2010 distinguished daughters of pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Commission for Women Recognizes the
2010 Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania

In 1949 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania began the tradition of inviting the Governor to designate several women each year as Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania.  Women recognized as Distinguished Daughters are those whose achievements on a national and statewide scale have been so outstanding that they have brought honor and respect to the commonwealth. 

This year’s Distinguished Daughters are;

• Susan Brownlee of Pittsburgh, PA has relentlessly sought excellence, fairness, and the company of others who hold the same passion for the importance of education and the arts in the development of healthy communities.  As the executive director of two prominent foundations, an example of her passion occurred in 2002 when, frustrated by the public schools’ inability to meet challenges, she led the move to withhold millions of dollars of foundation money until new standards for quality education were adopted.  This courageous move sparked debate across the country about the role foundations should play in pushing community change.  As wife, mother, grandmother, educator, advocate, and executive, she holds a steady light so all can see more acutely.

 

• Holly Brubach of Pittsburgh, PA is an internationally known journalist, author and leader in the arts, architecture and design.  Described as “a citizen of the world…a rare species: the public intellectual,” Holly is a regular contributor to The New York Times on a variety of issues.  Her articles appear in The Times “T” Magazine, Op-Ed page, Arts & Leisure, Book Review and Sports.  She has been a contributing editor and writer for Vogue, The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Architectural Digest, among others.  Holly received the National Magazine Award in 1982 and five Emmy Awards, having produced several television documentaries, including “Balanchine” and the Carnegie Hall Centennial.  After thirty years living in New York, Paris and Milan, Holly returned to her native Pittsburgh where she is passionate about historic preservation, conducts a global business as a design consultant and continues to write for publications in the United States and abroad.

 

• Dee Delaney of Pittsburgh, PA has worked for 20 years to provide systemic change and foster community inclusion for children and adults with disabilities in southwestern Pennsylvania.  During her tenure as the FISA Foundation Executive Director, grants totaling over $17 million were distributed in support of women, girls, and people with disabilities. Delaney’s efforts have brought public attention to the lack of health care, dental care, and employment for people with disabilities. She also has helped cultural and recreational organizations welcome patrons with disabilities, and has advocated tirelessly for creation of websites that are accessible to individuals who are blind.  Delaney is the recipient of numerous awards, and was among 20 local women recognized by the Women and Girls Foundation with the Art of Justice: Women Shaping the Law Award. She is a recognized community leader, change agent, and one who successfully makes connections among people, ideas and resources.

 

• Terry Gross of Philadelphia, PA is the host and co-executive producer of the interview program Fresh Air, which is produced at WHYY in Philadelphia and heard on more than 500 NPR stations.  Her book “All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians and Artists” was published by Hyperion in 2004. In 1994, Fresh Air received a Peabody Award, which cited Gross for her “probing questions and unusual insights.” She is also the recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, for advancing the “growth, quality and positive image of radio.”
  Terry, born in Brooklyn, New York, received a bachelor’s degree in English and a M.Ed. in Communications from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. She has been awarded honorary degrees from Princeton University, Drexel University, Haverford College and from SUNY Buffalo.

 

• Amy Gutmann, President of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, eliminated student loans for eligible undergraduates and has increased undergraduate financial aid by 78 percent. She has recruited eminent, multidisciplinary teacher-scholars to Penn’s 12 schools; expanded Penn’s campus while increasing green space by 20 percent; and championed civic engagement domestically and globally.
   
  A distinguished political philosopher, Dr. Gutmann has authored and edited 15 books and more than 100 articles and essays on ethics and public policy, deliberative democracy, and education.  In 2009, Barack Obama appointed her Chair of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
   
  Previously, Dr. Gutmann served as Princeton’s Provost, Dean of the Faculty, and founding Director of the University Center for Human Values.

 

• Kathleen Hall Jamieson of Philadelphia, PA is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and Director of its Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Political and Social Science and the International Communication Association and the author or co-author of 15 books. Dr. Jamieson has won university-wide teaching awards at each of the three universities at which she has taught and national awards for four of her books. With Brooks Jackson, Jamieson founded Factcheck.org.

 

• Estelle Richman of Philadelphia, PA is an exceptional leader in the area of human services, and began her job as Chief Operating Officer at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2010.  Prior to this federal appointment, she was named by Governor Edward G. Rendell to become the first woman Managing Director of Social Services for Pennsylvania.  A year later she was appointed to the position of Pennsylvania Department of Welfare Secretary. Gifted with intelligence, judgment and steady temperament, she has introduced and implemented social services to serve highly vulnerable populations.  As her numerous awards suggest, her reputation for fairness and integrity has raised her high in the opinion of government officials and in the community of families and children.

 

• Suzanne Fisher Staples of Nicholson, PA has devoted her life to promoting international understanding through literature, most effectively through her award-winning novels for young adults base on her 13 years experience as a foreign news correspondent in South Asia for UPI and as an editor for the Washington Post.  She has received more than three dozen national and international awards for her books, including the Newbery Honor Award for her first novel, Shubabu.  A Pennsylvania native, she has brought literary distinction to her state by organizing The Gathering at Keystone College, a literary conference that brings notable authors of global distinction to Northeastern Pennsylvania.  She continues her writing, speaking and teaching throughout the third world in order to foster literature and learning.