Mary Lou Makepeace is an American politician who served as the mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado from 1997 to 2003. She was the first woman to hold that position.
Ramona Martinez a member of the Democratic National Committee from Colorado for 16 years. A businesswoman and former president of the Denver City Council, Martinez has served on the DNC from 1992 to 2009. As a superdelegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Martinez has publicly supported Bill Richardson, and then Hillary Clinton. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2010.
Elizabeth Morley Cowles Gale Ballantine, known as Morley Cowles Ballantine, was an American newspaper publisher, editor, philanthropist, and women's rights activist. Scion of an Iowan newspaper publishing family, she and her second husband, Arthur A. Ballantine, purchased two Durango, Colorado newspapers in 1952, which they merged into The Durango Herald by 1960. The couple also started the Ballantine Family Fund, which supported arts and education in Southwest Colorado. After her husband's death in 1975, Ballantine took over the chairmanship of the family-owned publishing company, continuing to produce a weekly column and editorials. She received many journalism awards and several honorary degrees. She was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame in 2002 and was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2014.
Gloria Travis Tanner was a politician and public figure in Colorado. A Democrat, she served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1985-1994. In 1994, she became the first African American woman to serve as a Colorado state senator. In 2000, she founded a leadership and training institute for black women in Colorado. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.
Lena Lovato Archuleta was an American educator, school librarian, and administrator in New Mexico and Colorado for more than three decades. In 1976 she became the first Hispanic woman principal in the Denver Public Schools system. She was also the first Hispanic president of the Denver Classroom Teachers' Association and the Colorado Library Association, and the first female president of the Latin American Education Foundation. She was instrumental in the founding of several political and community advocacy groups for Latinos and served on numerous city and community boards. Following her retirement in 1979, she became a full-time volunteer for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2002 the Denver Public Schools system dedicated the Lena L. Archuleta Elementary School in northeast Denver in her honor.
Ana Irma Rivera Lassén is an Afro-Puerto Rican attorney who is a current Member of the Puerto Rican Senate, elected on November 3, 2020, and who previously served as the head of the Bar Association of Puerto Rico from 2012–2014. She was the first black woman, and third female, to head the organization. She is a feminist and human rights activist, who is also openly lesbian. She has received many awards and honors for her work in the area of women's rights and human rights, including the Capetillo-Roqué Medal from the Puerto Rican Senate, the Martin Luther King/Arturo Alfonso Schomburg Prize, and the Nilita Vientós Gastón Medal. She is a practicing attorney and serves on the faculty of several universities in Puerto Rico; she currently serves on the Advisory Committee on Access to Justice of the Puerto Rican Judicial Branch.
Juana María Bordas is a Nicaraguan–American community activist specializing in leadership development and diversity training. She is a founder of several Denver, Colorado-area organizations promoting Latino and Latina leadership, including the Mi Casa Resource Center for Women, the National Hispana Leadership Institute, and Mestiza Leadership International, where she currently serves as president. She has authored two books and is a motivational speaker and workshop presenter for conferences and businesses. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, she was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1997.
Marylou Olivarez Mason was an American civil servant.
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.
Sister Alicia Valladolid Cuarón is an American educator, human rights activist, women's rights activist, leadership development specialist, and Franciscan nun. Since the 1970s, she has crafted numerous initiatives benefiting low-income Latinas and Spanish-speaking immigrant families in Colorado, including the first bilingual and bicultural Head Start program in the state, the national Adelante Mujer Hispanic Employment and Training Conference, and the Bienestar Family Services Center, today a ministry of the Archdiocese of Denver. In 1992, Cuarón joined the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, where she continues her efforts to promote education and leadership development among Spanish-speaking families. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2008.
Patricia Anne Acquaviva Gabow is an American academic physician, medical researcher, healthcare executive, author and lecturer. Specializing in nephrology, she joined the department of medicine, division of renal diseases, at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1973, advancing to a full professorship in 1987; she is presently Professor Emerita. She was the principal investigator on the National Institutes of Health Human Polycystic Kidney Disease research grant, which ran from 1985 to 1999, and defined the clinical manifestations and genetics of the disease in adults and children. She served for two decades as CEO of Denver Health, an integrated public healthcare system in Denver, Colorado, where she implemented numerous business-based systems to streamline operations, improve patient care, and recognize cost savings. In particular, her introduction of the "Lean" quality-improvement system, based on the Toyota Production System, earned her national recognition. She is the author of more than 150 articles and book chapters, three books, and has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching, physician care, and leadership. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2004.
Arlene Hirschfeld is an American community activist. Since the 1980s, she has served on the board of trustees of numerous Denver and Colorado state organizations, working in advisory, leadership, and fundraising capacities. The recipient of numerous awards, she was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2006.
Maria Guajardo Lucero is an American educator and advocate for children and the Latino community. Born to illiterate Mexican migrant workers in California, she earned her undergraduate degree in psychology and social relations at Harvard University and her master's degree and doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Denver. From 1988 to 2013, she worked in several state and national government-level positions to increase opportunities for low-income children and Latinos, and served as executive director of the Latin American Research and Service Agency. In 2013 she moved to Tokyo, Japan, to develop a new degree program in international liberal arts at Sōka University. She served as dean of the program from 2013 to 2016, when she was promoted to vice president of the university (2016-2020). She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, and was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2010.
Casimiro Barela was an American politician responsible for authoring the Constitution of Colorado. He served in both the Colorado Territory legislature and the legislature of the State. He was known as the "Father of the Colorado Senate" and served for 40 years. According to scholars, Barela's legacy in Colorado would show a willingness to work for the business class but to also guard the Hispanic culture and Spanish language speaking populace from the newer culture being introduced from the east, all while acting as a politician-patron for the people of Trinidad, Colorado.
Dorothy Ann Ortner Horrell is an American educator, university administrator, and philanthropy administrator. From 2016 to 2020, she held the post of Chancellor of University of Colorado Denver. She was previously president of both Red Rocks Community College and the Colorado Community College System, and president and CEO of the Bonfils–Stanton Foundation. In 2009, she was appointed by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to the Colorado State University Board of Governors, which she also served as chair for a two-year term. Active on the boards of many community organizations, she was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2018.
Elbra Mae Wedgeworth is a civil servant in Denver, Colorado. Wedgeworth is the only person in recent history to hold positions in all three branches of Denver's city government.
Anna Jo Garcia Haynes is a former educator in Colorado who specialized in early childhood education. She was instrumental in early childhood education development in Colorado, where she founded the Mile High Montessori Early Learning Centers in Denver, founded the Mile High Montessori Early Learning Centers, co-founded Colorado Children's Campaign, and has been recognized by many organizations in Colorado including the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.
Arlene Vigil Kramer, EdD, is an advocate for bilingual and bilcultural education, and was the first Latina to complete a Doctor of Education degree.
Jeanette Trujillo-Lucero is a dancer who has been recognized for her Spanish and folklore dances. She is the founder and artistic director of Fiesta Colorado Dance Company and Ballet Folklorico de Colorado. Her stage name is "La Muñeca" for her petite stature. Her dance background includes Mexican folklorico, classical Spanish dance, Flamenco, jazz, tap, and ballet.
Susanne E. Jalbert is an activist for economic development, women's rights, and gender equity. Her work includes being a global leader, senior advisor, and mentor, including her work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) around the world. She received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Colorado State University in 2011 and was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2022.