She was an American activist and humanitarian who served as the first lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981, as the wife of President Jimmy Carter.[1] 

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Throughout her decades of public service, she was a leading advocate for women's rights and mental health. She and her husband also contributed to the expansion of the nonprofit housing organization Habitat for Humanity.

In 1987, she founded the Institute for Caregivers, to inform and support the efforts of caregivers. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom alongside her husband in 1999. 

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urban writer and activist who championed new, community-based approaches to planning for over 40 years. Her 1961 treatise, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, became one of the most influential American texts about the inner workings and failings of cities, inspiring generations of urban planners and activists. Her efforts to stop downtown expressways and protect local neighborhoods invigorated community-based urban activism and helped end Parks Commissioner Robert Moses's reign of power in New York City.

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Together with PPS mentor William H. Whyte, Jacobs led the way in advocating for a place-based, community-centered approach to urban planning, decades before such approaches were considered sensible. 

Patricia Roberts Harris (May 31, 1924 – March 23, 1985) was an American politician, diplomat, and legal scholar. She served as the 6th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1977 to 1979 and as the 13th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services from 1979 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter.  Harris was a trailblazer for women and people of color in holding several positions.

She was the first African American woman and woman of color to serve in a presidential cabinet and the first woman and person of color appointed to two different presidential cabinet positions. She was also the first African American HHS secretary, the second black HUD secretary, and the second woman to lead either of those executive departments.

A pioneer in her field, Catherine Wurster devoted her life to advocating for affordable public housing, serving three U.S. presidents throughout her thirty-year career. 

After the ratification of the 1937 Housing Act, she was selected to be the first Director of Research and Information for the newly-created United States Housing Authority. She also advised and consulted the Federal Housing Administration, the Housing and Home Finance Agency, and the California Housing and Planning Association. She later served on a committee at an urban problems conference commissioned by then-Senator John F. Kennedy.

Jane Addams (1860 - 1935) was the first American woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Jane Addams felt a profound responsibility to foster positive social change throughout her life.

She was prolific in expanding kindergartens and daycares for working mothers, job training for women, and many other social services for Chicago’s low-income families by founding the famed Hull House. She was active with the women’s suffrage movement and helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 

As a veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Tammy Duckworth is a stalwart proponent and protector of veterans’ rights and services.

While serving as the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs, she collaborated with HUD to end veteran homelessness while paying special attention to the needs of Native American and female veterans. Today, she often volunteers at food pantries