Courken George Deukmejian Jr. was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party,he was the state's first governor of Armenian descent.
Mary BonoOswald is an American politician,businesswoman,and lobbyist who served Palm Springs and most of central and eastern Riverside County,California,in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1998 to 2013.
Shirley Ann Mount Hufstedler was an American attorney and judge who served as the first United States Secretary of Education from 1979 to 1981. She previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1968 to 1979.
Josephine "Joyce" Luther Kennard is a Dutch-American judge and former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California. Appointed by Governor George Deukmejian in 1989,she was the longest-serving justice sitting on the Court at the time of her 2014 retirement,having been retained by California's voters three times—first to fill the unexpired term in 1990,followed by second and third consecutive twelve-year terms in 1994 and 2006.
William Earl Kennard is an American attorney and former government official. Kennard served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton,and was the first African American to lead the agency. In 2009,Kennard was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as Ambassador to the European Union,serving until 2013.
Rose Ann Vuich was a second generation Serbian-American woman who served as a member of the California State Senate from 1976 until 1992. At age 50,she became the first female member of the California State Senate. She was a Democrat.
Paula Jane Meehan was an American businesswoman,executive and philanthropist. She co-founded the Redken hair care products company. She briefly worked as an actress and fashion model.
Christine "Chris" Essel is the President of Southern California Grantmakers (SCG),a regional association of philanthropic leaders whose mission is to support and advance effective,responsible philanthropy for the public good.
Harriet Russell Strong was an American social activist,inventor,businesswoman,conservationist,and leading figure of the early woman's movement. She has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Her pioneering innovations in water storage and flood control enabled the construction of the Hoover Dam and the All-American Canal.
Maria Contreras-Sweet is an American businesswoman and former government official who served as the 24th Administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2014 to 2017. She was the executive chairwoman and founder of ProAmérica Bank,a commercial bank focusing on small to mid-sized businesses with a specialty in the Latino community. Born in Guadalajara,Mexico,Contreras-Sweet immigrated to Los Angeles,California and has since been involved in both the private sector founding a private equity firm and in public service as the California Secretary of Business,Transportation,and Housing under Governor Gray Davis.
Barbara Hackman Franklin is an American government official,corporate director,and business executive. She served as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1992 to 1993 to President George H. W. Bush,during which she led a presidential mission to China.
Elizabeth Annette "Beth" Grimes is an Associate Justice of the California Second District Court of Appeal,Division Eight,having been appointed to the post by Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010.
Nina Vaca is an Ecuadorian-born American entrepreneur. She is the chairperson and CEO of Pinnacle Group,a large provider of information technology and workforce solutions in US and Canada with around 5000 employees,which was named among the Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Business in the United States by the Women Presidents' Organization in 2018. The story of Nina Vaca and Pinnacle Group opens the Entrepreneur chapter of the McGraw-Hill textbook,"Understanding Business". Vaca was named one of the top 100 CEO’s in STEM publication by STEM connector.
Sally Tanner was an American politician who represented California's 60th District in the California State Assembly from 1978 to 1992. During her legislative career she served as chair of the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. Tanner authored a consumer protection act that came to be colloquially referred to as the California Lemon Law. In 1987 she co-founded the legislature's "Woman of the Year" program. She became a recipient of the honor in 2009. She was a Democrat.
Alexandra (Alex) Armstrong is the chairwoman and founder of Armstrong,Fleming,&Moore. Armstrong was the first person to earn the Certified Financial Planner certification in Washington,D.C.
Shirley Weber is an American academic and politician serving as the secretary of state of California. She was previously a member of the California State Assembly for the 79th Assembly District,which includes portions of San Diego,Chula Vista,and National City and all of Lemon Grove and La Mesa.
Grace Stoermer (1887–1961) was a Los Angeles civic leader,banking executive,and the first woman to serve as the Secretary of the California State Senate.
Armand M. Arabian was an American lawyer who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from February 3,1990,to February 28,1996.
Norma Hason Nahmias Yaeger is an American businesswoman,stockbroker and published author. In 1962,she became the first woman to enroll in Hornblower &Weeks,Inc. training program for stockbrokers. She is the first woman who demanded and got the right to join her male trainees on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The Stock Exchange did not previously allow women to set foot on its floor. Norma Nahmias was the only woman invited to Hornblower &Weeks' Management Advisory Board. She registered with the Liquidity Fund with the SEC;it was the first Money Market Mutual Fund in California. Norma Yaeger registered and opened a full-service stock brokerage firm,Yaeger Securities,Inc.,in 1981.
Rita Humphries-Lewin OJ CD is a Jamaican retired stockbroker and businesswoman. She was the first woman to chair the Jamaica Stock Exchange and the first woman to chair a stock exchange in the Caribbean. She founded Barita Investments Limited in 1977,which was the oldest stock brokerage firm in Jamaica by the time she retired in 2021.
