Groundbreakers

Susan Pringle Frost

(1873-1960)  Susan Pringle Frost was born a member of an important family, very distinguished and well known in Charleston. When her family’s business started to fail, she entered the workforce and cultivated an interest in women’s…

Groundbreakers

Alfred Mae Drakeford

Alfred Mae Drakeford has a lifetime of leadership experience. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of South Carolina and was promoted to manager of quality and training with the DuPont company. Her efforts in…

Groundbreakers

Hellen Morris Lewis

(1852-1933)  Hellen Morris Lewis was an important figurehead for women’s suffrage in the South, especially in her home state of North Carolina. In 1894, she sponsored her state’s first public meeting on women’s suffrage. She organized…

Groundbreakers

Keller Barron

(1932-) A strong woman known for her activism in Columbia, Keller Barron focused on many issues: women’s rights, voters’ rights, improving racial relations, and education reform. For her efforts she was the first female recipient of the Christian…

Groundbreakers

Barbara Wischan Moxon

(1921-2011) Barbara Moxon became active in the League of Women Voters in 1963 and served as the state president of the organization from 1971 to 1977. She served as chairperson to the South Carolina Commission on Women from…

Groundbreakers

Michelle Logan-Owens

(1971-) After growing up watching a nursing staff support her grandfather, Michelle Logan-Owens earned a Bachelor’s in Nursing from the University of South Carolina in 1994. She furthered her education with a Master’s Degree and, in 2014, received a Doctorate…

Groundbreakers

Marjorie Hammock

(1936-) Marjorie Hammock was born in Atlanta Georgia and moved to Connecticut with her parents as part of the Great Migration. She studied social structure through her time as a student at Spelman College and Howard University and…

Groundbreakers

Kimberly Clarice Aiken Cockerham

(1795-)  Kimberly Clarice Aiken Cockerham has had great successes in the face of adversity. She had brain surgery at just eleven years old, then went on to graduate from Columbia High School where she held positions…

Groundbreakers

Dr. Matilda Arabella Evans

(1872-1935)  Matilda Arabella Evans graduated from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1897, going on to become the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina. She was founder of the Columbia…

Groundbreakers

Joyce C. Hearn

(1929-2021)  The Honorable Joyce C. Hearn was born in Cedartown, Georgia, to J.C. and Carolyn Carter Camp. She met her husband after enrolling in West Georgia College at age 16. She then transferred to the University of Georgia and…