Women Trailblazers Of California

In a series of biographical profiles, this volume celebrates the lives and achievements of women who made history in the Golden State. Throughout California’s history, remarkable women have been at the core of change and innovation. In this fascinating volume, Gloria Harris and Hannah Cohen relate the stories of forty women whose struggles and achievements have paved the way for generations. Coming from all walks of life and entering a variety of fields—from activism and conservation to science, medicine, entertainment, and more—these women overcame prejudice, skepticism and injustice to prove that women can do anything. Visionary architect Julia Morgan designed Hearst Castle; Dolores Huerta co-founded United Farm Workers; Donaldina Cameron, the angry angel of Chinatown, rescued brothel workers; and silent film actress Mary Pickford helped form United Artists Pictures. From fearless pioneers to determined reformers, Harris and Cohen chronicle the triumphs and disappointments of diverse women who dared to take risks and break down barriers.

Women played prominent roles during Stockton's growth from gold rush tent city to California leader in transportation, agriculture and manufacturing. Heiresses reigned in the city's nineteenth-century mansions. In the twentieth century, women fought for suffrage and helped start local colleges, run steamship lines, build food empires and break the school district's color barrier. Writers like Sylvia Sun Minnick and Maxine Hong Kingston chronicled the town. Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers. Harriet Chalmers Adams caught the travel bug on walks with her father, and Dawn Mabalon rescued the history of the Filipino population. Join Mary Jo Gohlke, news writer turned librarian, as she eloquently captures the stories of twenty-two triumphant and successful women who led a little river city into state prominence.

A collection of inspiring and informative narratives, Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor introduces us to real American heroes. Author and educator Terry Lee Marzell shines a spotlight on heroic teachers in American history who were both exemplars of teaching and role models of society. We meet the teachers who protected our country like Henry Alvin Cameron, who fought in World War I, and Francis Wayland Parker, a Civil War veteran. We learn about the social reformers who put themselves at risk to fight for improved conditions and better lives for disenfranchised citizens like Dolores Huerta, the champion of migrant farm workers; Robert Parris Moses, the civil rights activist; Prudence Crandall, who defied prevailing convention to open a school for African American girls; Carrie Chapman Catt, the suffragist; and Zitkala-Sa, who campaigned for the constitutional rights of Native Americans. We get to know the brave pioneers who took great risks to blaze a trail for others to follow such as Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space; Willa Brown Chappell, the aviatrix who taught Tuskegee airmen to fly; Etta Schureman Jones, who was interned for four years in a POW camp in Japan during WWII; and Olive Mann Isbell, who established the first English school in California while the Mexican American War raged around her. Lastly, we discover teachers like Dave Sanders of Columbine High School who put their own lives at risk to protect the students whose safety was entrusted to their care. Chalkboard Heroes combines superb storytelling and scholarship in this engaging, inspirational work that is sure to inspire as well as educate.

"This biography of Rose Elizabeth Bird is an overdue look at California's first female supreme court chief justice, against the backdrop of California's political and cultural climate in the 1970s and 1980s"--

San Diego enjoys a diverse legacy of formidable female leaders. Ellen Browning Scripps financed and established the groundbreaking Scripps Oceanography Institute. In 1927, Belle Benchley became the nation's first female zoo director and for nearly thirty years pioneered new forms of exhibition and developed the world-class San Diego Zoo. Guatemalan activist and advocate Luisa Moreno established the United Fish Cannery Workers Union to protect the rights of workers during World War II. Ruth Alexander set new altitude records for light planes at the peak of the city's aviation boom. Bertha Pendleton became the first female and first African American San Diego school superintendent in 1993. Authors Hannah Cohen and Gloria Harris document these and many more stories of extraordinary local women.

Higher education always seems to be in crisis. Governments, foundations, professional associations, and the occasional scornful professor all tend to lament one or another problem plaguing America's colleges and universities. The more apocalyptic claims state that the United States is a "nation at risk," that our students' minds have been closed, or that radical faculty have run amok and are brainwashing our youth. In Get Real, William G. Tierney, a leading scholar of higher education, cuts through this noise, drawing on his experience and expertise to provide a thought-provoking overview of the many challenges confronting higher education and how to deal with them. In forty-nine short, engaging essays, he aims not to stoke the flames of controversy or promote a particular stance but to provoke creative, forward-looking public discussion about what higher education could and should look like in the twenty-first century. Tierney clearly distills and offers his take on critical issues—from diversity and free speech to the rise of for-profit colleges and student debt—but the goal is always to give readers the background and tools to form their own opinions. Written in a conversational tone and laced with personal anecdotes, Get Real is informed by scholarly literature without being weighed down by it and includes suggestions for further reading.

Throughout its history, the American West symbolized a place of hope and new beginnings, where anything was possible, especially for men. However, the history written until the 1970s and 1980s excluded women. Sigrid Schönfelder illustrates how the American West served as a catalytic gold mine for many transformations for women. It draws on the life narratives of three healthcare providers whose devotion within the social reform movements of the long nineteenth century contributed significantly to shaping healthcare policies. Their stories show how women contributed to place-making in the West and served as role models for other women to enter the field of medicine.

“What caused a few women to counter the trends and choose these professions? What difficulties did they face in fields so new to them? And did the influences that marked their early histories reveal themselves in their work and careers? Anna Lewis’s book raises these questions, central for young people considering the future.” —Denise Scott Brown, cofounder of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates Women of Steel and Stone tells the stories of 22 determined women who helped build the world we live in. Thoroughly researched and engaging profiles describe these builders’ and designers’ strengths, passions, and interests as they were growing up; where those traits took them; and what they achieved. Inspiring a new generation of girls who are increasingly encouraged to engage in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education and professions, the biographies stress work, perseverance, creativity, and overcoming challenges and obstacles. Set against the backdrop of landmark events such as the women’s suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, the industrial revolution, and more, the profiles offer not only important historical context but also a look at some of the celebrated architects and engineers working today. Sidebars on related topics, source notes, and a bibliography make this an invaluable resource for further study. Anna M. Lewis is an award-winning toy inventor and creativity advocate. Her company, Ideasplash, promotes child creativity through her writing, websites, and classes and presentations in schools. She has contributed to Appleseeds, Odyssey, and Toy Design Monthly and currently teaches for Young Rembrandts, an afterschool art program, as well as classes on cartooning, game design, arts and crafts, monster making, and painting.