Dear UMB Community, 

March is Women’s History Month. At the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), we celebrate the impressive accomplishments and contributions of women throughout history and in our lives, and we honor trailblazers, innovators, and leaders who have inspired us by their examples of perseverance, courage, and brilliance.

We celebrate women such as Lillie May Carroll Jackson, who was born May 25, 1889, in Baltimore. As an educator, organizer of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP, and pioneering civil rights activist, Jackson was a powerhouse for the state of Maryland and instrumental in the integration of Baltimore schools after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. She set in motion the tactic of nonviolent resistance to racial segregation used by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others.

Prasanna Nair, MD, MPH, was born in India in 1913 and completed her medical training at Lady Hardinge Medical College in Delhi. In 1960, she moved to Maryland, where she began her medical residency in pediatrics at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Much of Nair’s medical contributions came from her work with infants and mothers with HIV/AIDS or those dealing with substance abuse.

We recognize leaders such as Laura Gutierrez, who earned a “Community Hero” award from the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus when she was the  Hispanic liaison and manager of the Office of Community Services of the city of Annapolis. In 2020, she launched Cuidate/Take Care Annapolis, an outreach program that works to provide community health education to the city’s most vulnerable populations. Gutierrez is now the communications and outreach director for the Governor’s Office of Small, Minority and Women Business Affairs.

Women’s History Month is also about us — our communities, families, and influential women who might never be in the public spotlight or grace the headlines or front pages, but whose daily work and sacrifice build our communities and our society at large. They are our special “sheroes” and leaders. In many cases, we can say, “We are because they are.”

Maya Angelou said, “Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.” This message is especially important as we find ourselves in a challenging moment in our nation around the rights and roles of women in our society.

At UMB, we stand up for women by working to promote and advance women’s efforts and careers across the University. Organizations such as UMBrella and Women in Medicine and Science highlight and promote the growth of all women at UMB, as do popular events such as our sixth annual UMBrella Women’s History Month Symposium, which will be held March 13.

This Women’s History Month, we affirm our commitment to support and advance the development of women, celebrate their achievements, and continue collaborating to foster a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse UMB. 

In partnership and collaboration, 

Diane Forbes Berthoud, PhD, MA
Chief Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer and Vice President
Professor, School of Graduate Studies