc.’s Kansas City office and as co-Champion of the KC Chamber’s Kindergarten Readiness Big 5 initiative.
She was recognized as Kansas Citian of the Year by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Community Leadership Award from the Points of Light Foundation and Volunteer Service National Network.
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Sen. Claire McCaskillFirst woman U.S. Senator from Missouri
Inducted 2023
Sen. Claire McCaskill has dedicated her life to serving women, families and her community. An accomplished attorney, she was the first woman elected as Jackson County, Missouri prosecutor, and the first woman to be elected U.S. Senator from Missouri. In 2004, she defeated incumbent Governor Bob Holden in the Democratic primary, becoming the first candidate to defeat an incumbent Governor in a primary election in state history, although she lost in the general election. She served as a U.S. senator from Missouri from 2007 to 2019. During her term in the Missouri House of Representatives, she chaired the civil and criminal justice committees. She is currently a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.
Mary Kay McPhee
Philanthropist and women's advocate
Inducted 2017
For five decades, Mary Kay McPhee has served more than 90 local, state and national organizations - often as chair or president - earning her a reputation as one of the region’s most prolific volunteer leaders.
McPhee has leveraged her personal influence to serve health-care organizations such as the American Medical Association Alliance, the Kansas City Free Health Clinic and the Good Samaritan project - the first nonprofit in Kansas City to support AIDS patients. She has also been a major supporter of education, helping establish the Herman Johnson African-American Scholarship Fund, championing the UMKC Women’s Graduate Assistance Fund, raising $1.1 million for an endowed professorship and helping create the Starr Education endowment. Her visionary leadership and commitment to helping others achieve their goals have resulted in an exceptional legacy that inspires all who work alongside her.
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Barbara Pendleton*Women’s advocate and business executive
Inducted 2023
Barbara Pendleton paved the way for Kansas City women interested in careers in finance. She started her career in banking as a messenger with City National Bank. She became chairperson of City Bank at Crown Center and retired as an executive vice president of United Missouri Bancshares, Inc. An active volunteer in community organizations, she was often the first woman member, officer or president. A founding board member of the Central Exchange, she also chaired the UMKC Women’s Center Advisory Committee. She worked for several mayors, including Mayor Kay Barnes, who appointed her to work on downtown Kansas City revitalization.
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Nelle E. Peters*†Architect
Inducted 2021
Nelle E. Peters (1884-1974), the first female architect to have a significant impact on Kansas City’s built environment. A trailblazing woman who headed her own firm for more than 50 years, her beautiful, efficient designs helped shape the physical character of Kansas City.
She is best known for designing her signature colonnaded apartment buildings in central neighborhoods of Kansas City and the Luzier Cosmetics Building in Midtown. She designed more than 1,000 buildings during her career before retiring in 1967.
Dr. Katharine Berry Richardson*
Co-founder, Children's Mercy Hospital
Inducted 2017
It is hard to imagine what kind of place Kansas City would be without Dr. Katharine Berry Richardson and her sister, Alice, who dedicated their lives to caring for the city’s most vulnerable members. “The Berry sisters,” as they are affectionately known, founded Children’s Mercy Hospital in 1897 and managed it for the rest of their lives. They also began a nursing school and encouraged women to fight for an equal place in the medical community.
Richardson, an expert surgeon, convinced other doctors to donate their time taking care of poor children. She also helped establish a training program for African-American doctors and nurses, to ensure African-American children received high-quality medical care. Richardson was a fierce innovator – always pushing for new research and innovative therapies to help children heal.
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Beth K. Smith*Women’s and civil rights activist
Inducted 2019
Beth K. Smith (1921-2017) consistently worked to help women in Kansas City reach their full personal and professional potential. A co-founder of The Central Exchange and The Women’s Employment Network, Smith created organizations that aim to promote equity, inspire confidence and foster economic independence for women. She was instrumental in founding the Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City and the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership. After receiving her M.P.A. from the UMKC Bloch School in ’76, Smith served as an adjunct professor at the school and established the Edward Smith internships to encourage students to pursue careers at nonprofits in Kansas City.
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Martha Jane Phillips Starr*Social Reformer and philanthropist
Inducted 2015
Martha Jane Phillips Starr was a legendary activist and philanthropist who blazed a trail for
family issues, women's studies and women's rights. She was a catalyst for change and
was on the leading edge of many social issues.
Starr's concern for families – and some of the strains they lived with –
took her into areas that were controversial at the time and politely ignored, including
birth control, divorce, unwanted pregnancy and family economics. She endowed a research
professorship in human reproduction – the first of its kind in the country – and
began a pilot project on marriage enrichment, which developed into UMKC's Family Studies
Center. She also started the UMKC Women's Council and the Graduate Assistance Fund.
Starr's projects led into one another, following her deep interests in women, marriage,
children and education.
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Rosilyn TempleFounder, Mothers In Charge Kansas City, Missouri chapter
Inducted 2021
Rosilyn Temple, founded the Kansas City, Missouri chapter of Mothers In Charge, Inc. after the murder of her 26 year-old son, Antonio Thompson. She has responded to more than 400 homicide scenes in the city since 2012 to comfort family members and support law enforcement. She is changing the conversation surrounding violence reduction in our community by elevating the voices of bereaved mothers and women.
Known as “a bearer of hope,” she has impacted the lives of more than 5,500 individuals incarcerated or on probation/parole for violence-related crimes through more than 100 correctional facility visits; and as a case manager with Veronica’s Voice, a Kansas City nonprofit providing services to individuals who are survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. She serves on the Kansas City Mayor’s Anti- Violence Task Force and was honored as the Citizen of the Year by The Kansas City Star.
Sen. Yvonne Starks Wilson
Teacher and legislator
Inducted 2017
Sen. Yvonne Starks Wilson has served everywhere from elementary schools to the Missouri statehouse, but her mission has always been the same: helping young people succeed. For 35 years, Wilson served the Kansas City, Missouri School district as a teacher, principal and director of elementary instruction. She was the first African-American president of the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals.
As a Missouri legislator, Wilson was a strong advocate for children and families, and has supported Kansas City community projects like the Spirit of Freedom Fountain and the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center. Wilson is a role model for all young women, showing them what is possible through hard work and a commitment to public service. Her work continues to make Kansas City a better place, each and every day.
Kay Barnes
First female mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
Inducted 2015
Kay Barnes believes in thinking creatively and acting assertively, behaviors she has followed
faithfully and inspires in others. She was driven to public service from her earliest days
as a classroom teacher and later at Cross-Lines Community Outreach. But she knew deep down
that she could be more effective in a position where she could transform ideas into
action.
From the 1970s through the 1990s, Barnes added to her résumé with advanced
degrees, volunteering and civic roles. She was elected the first woman mayor of Kansas City
in 1999. She led the effort to revitalize downtown with the construction of the Sprint
Center, the Power and Light District and the new H&R Block headquarters. She served terms on
the City Council and the Jackson County Legislature and is the founding director of the
Center for Leadership at Park University.
Mary Shaw Branton*
Philanthropist and children’s advocate
Inducted 2017
Mary Shaw “Shawsie” Branton spent nearly 70 years as a community volunteer, donating her time to more than 60 nonprofit organizations.
In the 1940s, when children with disabilities were often shunned from society, Branton co-founded one of the first nursery schools for children with disabilities, now known as Children’s TLC. A decade later, she fought to integrate the school - prior to the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education. She also worked with Governor Kit Bond to bring the Parents as Teachers program to Kansas. The organization helps first time parents with their child’s development. Branton gave a lifetime of service to the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri, and at age 73, became the first female Chairman of the Board of the Greater Kansas City YMCA.
Myra J. Christopher
End-of-Life Advocate
Inducted 2015
During her 30 years as director of the Center for Practical Bioethics, Myra J. Christopher
has helped change the way communities care for the terminally ill. Striving to make changes
in the host of problems encountered by the sick, the shunned or the dying, Christopher won
over many groups and allied herself with them – including the National Institutes of
Health, the American Bar Association, state medical boards, health care professionals and
consumers.
For her efforts, Christopher has been recognized with the UMKC Alumni Achievement Award,
Greater Kansas City Council on Philanthropy Nonprofit Professional of the Year, and a
Tuskegee Institute award for working to improve end-of-life care for African-Americans.
Though she has made way for a successor at the Center for Practical Bioethics, Christopher
holds the Kathleen M. Foley Chair in Pain and Palliative Care and maintains an active
advocacy schedule.
Bunni Copaken
Community and arts advocate
Inducted 2019
Bunni Copaken is a founding board member of the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey (KCFAA) and a longstanding member of the Kansas City Repertory Theatre Board of Directors. She shares the belief of renowned dancer Alvin Ailey that the arts break down artificial barriers between people and unite communities. She also envisions the arts as a vehicle to promote racial understanding and inclusivity, which led her to create opportunities for people from disparate backgrounds to meet, connect and create together. She was instrumental in creating the KCFAA AileyCamp, now replicated in 10 cities nationwide, an award-winning day camp built on the philosophy that the skills needed to learn dance are the same skills needed for broader success in life. Copaken is also a founding member of the Women’s Foundation and a past president of the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri. Her work to promote equity, inclusion and opportunity for women has left an indelible mark in Kansas City.
Mary Tiera Farrow*
Lawyer and political activist
Inducted 2019
Mary Tiera Farrow (1880-1971) is the founder of the first organization to welcome women in
the legal field in Kansas City, the first female judge in the City of Kansas City, the first
woman in the United States to defend a woman on trial for murder and the first woman to
argue before the Kansas Supreme Court. She graduated from Kansas City School of Law (now
UMKC School of Law) in 1901, at a time when women lawyers were rare. She found work with
male attorneys, albeit with a meager salary, and through that opportunity became the first
woman to argue a case before the Kansas Supreme Court. She started her own firm with a
fellow law school alumna before getting her most famous case: defending a newly divorced
wife and mother who murdered her ex-husband. The case received national media attention
because Farrow was the first woman to defend a woman on trial for murder. Even after much
success, she was barred from joining the all-male Kansas City Bar Association, so she and 20
other women co-founded
the Women’s Bar Association of Kansas City in 1917. She was appointed to the Kansas City
Municipal Court in 1928, becoming the first woman judge in Kansas City. She later served
women and veterans during and after World Wars I and II and retired after many years in
legal aid with the Kansas City Welfare Department.
SuEllen Fried
Writer and bullying-prevention activist
Inducted 2017
SuEllen Fried has dedicated her career to issues many people avoid - human aggression, hopelessness and despair. She has co-authored three books on bullying and founded BullySafe USA. Over the past 20 years, Fried has led empowerment sessions with 70,000 students in 36 states. She also created Reaching Out From Within, a prison rehabilitation program, and AileyCamp, a dance camp serving mostly female, at-risk students. Fried was the first woman elected as president of the Kansas Mental Health Association, and her chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America serves as a model nationwide.
Wherever she goes, Fried wears a POWER OF KINDNESS button. When she sees someone performing a kind act, she pins the button on him or her and makes a simple request: pass it on.
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Anita B. GormanConservation advocate
Inducted 2023
Anita B. Gorman has been an advocate for area parks, recreation and conservation for six decades. She fought to save the Native American Hopewell archaeological site, which became a part of the Kansas City Parks system. In 1979, she was the first woman appointed to the Kansas City Parks and Recreation board. In this role she raised funds to establish a conservation center in the urban core of Kansas City. Gorman was the first woman to chair the Missouri Conservation Commission and helped establish the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation. She received the Pugsley Medal from the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration in 2017 for her contribution to the promotion, development and conservation of public parks in the United States.
Adele Hall*
Philanthropist and civic leader
Inducted 2015
A Phi Beta Kappa with degrees in elementary education and English, Adele Hall's early
aspirations included becoming a teacher. Instead, throughout her life her philanthropy had a
broad focus – health, education, the arts, charitable organizations – but with
an ongoing passion for the needs of children.
Among her many civic contributions, Hall served as board chair of Children's Mercy and
the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and served on the board of the Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art, Pembroke Hill School, Salvation Army, Starlight Theatre and American Red
Cross. On the national level, held leadership positions with the boards of the United Negro
College Fund and the Points of Light Foundation. She was a co-founder of the Central
Exchange and in 1990 was the first woman to be named Kansas Citian of the Year. She received
the UMKC Chancellor's Medal in 1987 in recognition of her commitment and dedication to
the university.
Karen M. Herman
Philanthropist and women’s advocate
Inducted 2021
Karen M. Herman is one of the founders and the first president of the Women’s Foundation. Known as a tireless advocate and investor in the potential of women and girls, she brought together a diverse group of women leaders, crossing ethnic, racial and geographic lines, to launch the Women’s Foundation. As a result, she elevated the importance of women’s issues to prominence in our community.
She is a longtime advocate and philanthropist for hunger relief. She traveled to African and Asian countries to research and advocate for empowering women economically and socially to end chronic poverty and hunger. She has received multiple community recognitions including the Woman of the Year Award from the Central Exchange and the U.S. Mayoral End Hunger Award.
Dr. Gayle Holliday
Women’s and economic justice advocate
Inducted 2021
Gayle Holliday, Ph.D., is recognized for her dedicated pursuit of affordable healthcare, improved public education, social and economic justice and equal opportunities for all, with a focus on women and minorities. She revolutionized a workplace, and the lives of many local families, by bringing female bus operators into the workforce as HR director at the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. Many of these women were single mothers and heads of their households, and through her found reliable employment to support their families.
She is a longtime board member of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City and served on President Bill Clinton’s transition team. She has been recognized with the Greater Kansas City Health Care Foundation Award for Distinguished Service and as a national “Mover and Shaker” by Ebony magazine.
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Mamie HughesCommunity activist and political leader
Inducted 2019
Mamie Hughes has made her mark on the Greater Kansas City community as a tireless advocate for cutting through racial and gender bias and discrimination. She has been a charter member of the Jackson County Legislature, former chair for the Mid-America Regional Council and founding member of the Central Exchange. She serves on the Council of Advocates for the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. Hughes has been honored with the ATHENA Award from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Hall of Fame Award from the Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus and the National Medal of Honor from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was named to the Alumni Hall of Fame by Metropolitan Community College and among “Women Who’ve Changed the Heart of the City” by City Union Mission.
Dorothy H. Johnson*
Civil rights activist
Inducted 2015
Dorothy H. Johnson was widely known as a civil rights activist, bridge builder and educator.
Throughout her life, she was either writing about, serving or teaching about those on the
fringe of society.
Johnson earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1937, and her reporting at the
Kansas City Call newspaper brought minority news to light. After earning a
master's in social work, she accepted university-level positions teaching and
researching social work and medicine. She was director of Jackson County's Office of
Health and Welfare; public relations expert for the Urban League; director of the community
mental health program for Model Cities; and research associate for the Greater Kansas City
Mental Health Foundation.
Many regional groups recognized Johnson, including the NAACP, Central Exchange, the Local
Investment Commission (LINC) and UMKC, where a residence hall was named for her and her
husband, Herman.
Audrey H. Langworthy
Community servant and Kansas state senator
Inducted 2021
Audrey H. Langworthy is a 17-year Kansas state senator. Her service highlights in the Senate include sponsorship of the bi-state cultural district bill that restored Union Station. A longtime member of the National Conference of State Legislators, she served on that organization’s Executive Committee, vice chair of the Assembly on Federal Issues and chair of the Federal Budget and Taxation Committee.
Her recognitions include the National Society for the DAR Award for Excellence in Community Service, Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus Community Service Award and the Johnson County Community College Foundation’s Johnson Countian of the Year Award. She was named to the University of Kansas Women’s Hall of Fame.
Margaret J. May
Community activist and leader
Inducted 2023
Community activist and a leader for the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council in Kansas City, Mo., Margaret J. May served as the executive director of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council from October 2001 to December 2017. During her tenure, the council became a community development corporation that develops new housing and rehabilitates existing homes. The Downtown Council of Kansas City recognized May in their first class of Urban Hero Awards in 2005. She has served on the City of Kansas City Plan Commission and the Kansas City, Missouri Community Development Entity, which is now known as Alt Cap.
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Dr. Patricia A. McIlrath*Educator and theatre director
Inducted 2019
Dr. Patricia A. McIlrath (1917-1999) was a longtime chair of the Department of Theatre at UMKC, founder of the Missouri Repertory Theatre (now KC Rep) and progenitor of Kansas City’s status as one of the top professional theatre cities in the United States. During her time at UMKC, she opened auditioning to the community and directed racially integrated productions. She served on national and local boards, directed off- Broadway productions and created the Summer Repertory Theatre, which became the fully professional Missouri Repertory Theatre in 1966 (now the Kansas City Repertory Theatre). She elevated how women were viewed in the national theatre landscape. The majority of theatre companies in the Kansas City area trace their roots back to her mentorship and influence.
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Janet MurguíaCivil rights and women’s activist
Inducted 2019
Janet Murguía, one of the nation’s most prominent civil rights leaders, has fought for equal rights throughout her career. As a legislative assistant to former Congressman Jim Slattery and deputy director of legislative affairs to President Bill Clinton, Murguía counseled and convinced U.S. leaders on the economic needs of minorities. Now, as president and CEO of UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of LaRaza), the largest Hispanic advocacy group in the United States, Murguía regularly appears before Congress to testify about issues affecting the Latino community, including education, healthcare, immigration and the economy.
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Mona Lea PerryAdvocate for American Indians
Inducted 2019
Mona Lea Perry has lent her voice to furthering civil rights and diversity inclusion for American Indians and all minority and ethnic groups, for more than 60 years. She worked as an employment specialist with the American Indian Center in Kansas City and has volunteered with a myriad of organizations, including the Homeless Service Coalition, Stand for Children and KC Harmony. Perry has received four certificates of service as a member of the Missouri Advisory Council for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and in 2014 was honored with the Martin Luther King Olathe Kansas NAACP Hero of Diversity Award.
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Nell Quinlan (Donnelly) Reed*Entrepreneur and dress designer
Inducted 2019
Nell Quinlan (Donnelly) Reed (1889- 1991) established the Donnelly Garment Company in 1919. For much of the 20th century it was the largest dress manufacturing company in the world — making more than 75 million dresses and employing about 1,300 people in Kansas City. In an industry dominated by men, Reed succeeded by combining high-quality design with state-of- the-art manufacturing technology at affordable prices. She was also a pioneer of employees’ rights and implemented many improvements in work conditions and compensation, including air conditioning, life insurance and pension plans. Reed twice received the Navy-Army “E” Production Award for making servicewomen’s uniforms during World War II.
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Sister Berta SailerCo-founder, Operation Breakthrough
Inducted 2021
Sister Berta Sailer and Sister Corita Bussanmas (1933-2021) founded the nationally-accredited nonprofit childcare organization Operation Breakthrough. Sister Berta, alongside Sister Corita, provided education and social services to more than 10,000 of KC’s most vulnerable children and their families. Noted for their fierce and all-encompassing brand of child advocacy, Sister Berta and Sister Corita boldly knocked on the doors of politicians, philanthropists and professional athletes to solicit support for the underserved children in their care.
Sister Berta and Sister Corita educated wealthy and middle-income citizens on the plight of poor single mothers and children, often on bus tours of the urban core neighborhoods where the Operation Breakthrough children live. The two nuns served as foster parents to 80 children, and adoptive parents of four. In 2014, they were awarded the John and Marion Kreamer Award for Social Entrepreneurship from the UMKC Bloch School of Management, as well as the Bank of America Neighborhood Builder Award.
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Freda Mendez SmithChampion for Latino community
Inducted 2023
UMKC alumna Freda Mendez Smith (BA ’80) is a champion and advocate for the Latino community in Kansas City. A current advisory board member for the Women’s Foundation of Kansas City, she has worked with MANA de Kansas City for four decades, serving as a board member of the national organization twice. Smith is an advocate and mentor to members of the Latino population who encourages people to become engaged in community service, including serving on local boards of directors. She has been a volunteer board member at many community organizations including the UMKC Hispanic Advisory Board, the UMKC Women’s Council, Greater KC Hispanic Heritage and Mattie Rhodes Center.
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Dr. Linda Hood TalbottPhilanthropist and business executive
Inducted 2019
Dr. Linda Hood Talbott founded the Center for Philanthropic Leadership and is a founding member of the Greater Kansas City Foundation, Women’s Employment Network, Central Exchange and Women’s Foundation. Talbott became the first woman from Kansas City to sit on the board of a Fortune 1000 company when she was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of Kansas City Power & Light in the early 1980s. Talbott has established a number of scholarships at UMKC, her alma mater, and in 2015 announced her commitment to leave $1 million of her estate to the Honors College. She has been recognized by three U.S. presidents for her leadership in helping the elderly, youth and women of America.
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Sonia WarshawskiSpeaker and advocate
Inducted 2021
Sonia Warshawski is a Holocaust survivor who was sentenced to three death camps between the ages of 14 and 19. She never wanted to discuss the horrors of her early life, but after encountering deniers who claimed that the Holocaust was a hoax, she found her voice and has been speaking to students, organizations, incarcerated men and women and veterans with PTSD.
She became the voice of those who died and has become a role model for trauma survivors. Her granddaughter made an award-winning documentary, “Big Sonia,” to share her story with an even wider audience.