Elmina Wilson

Elmina Wilson was an engineer, educator and architect who broke new ground for women in the engineering profession. She and her sister, Iowa Gamma Alda Wilson, were the first American women to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering and later earned the first master’s degree in the field. She also became the first woman professor to teach engineering at Iowa State University. Elmina moved to New York City In 1904, where she worked on a variety of engineering and architectural projects. Her work included contributions to two of the era’s most notable skyscrapers, the Flatiron Building and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower. She also collaborated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on publications, including the widely distributed brochure “Modern Conveniences for the Farmhouse.” Alongside her sister, Elmina co-designed the Teachers Cottage at the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School.

Elmina was initiated in 1888.

Alda Wilson

Alda Wilson, along with her sister, Iowa Gamma Elmina Wilson, became the first American women to practice civil engineering after earning a four-year degree. At a time when few women entered the profession, she built a career spanning engineering, architecture and public service. She worked as a freelance architect in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri before moving to New York and working there for over a decade. Alda later became the first woman to supervise the women’s drafting department of the Iowa Highway Commission, further breaking barriers in a traditionally male field. She also co-designed the Teachers Cottage at the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School with her sister. In her later years, she worked closely with suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, serving as her secretary and traveling companion.

Alda was initiated in 1890.

Christine Romans

Christine Romans is a broadcast journalist and author known for making business, economic and personal finance news accessible to a broad audience. She has held leading reporting roles at major news organizations, including NBC News, CNN, Reuters and Knight Ridder Financial News.  As a business correspondent and anchor, she covered economic trends, financial markets and consumer issues for national audience. Christine is also the author of several books on financial literacy and money management, including “Smart is the New Rich: If You Can’t Afford It, Put It Down,” “How to Speak Money: The Language of Knowledge You Need to Know” and “Smart is the New Rich: Money Guide for Millennials.”

Christine was initiated in 1990.

Carrie Chapman Catt

Carrie Chapman Catt is one of the most consequential women’s rights leaders of the twentieth century. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she began her career as a teacher, later becoming one of Iowa’s first female superintendents. Carrie joined the women’s suffrage movement in the late 1880s and quickly rose to national prominence as one of its most gifted organizers and strategists. She succeeded Susan B. Anthony as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1900 and developed the “Winning Plan”—a state and federal campaign strategy that was instrumental in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which extended voting rights to millions of American women when ratified in 1920.

Carrie served as president of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, carrying the cause of women’s political rights to audiences around the world. In 1920, she founded the League of Women Votes to educate newly enfranchised women and encourage informed civic participation. Carrie advocated for democracy and equal rights throughout her life and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1982.

Carrie was initiated in 1878.