LIST: 31 Latinx women to learn about for Hispanic Heritage Month 2019

Romana Acosta Bañuelos was the U.S. Treasurer from Dec. 17,1971 to Feb. 14, 1974. Acosta Bañuelos was born in Miami, Arizona, but was deported to Mexico when she was 8. She returned to America and worked as a dishwasher and tortilla marker and saved until she opened a factory. Acosta Bañuelos eventually incorporated the company and named it Romona’s Mexican Food Products, Inc. Additionally, she became a founder of the Pan-American National Bank in East Lost Angeles and received Los Angeles’ Outstanding Business Woman of the Year Award in 1969. In 1971, President Richard Nixon nominated Acosta Bañuelos as the U.S. Treasurer, becoming the first Hispanic Treasurer of the United States.

Elma Barrera became the first Hispanic reporter on Houston television when she began her career at KTRK-ABC 13 in 1972. In 2000, Barrera was inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame as one of the three inaugural recipients.

Ilia Calderón became the first Afro-Latina to anchor the weekday evening news for a major broadcast network (Univision) in 2017. In 1994, Calderón began her journalism career in Medellín, Colombia and later became the first black woman to ever host a national news program in Colombia. In 2001, Calderón was the first black anchor for Telemundo.

Soledad C. Chacón was the first Hispanic woman elected to statewide office in the United States. Chacón served as the New Mexico Secretary of State from 1923-1926. Her election came two years after the 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote.

Anna Maria Chávez is an attorney who served as the first woman of color to be the CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. She received a Bachelor of Arts in American History from Yale University and her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arizona. Chávez previously worked in the Office of the Counsel to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Deputy Chief of Staff for the Governor of Arizona. In her position as CEO of Girl Scouts, Chávez co-sponsored the social media campaign Ban Bossy which encouraged women to seek positions of leadership.

Adriana Cisneros is the CEO of Cisneros Group, which was founded by her grandfather in 1929 in Venezuela. In 2018, Cisneros was named one of the 50 Most Influential Latinas in the U.S. by the Association of Latino Professionals for America. Prior to taking over the company from her father in 2013, Cisneros ran the company’s digital strategy and created three divisions: Cisneros Media, Cisneros Real Estate and Cisneros Interactive. 

Catherine Cortez Masto was the first Latina elected to serve in the Senate and the first woman elected to represent Nevada in 2016. Prior to becoming a senator, Cortez Masto was Nevada’s attorney general from 2007 to 2015. 

Olga. E. Custodio started her flight career after she was turned away from flight school because of her gender. She eventually became the first Latina to complete the United States Air Force military pilot training to become a pilot. She then became the first Latina to become a commercial pilot for American Airlines. She has since retired and continues to be a guest speaker for women to pursue aviation and other male dominated professions.

Raffi Freedman-Gurspan was the first openly transgender staff member to work at the White House. Freedman-Gurspan worked at the White House from 2015-2017 and currently serves as the deputy director of All On The Line, a national campaign to end gerrymandering. Freedman-Gurspan was also the first openly transgender legislative staffer for the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2011-2014.

Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski is a theoretical physicist who was listed in Forbes “30 Under 30” list in 2015 and 2017. Gonzalez Pasterski is the youngest person to build an airplane that is certified as airworthy and fly solo in the U.S. in the same aircraft at age 14. She went on to graduate from MIT in three years and tied for the top overall GPA of 5.0. 

Christy Haubegger founded Latina Magazine in 1996. The Houston native graduated from Stanford Law School and soon after released the first issue of Latina Magazine, which featured Jennifer Lopez on the cover. Haubegger is now the Chief Enterprise Inclusion Officer at WarnerMedia. 

Estella Hernández Gillette graduated from the University of Houston-Clear Lake with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1986. She returned and received a master’s degree in human resources management in 1994 at UHCL. Starting as a clerk-stenographer at NASA in 1964, Gillette went on to become an executive secretary. After 40 years of service, Gillette retired from Johnson Space Center as the deputy director of the JSC External Relations Office. In 2012, Gillette earned her doctorate in human resources development from George Washington University. Currently, Gillette is an adjunct instructor at the University of Houston and works for Logical Innovations, Inc.

Laurie Hernandez is a 19-year-old Olympic gymnast. She started gymnastics back in 2005 and was the only first-year senior-level gymnast to be selected for the Olympic Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team. In 2016, she became a two-time Olympic medalist winning a gold medal and a silver medal.

Dolores Huerta is a civil rights activist and co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association - later known as the United Farm Workers. In 1965, Huerta helped in organizing the Delano grape strike in California and was the lead negotiator for the worker’s contracts. In 1988, Huerta was nearly beaten to death by San Francisco police during a rally protesting policies of former President George H. W. Bush. Huerta received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President Barack Obama in 2012. 

Jovita Idár was a journalist and activist for the rights of Mexican Americans and women. After first earning her teaching certificate in 1903, Idár began teaching in Los Ojuelos, Texas before realizing more needed to be done to better students’ success in the classroom. She began writing for her father’s newspaper La Crónica to denounce the poor social, economic and educational conditions for Mexican Americans. Idár became the first president of the League of Mexican Women.

Sylvia Mendez is a civil rights activist who was a key part of the landmark 1946 Supreme Court case Mendez v. Wesminster. The case found that the segregation of Mexican American students from “whites only” schools was unconstitutional. The ruling paved the way for the landmark Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. In 2011, Mendez received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President Barack Obama.

Evelyn Miralles graduated from the University of Houston-Clear Lake with a bachelor’s in applied sciences and a master’s in business administration. For 24 years, Miralles worked at NASA, which included developments in virtual reality to further human spaceflight. Currently, Miralles serves as the associate vice president for strategic information initiatives and technology at UHCL. In 2016, Miralles was named one of the Top 20 Most Influential Latinos in Technology by CNET.

Rita Moreno is the first Hispanic to be considered an EGOT for having won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Moreno became the first Hispanic actress to win an Oscar when she won Best Supporting Actress for her role in “West Side Story.” In 2004, Moreno received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President George W. Bush. 

Denise Navarro is an alumna of the University of Houston-Clear Lake with a bachelor’s in computer information systems and a master’s in business administration. After working as a NASA contractor, Navarro incorporated her company Logical Innovations in 1999. The company became fully operational in 2006 and offers support services for clients including NASA. 

Antonia Novello was the first woman and first Hispanic to be Surgeon General of the United States. Novello served as the surgeon general from 1990-1993 under former President George H. W. Bush. From 1999-2006, Novello was the commissioner of health for New York. 

Adriana Ocampo is a planetary geologist and her research led to the discovery of the Chicxulub impact crater. The impact crater thought to have caused the extinction of over 50% of species on earth, including the dinosaurs. Currently, Ocampo is the science program manager at NASA’s headquarters. 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest women ever to be elected into Congress. In her earlier years, she has had jobs such as waitressing and bartending in order to provide for her family. In 2018, Ocasio-Cortez won against a 10-term incumbent congressman by nearly 15%. During the 2018 general election, Ocasio-Cortez won against her Republican opponent with 78% of the votes. 

Ellen Ochoa joined NASA in 1988 as a research engineer at Ames Research Center before moving to Johnson Space Center in 1990, while being selected to be an astronaut. Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman to breach the Earth’s atmosphere and go to space. She was recognized with the Distinguished Service Medal, NASA’s highest honor, and the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award. Ochoa has flown in space four times with close to 1,000 logged hours. Ochoa went on to become the 11th director – the first Hispanic and second female director – of the Johnson Space Center.

Known as the Queen of Tejano Music, Selena was the first Tejano artist to win a Grammy Award in 1994. The Texas native was considered the “Tejano Madonna” and went on to open her boutique and salon, Selena Etc., in 1994. In 1995, the singer was killed and left behind a legacy of being one of the best-selling female artists in Latin music history. As of 2016, Selena has sold over 60 million albums worldwide.

Chita Rivera is an actress, singer and dancer who was the first Latinx recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors award in 2002. In 2009, former President Barack Obama awarded Rivera the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award. Rivera is most known for her roles in Broadway musicals including “West Side Story” and “Chicago.”

Sylvia Rivera was a Puerto Rican American transgender activist who fought for LGBTQ+ rights. In 1969, Rivera participated in the Stonewall Riots at age 17. After leaving home at around age 10 because of abuse for her effeminate behavior, Rivera was taken in by a community of drag queens. Rivera was a founding member of the Gay Activists Alliance and STAR, a group dedicated to helping homeless transgender youth. 

Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías was the first Latina to become president of the American Public Health Association. Dr. Rodríguez-Trías received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Bill Clinton in 2001 for her work on behalf of women, children, people with AIDS and HIV, and the poor. Dr. Rodríguez-Trías died later that year from cancer. 

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was the first Latina elected to U.S. Congress. Ros-Lehtinen was also the first Cuban American elected to Congress when she began her time in office in 1989. During her time in office, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Republican member of Congress to publicly support the marriage equality act. 

Maria Elena Salinas is a journalist and news anchor who is also considered the “Voice of Hispanic America.” She has interviewed heads of state, national leaders, and every president of the United States since Jimmy Carter. Salinas is also a radio commentator, columnist and has appeared both English and Spanish papers across the United States. She has since earned numerous awards and became the first Latina to win the Emmy for Lifetime Achievement in the News and Documentary category.

Sonia Sotomayor was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009 by former President Barack Obama and became the first Latina Justice. Born in the Bronx borough of New York, Sotomayor graduated from Yale Law School in 1980 and became a U.S. District Judge in 1992. In 1998, Sotomayor moved to the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Nydia Velázquez is the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress. Velázquez has been a congresswoman since 1993. She went on to be the first Hispanic woman to serve as Ranking Member of a full House committee. In 2006, Velázquez became the first Latina to chair a full Congressional committee.