Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame

Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame Educational outreach organization serving all of Connecticut with free, innovative women's history programs! Visit our Virtual Hall at www.cwhf.org!

This Labor Day, we honor Betty Tianti; a trailblazing labor leader, the first woman to lead a state AFL-CIO federation, ...
09/07/2026

This Labor Day, we honor Betty Tianti; a trailblazing labor leader, the first woman to lead a state AFL-CIO federation, and Connecticut’s first female Commissioner of Labor.

Tianti’s advocacy began in the mills. In 1955, she went to work at the American Thread Company in Willimantic, where she became a shop steward and later president of her local Textile Workers Union. Her firsthand experience as a mill worker shaped a lifelong commitment to fair wages, workplace dignity, and the power of working people to organize.

You can visit the Windham Textile & History Museum, where Tianti worked and began her rise as a labor leader. The museum is a stop on the Connecticut Women’s Heritage Trail, an invitation to explore the places where women lived, worked, organized, and led. Plan your visit and discover more Connecticut women’s history at cwhf.org.

Happy Birthday to Catharine Beecher, abolitionist, educator, reformer, writer, and a complicated figure in women’s histo...
09/06/2026

Happy Birthday to Catharine Beecher, abolitionist, educator, reformer, writer, and a complicated figure in women’s history.

Born September 6, 1800, into the remarkable Beecher family, a leading family of reformers, writers, and ministers, Beecher devoted her life to expanding women’s access to serious education and to promoting teaching as one of the socially acceptable paid careers available to women. At a time when girls’ schooling was often limited, her Hartford Female Seminary offered young women a rigorous curriculum that included subjects more commonly taught to men, to prepare them for work in education.

But her vision had limits.

Beecher promoted domesticity and motherhood as women’s highest callings and believed women should exercise influence through the home and moral instruction, not the vote. She opposed woman suffrage even as her half-sister, Isabella Beecher Ho**er, became a prominent advocate for women’s rights and suffrage.
Her own life adds to the contradiction: Catharine Beecher never married and had no children. She was highly educated, an author, a national lecturer, and a founder and supporter of institutions for women’s education. She built a public, intellectual, independent life far broader than the domestic ideal she prescribed for other women. Her contradictions don't make her story less worth telling. They remind us that women's history is not a single path.
Learn More at cwhf.org

If you want to start a spirited debate in New Haven, Connecticut, ask for directions to the best pizza. The three most f...
09/05/2026

If you want to start a spirited debate in New Haven, Connecticut, ask for directions to the best pizza. The three most famous “apizza” establishments in New Haven are named by or after men; women are deeply involved in their history and founding.

Filomena Consiglio purchased and managed the Wooster Street business that became Sally’s Apizza, setting the stage for her sons Sal and Tony Consiglio to carry its legendary apizza tradition forward.

Flora “Flo” Consiglio was the longtime co-proprietor and matriarch of Sally’s Apizza, helping run the family business for decades alongside her husband, Salvatore “Sally” Consiglio.

Filomena Volpi Pepe was a partner in founding Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana with her husband, Frank, in 1925. Her English literacy and administrative work were essential to the business.

Modern Apizza, founded in 1934, was later to include a woman in its ownership history. In 1988, the formidable New Haven pizzeria was purchased by Mary and Bill Pustari, who helped carry its celebrated apizza tradition into a new era.

You never know who you might meet in line at one of these beloved pizzerias on a Friday night. Sally’s has welcomed singer-songwriter Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, former President Bill Clinton, and actor Kathleen Turner. Frank Pepe’s has hosted Sir Paul McCartney, Robin Williams, and former President Ronald Reagan; Modern Apizza has drawn director Steven Spielberg, who reportedly stands in line like everyone else, and Broadway star Linedy Genao.

This National Cheese Pizza Day, we salute these women and the delicious, never-ending debates over the best slice. In New Haven wood-fired apizza, the burnt spots are a feature, not a bug.
cwhf.org

Dear Gloria,You departed on the day I celebrated my 75th birthday. September 2nd now has added significance for me. Thou...
09/04/2026

Dear Gloria,

You departed on the day I celebrated my 75th birthday. September 2nd now has added significance for me.

Though very sad to see you go, I am very happy that you came to be a lasting influence in my life. That continues - as evidenced in the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame; where by your urging, we have come to honor and recognize the lasting contributions of women and girls to history. You asked us to tell HerStory and we do. We honor women’s legacies by weaving those stories into a tapestry of educational programs that inspire young women and girls to be all they dream to be. Your dreams lifted us to where we now stand. And your example empowers us to reach for higher ground - until we get to where we are meant to be.

You so frequently quoted the famous adage: “The flap of a butterfly’s wing can change the weather hundreds of miles away.” Whenever I see one, I will think of you and how you changed my world.

Forever grateful,

Geena

Happy National Wildlife Day! 🌿🐾Connecticut’s forests, wetlands, riverbanks, and seasonal pools are home to extraordinary...
09/04/2026

Happy National Wildlife Day! 🌿🐾

Connecticut’s forests, wetlands, riverbanks, and seasonal pools are home to extraordinary wildlife. Today, we’re highlighting four lesser-known species and a woman whose work helps protect the animals that share our state.

🪲Puritan tiger beetle - The Puritan tiger beetle has a striped body that can flash with coppery tones, making it a vivid presence along the sandy riverbanks and coastal shorelines it calls home.
🐢Bog turtle — The bog turtle is Connecticut’s rarest turtle and one of North America’s smallest turtle species. It depends on specialized, spring-fed wetlands that are increasingly vulnerable to habitat loss. Bog turtles should never be removed from their habitat or kept as pets.
🦦Fisher — Often called a “fisher cat,” this elusive animal is not a cat at all. It is a member of the weasel family, with a long body, short legs, dark coat, and bushy tail.
🐸Eastern spadefoot — Despite often being called a toad, the eastern spadefoot is actually a primitive amphibian. It gets its name from the hard, spade-like projections on its hind feet, which it uses to dig into sandy soil and spend much of its life underground.
We also recognize Dara Reid, founder and director of Weston-based Wildlife in Crisis, an all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to wildlife rehabilitation, preservation, habitat protection, and education. Each year, its clinic cares for more than 5,000 injured, ill, and orphaned native wild animals, with the intent of returning them to the wild. wildlifeincrisis.org

Want to learn more? Visit Connecticut DEEP’s Wildlife in Connecticut webpage.
cwhf.org

The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame mourns the loss of Gloria Steinem—writer, organizer, truth-teller, and a lifelong c...
09/03/2026

The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame mourns the loss of Gloria Steinem—writer, organizer, truth-teller, and a lifelong champion for women’s equality. She died September 2 at age 92.

For generations, Gloria helped people name what they had experienced in private: inequality, discrimination, silencing, and the feeling of being overlooked. But she did more than identify injustice. She listened deeply, made room for other people’s stories, and reminded women and girls that they were not alone, and that change was possible when people came together.

Her work spanned more than six decades, from groundbreaking journalism and the founding of Ms. Magazine to organizing for reproductive freedom, equal rights, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and an end to gender-based violence. In her final years, she continued working for equality, writing and convening Talking Circles in her home, creating space where people could listen to one another, share honestly, and build community.
In June 1998 and then again in October 2012, Gloria Steinem appeared on the Bushnell stage as a panelist for The Connecticut Forum. Her contributions to those discussions hold special meaning for us, as the Forum co-founded the Hall and her immense body of work continues to inspire and infuse ours.
We remember Gloria Steinem not simply for the history she made, but for the humanity she brought to the work: her curiosity, compassion, humor, determination, and steadfast belief that every person deserves dignity, voice, and freedom.

May we continue the conversations she began—and carry her conviction forward that a more equal world is possible.
Photo by CWHF inductee Annie Leibovitz
cwhf.org

Congratulations to Lhakpa Sherpa, a 2022 inductee, on receiving the International Festival of Arts & Ideas’ Visionary Le...
09/03/2026

Congratulations to Lhakpa Sherpa, a 2022 inductee, on receiving the International Festival of Arts & Ideas’ Visionary Leadership Award last night!

Born in Nepal and now a resident of West Hartford, Lhakpa is a trailblazer, mother, entrepreneur, record-setting mountaineer, and a true force of nature. She has summited Mount Everest 11 times (to date) and has climbed many other extraordinary peaks, including K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.

Through her business, Hiking With Lhakpa, Lhakpa offers individuals and groups the opportunity to explore the outdoors with one of the world’s most accomplished climbers. From local hikes and challenging mountain adventures to high-altitude expeditions, including Everest, Lhakpa can help create an unforgettable experience for hikers of all experience and difficulty levels.

We are enormously proud to celebrate Lhakpa and this well-deserved recognition. Congratulations, Lhakpa, your courage, leadership, strength, beauty, and determination continue to move mountains.
Read about Lhakpa and watch her biography at cwhf.org

Sometimes our connection between a commemorative day and one of our Inductees is tenuous. This is not one of those times...
09/01/2026

Sometimes our connection between a commemorative day and one of our Inductees is tenuous. This is not one of those times.

Imagine writing 500 letters by hand and sending every one of them, then writing and mailing another 1,500. All by hand. All at your own expense.

That is what Connecticut nurse and advocate Martha Minerva Franklin did, first in 1906 and then again in 1908. She wrote to Black nurses, nursing-school superintendents, and nursing organizations to learn about the discrimination Black nurses faced, then invited Black nurses to consider forming a national organization.
Her outreach brought 52 nurses together and helped lead to the founding of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, which advocated for racial equality and professional opportunity in nursing. Its work and legacy continue today through the National Black Nurses Association and the many Black nursing leaders and organizations advancing health equity, professional opportunity, and representation.

Today, write a physical letter: thank someone, reconnect with a loved one, share a memory, or advocate for a cause that matters to you.

Your words may begin something special.
cwhf.org

Just a few days away! On Wednesday, September 2, you can meet Lhakpa Sherpa, 2022 Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame Induc...
08/31/2026

Just a few days away! On Wednesday, September 2, you can meet Lhakpa Sherpa, 2022 Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee, at An Evening with Lhakpa Sherpa.

Presented by the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in celebration of its 16th Visionary Leadership Award, this special evening begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Canal Dock Boathouse in New Haven.

The Festival has generously offered CWHF supporters a ticket discount. Use code EVEREST5 when purchasing tickets: artidea.org/vla2026

We hope to see you there!

Join the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls Leadership Subcommittee for Women in Forensics—an engaging conversation c...
08/29/2026

Join the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls Leadership Subcommittee for Women in Forensics—an engaging conversation celebrating women’s leadership in forensic science, public safety, and the justice system.

📅 October 14, 2026 | 1:00–2:00 PM
📍 In person: Michael J. Adanti Student Center, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515
📧 Register for in-person attendance: [email protected]
🪪 In-person attendees must bring a photo ID.
💻 Join virtually: https://bit.ly/CoWAGForensics

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