The Iowa Commission on the Status of Women recently announced the 2020 Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame inductees. Four women will be inducted into hall of fame, and one individual will receive the Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice.   

The 2020 Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame honorees are: 

– Betty Jean Dillavou Durden (posthumous): One of the founders of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women, lifetime member of the American Association of University Women, community volunteer, World War II veteran of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), author, mother, mentor and educator. Died in 2018.

– V. Ann Fry Jorgensen of Garrison: An agricultural trailblazer and pioneer; leader in business, government and higher education. For over 50 years Jorgensen was an influential force for reshaping the lives of Iowa’s women and girls. An entrepreneur, author and public speaker, she served two U.S. presidential appointments and won various honors: Iowa’s Outstanding Young Women (1976), Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame (1983), Iowa Master Farmer (2014) and Life Member of Farm Foundation (2016).

– Helen Naomi Miller of Fort Dodge and Des Moines: A former Iowa state representative for the 9th House District representing the Fort Dodge area, Miller has over 30 years of leadership experience as an attorney, legislator, volunteer, arts educator and nonprofit organizations’ executive director. She serves on the national board of Women in Government as the immediate past chair. 

– Mary Elizabeth Young Bear of Tama: Born with the Meskwaki name of Bo na bi go, her contributions as an artist and art conservator, educator, cultural historian, civic leader and political activist, humanitarian, community leader and mentor serve to inspire, empower and motivate those around her, especially young women and girls. She is proud to be a mother and grandmother with a family heritage of Iowa ancestry since the 1840s.

Receiving the Cristine Wilson Medal posthumously is the late Mark Cady, who was chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court from 2011 to 2019. He wrote the historic Varnum v. Brien opinion in 2009 that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa. Cady emphasized new ideas such as digital messaging for defendants and law enforcement and rotating Iowa Supreme Court hearings around the state. He received many achievement and leadership awards and many other recognitions from legal entities such as the Iowa State Bar Association, American Bar Association, Iowa Judges Association and Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is the sixth man to receive the award. 

Due to the pandemic, the inductees will be recognized digitally in a video that will be released in late August; the in-person ceremony will be postponed until August 2021.