Iris B. Burnham is an American educator. Burnham brought charter schools to El Paso, Texas. In addition, she founded the El Paso chapter of National Organization for Women (NOW) and was a co-founder of the first domestic violence shelter for women in El Paso.
In 2023 Iris B. Burnham published two volumes of her ABC Mystery Series: “Missing Teacher,” and the sequel, “Turkish Tango.”
Burnham came to El Paso in the early 1970s. [1] In 1977, she became a lecturer in the English department of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). [2]
Burnham, as president and founder of the El Paso chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) was part of the founding group of women who in 1977 created the first shelter for women facing abuse in El Paso. [3] [4] [5] Burnham was working as the board president of the Transition Living Center at the time and stated that there was a need in El Paso to provide shelter and resources for women facing domestic violence. [6] She was also involved with supporting the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). [7]
In 1984, as director of the School for Educational Enrichment (SEE), Burnham received a grant for $200,000 from the Texas Department of Community Affairs to help 163 laid-off workers find new jobs in El Paso. [8] In 1998, SEE opened the first charter schools in El Paso, the Burnham Wood Charter School, headed by Burnham. [9] SEE helped students with learning disabilities and behavioral problems. [10] Burnham also worked with at-risk young adults through the Upper Rio Grande Private Industry Council. [10]
In 2015, Burnham retired as superintendent of the charter schools she founded. [11]
Burnham was inducted into the El Paso Women's Hall of Fame in 1993. [12]
GECU is a federal chartered credit union headquartered in El Paso, Texas. GECU is regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and each of their members is an owner who has a vote and a share in the credit union.
Lucy G. Acosta was a Mexican-American activist with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). She was a political appointee under various mayors of El Paso, Texas. She was elected to the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1987. The Lucy G. Acosta Humanitarian Awards were named in her honor, and have been presented every year since 1993.
The El Paso Women's Hall of Fame honors and recognizes the accomplishments of El Paso women. It is sponsored by the El Paso Commission for Women and was established in 1985. The first inductees were honored in 1990.
Mona Salyer Lambird (1938–1999) was an Oklahoma lawyer who became the first woman president of the Oklahoma Bar Association and the first woman elected to the Board of Governors of the Oklahoma Bar Association. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in 1995.
Rosa Ramirez Guerrero is a Mexican American educator, artist and historian from El Paso, Texas. She was the founder of the International Folklorico Dance Group. Guerrero has also been active with work in the Catholic Church, and has been called the "Dancing Missionary" in religious circles. She is also known for her multicultural dance programs which have been performed around the country and featured in a film called Tapestry. She was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame and has an El Paso school named after her.
Delia Villegas Vorhauer was an American Latina social worker, who successfully ran programs to assist the Hispanic communities in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan. She was awarded a presidential medal for her efforts in development. She founded Mujeres Unidas de Michigan as an advocacy group for Spanish-speaking women and as a result of their activism the group sent six delegates to the 1977 National Women's Conference, which was a part of the UN International Women's Year programs. Vorhauer served as vice chair of the delegation to the conference. She authored the Mason Miller Report, an evaluation of minorities and higher education, which became the model for analyzing participation of minorities in colleges and universities throughout Michigan, leading to a state bi-lingual education law. When she lost her sight, due to diabetes, Vorhauer became an advocate for the blind. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1990, the first Latina to be honored in the hall.
Drusilla Elizabeth Tandy Nixon was a community activist and music educator in El Paso, Texas.
Joan H. Quarm was an American educator, theater director, and actor. She was a major figure in El Paso theater productions from the late 1950s until the 2000s. She was responsible for creating two theater companies in El Paso, including the first bilingual theater company in the city. Quarm also worked as a professor at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and as a theater critic.
Ruth Ellen Kern was an American lawyer, community leader and feminist. Kern was an early pioneer in law for women in El Paso, Texas. She was also outspoken against myths regarding violence against women, sharing her own experiences with rape with the public. Kern was an active member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and a law suit she filed for an inmate led to El Paso County to construct a new jail with better conditions for inmates.
Malena Cano is a ranchero music and mariachi singer from the El Paso, Texas area. She is known for her work in both music and stage.
Jan Herring was an American artist. Herring was based in Clint, Texas and showed her work around the United States. Herring began showing her work in 1950 and worked as an instructor at the El Paso Museum of Art. She was inducted into the El Paso Women's Hall of Fame in 1990.
Gloria Osuna Perez was a Chicana artist. She had a pottery line, but is best known for her paintings. Her work is part of the permanent collection of the El Paso Museum of Art.
Cynthia Weber Farah Haines is an American photographer and writer. She is best known for her work on documenting Southwest writers and art and life in El Paso, Texas. Farah has also taught at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) where she was involved with the university's first film studies program.
Becky Duval Reese is an American curator and art museum director. She is best known for her work as the director of the El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA) and oversaw the museum's move in 1998. She was inducted into the El Paso Women's Hall of Fame in 2005.
Alicia Rosencrans Chacón is an American politician. She is best known for several firsts in El Paso, Texas. Chacón was the first woman elected to El Paso government when she became county clerk in 1974. She was also the first Hispanic woman to serve on the Ysleta Independent School District Board and as an alderman in El Paso. She later became the first woman and first Hispanic person in 100 years to serve as a judge for the El Paso area. A school, the Alicia R. Chacón International School is named after her.
Sandra Rushing is an American women's college basketball coach. She has served as head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), Delta State University, and the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). When she left UTEP, she had the best record for women's basketball in the school's history. Rushing was inducted into the El Paso Women's Hall of Fame in 1999.
Polly Harris was a Texas politician and theater enthusiast. Harris was one of the first women politicians in El Paso. She was known for serving on City Council and supporting local theater. A senior center in El Paso is named after her.
Myra Carroll Winkler was an American educator and was the first woman to hold elected office in El Paso County.
Catherine "Kitty" Burnett Kistenmacher was an American artists from El Paso, Texas in the late 20th century and the early 21st century. Kistenmacher was involved in the creation of the International Museum of Art. She is a 2007 inductee into the El Paso Women's Hall of Fame.