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March 16, 2022Updated: March 16, 2022 4:30p.m.

Emily Pierson was part of the Connecticut Woman's Suffrage Association in the early 1900's, organizing the "Trolley Campaign" in 1912. She has inducted to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.

The Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame celebrates womens contributions to history year-round. From suffragettes to immigration advocates, the nonprofit organization has added nine Connecticut women to their list of 130 who have been trailblazers in their field since 1994.

"We use our inductees as role models for people, knowing the types of problems and the challenges that they ran into in their career, and how they went around those challenges and continued to achieve their goals," said Sarah Lubarsky, the Hall of Fame's executive director.

The committee once required nominees to be born in Connecticut, but now will consider anyone who lives in the state. In 2022, all new inductees will come from the world of sports, Lubarsky said.

The Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame also runs several educational programs for children and adults, including online workshops about women's roles in history, finance and science and technology in Connecticut.

"We try to help inspire the next generation of female leaders," said Lubarsky.

Here's a look at the Connecticut women inducted into the Hall of Fame over the last two years.

2020

Josephine Bennett

Hartford

Josephine Bennett, who campaigned for women's right to vote, was inducted to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Born in Hartford in 1880, Josephine Day Bennett campaigned for suffrage in Connecticut. In 1913, Bennett organized the first suffrage group in West Hartford, according to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. She also joined members of the pro-suffrage National Women's Party who protested by lighting "Watchfires of Liberty," in front of the White House. Bennett was arrested and spent five days in jail, where she was also part of a hunger strike with the other detainees.

2020

Catherine Flanagan

Hartford

Catherine Flanagan, one of few working-class women in the suffrage movement, was inducted to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Born in Hartford in 1888, CatherineFlanagan was one of the few working-class woman involved in the suffrage movement in Connecticut. She joined the movement in 1915 when Katherine Houghton Hepburn, the president of the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association, hired her as an office manager. Flanagan organized new state suffrage leagues, arranged mass meetings and lobbied state senators and representatives to support womens right to vote, according to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame.

2020

Emily Pierson

Cromwell

Emily Pierson was part of the Connecticut Woman's Suffrage Association in the early 1900's, organizing the "Trolley Campaign" in 1912. She has inducted to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Born in Cromwell in 1881, Emily Pierson was known as a "fierce supporter of both suffrage and labor causes," according to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. Pierson joined the Connecticut Woman's Suffrage Association in 1909 and quickly became a state organizer. She is known for organizing the "Trolley Campaign" in 1912 where suffragists passed out thousands of pamphlets to trolley riders in several Connecticut cities such as New Haven, Hartford and Fairfield.

2020

The Hill sisters: Clara, Elsie and Helena

Norwalk

Born in Norwalk, the Hill sisters worked for the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment. Clara, the eldest, traveled around Connecticut speaking to womens church groups, factories and civic organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution. She co-founded the Norwalk Equal Franchise League. Helena Hill was one of the first female geologists in the country. She was active in the suffrage movement as a member of the more militant National Womans Party. Elsie Hill was a national organizer for the National Womans Party and toured the country, giving speeches and mobilizing support for the 19th Amendment. After the successful ratification of the 19th Amendment, the Hill sisters continued to work for feminist causes, according to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame.

2020

Sarah Lee Brown Fleming

New Haven

Sarah Lee Brown Fleming was an advocate for social, political and educational opportunities for Black women, according to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. Fleming was the first Black teacher in the Brooklyn public school system before moving to New Haven with her husband. Lee Brown was part of the Twentieth Century Club, the oldest and largest Black women's club in New Haven, later named New Haven's Women's Civic League. Through her involvement in social movements in the Black community, Flemingbecame a leading voice for women's suffrage and civil rights.

2020

Frances Ellen Burr

Hartford

Frances Ellen Burr was one of the state's first suffragist organizers, according to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. She co-founded, along with Isabella Beecher Hooker, the Connecticut Woman's Suffrage Association, the most important women's suffrage organization in the history of the state. Burr fought in school and local elections, then on a state and national level, for the woman right to vote.

2021

Kica Matos

New Haven

Kica Matos, an advocate for immigration reform, was inducted to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 2021.

Contributed by Kica Matos

Kica Matos, a national advocate for immigration reform, community organizer and lawyer, served as a deputy mayor of New Haven, where she launched initiatives supporting prisoner re-entry and immigrant integration. She also served as the executive director of JUNTA, a Latino advocacy organization in New Haven. Matos has also worked with the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, the country's largest network of immigrant rights organizations. Matos, now a vice president at the Vera Institute of Justice, was inducted to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 2021.

2021

Teresa Younger

Shelton

Teresa Younger attends the Ms. Foundation 30th Annual Gloria Awards on May 3, 2018 in New York City. Younger was inducted to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 2021.

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for The Foundation

Teresa C. Younger is an activist, advocate, public speaker and organizational strategist currently serving as the president of the Ms. Foundation for Women. Previously, Younger served as the executive director of the ACLU of Connecticut, the first Black woman to hold that position, and the executive director of the Connecticut General Assembly's Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. For over 20 years, Younger has been in the frontline of battles such as comprehensive equity and the elimination of institutionalized oppression, according to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame.

2021

Jerimarie Liesegang

Willimantic

Jerimarie Liesegang was an advocate for the rights of transgender people in Connecticut, founding organizations such as It's Time Connecticut and Queers Without Borders, according to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. Liesegang started the observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance in Connecticut. According to the Hall of Fame, many consider Liesegang the "grandmother of the Transgender movement in Connecticut." Liesegang died of cancer on Nov. 3, 2020.

Adriana Morga is a Trending Reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media Group. Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Morga has spent her developing career covering the Latino community for English and Spanish-language publications, including KQED, The Dallas Morning News' Al Dia newspaper, KALW and El Tecolote. Morga holds a journalism degree from San Francisco State University.

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Meet the women in the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame - CT Insider