Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf. | governor.pa.gov
Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf. | governor.pa.gov
Every year Pennsylvania's governor and first lady recognize women as Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania for a variety of contributions and achievements. Earlier this month, Gov. Tom Wolf and First Lady Frances Wolf held an event at their residence announcing this year's 11 recipients.
According to a release from the governor’s office, this year’s Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania are Anne C. Ewers (Philadelphia), Cynthia Figueroa (Philadelphia), Caren Glotfelty (Pittsburgh), Dr. Stacey Holland (Mt. Laurel, New Jersey), Admiral Rachel Levine (Washington, D.C.), Dr. Elizabeth Miller (Pittsburgh), Terry M. Miller (Milton, Delaware), Jeannine Peterson (Mechanicsburg), Margaret “Peg” Ruddy (Scranton), Dr. Neville Strumpf (Philadelphia) and Carol Tracy (Philadelphia).
“Pennsylvania Distinguished Daughters have a long history of going above and beyond to lead in tough times and find ways to meet the needs they see in their communities,” Wolf said. “The commonwealth is proud to claim each of these women as our own, as each of their stories reflect Pennsylvania’s rich past and herald the promise of a bright future.”
In October 1949, Gov. James Duff created the Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania to honor women who have contributed to the state through a number of ways in their career or other service. They are nominated by non-profits and although they don’t need to be natives of Pennsylvania, they must have lived in the Quaker State at some point. More than 500 women have been recognized since 1949. The last class was inducted in 2019.
“The last few years have been challenging ones for Pennsylvania, and for the world, said First Lady Frances Wolf. "It takes a special brand of courage and determination to step up and take on the mantle of leadership in times like this,” said First Lady Wolf. “These women have shown that leadership, determination and steadfastness and have made our commonwealth a better place.”
Biographies of each of the recipients can be found in the link to the announcement above.
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