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  • Coming Together to Succeed
    As we approach the holidays, I am reflecting on the role men have played propelling women forward. I am married to a man who is a true partner. Even though we had children, I was able to crisscross the United States and Canada for years in search of the hidden story about Martha Matilda Harper, the woman who invented the reclining the shampoo chair and launched modern retail franchising resulting in an empire of 500+ franchises worldwide. Because of Jim Bruen’s commitment to supporting me and my career, as well as his own PLUS being an engaged father, we both succeeded, our family thrived, and Harper’s buried story came to life.
  • How Women’s Light Rescues Thousands
    As I get into my car, set my GPS, adjust my rearview mirror, turn on my turn signal or windshield wiper, I thank the many women who designed these innovative godsends and I know their names because of the National Center of Women’s Innovations (NCWI). As I plan for my upcoming Thanksgiving feast and imagine what life would be without a mechanical dishwasher or the practical paper bag designed by women, I sigh with gratitude. Once again, women who have figured out just what is needed in a kitchen.
  • Wanda Diaz-Merced
    Turning Blindness into An Asset
    Wanda Díaz-Merced changed our understanding of the Universe through sound. She is an amazing scientist and role model. She is also a blind astrophysicist who has turned her disability into an asset. With a post-doctorate from the Center for Astrophysics, a collaboration between the Smithsonian and Harvard, she continues to play a vital role in developing systems to use sounds to analyze astrophysical data.
  • Celebrate July 4th Remembering the Women
    How better to honor the woman who enabled GPS (Global Positioning System), mathematician Dr. Gladys B. West, than to have the National Center of Women’s Innovations (NCWI) traveling exhibit featuring West be unveiled at the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus Headquarters when the campus opens for classes in January 2025! The exhibit will remain there for the public’s and students’ delight for six months and then continue its national tour.
  • Alexandrians Are Innovatively Changing STEM Education
    If it takes a village, count on Alexandrians. Two local Alexandria leaders are cooperating to make STEM programs more effective for girls. Partnering with Rosie Riveters, the National Center of Women’s Innovations launched an innovative program encouraging girls into STEM work.
  • NCWI Ramps up for 2024 with Dynamic Leadership and Partners
    Purposely located in Alexandria, Virginia, the National Center of Women’s Innovation (NCWI) is roaring forward in 2024 to assure forgotten women innovators are recognized. Together we will make it happen. Our ambitious goals for the year include producing mobile exhibits of forgotten women innovators that will inspire the public. Plus we will launch the most comprehensive and searchable data file of women innovators.
  • Women Around Town – Jane Plitt NCWI
    Plitt has spent her career fighting for women’s rights, including becoming NOW’s first executive director nationally in the 1970s, operating an award-winning business, then becoming a recognized author and Visiting Scholar. The National Center of Women’s Innovation was launched in 2023 and a gala was held in Alexandria, Virginia, on October 27, which also happened to be Dr. West’s 93rd birthday. She attended the event where she was honored as the organization’s 2023 featured innovator.
  • NCWI Gala Featured in November Zebra 2023
    Plitt, an Alexandria, Virginia newcomer, has advocated for women’s equality throughout her life and currently serves as founder and board chair of the National Center of Women’s Innovations (NCWI). Under her leadership, the NCWI — to be headquartered in Alexandria — will mainstream the forgotten achievements of female innovators who have shaped the world. Additionally, it will enable young girls to see themselves as innovators, with the final goal being the pursuit of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields.
  • Did You Know A Woman Invented Cataract Laser Surgery?
    Dr. West is not an isolated case. Dr. Patricia Bath was the first African American woman to graduate with an ophthalmology residency and the first to receive a medical patent for her Laserphace Probe (1986), dramatically reducing the pain of cataract surgery and even bringing sight to people who had been blind for decades!
  • Check out Ford’s awesome Women’s Month commercial!
    Did you know that GPS, rear-view mirrors, windshield wipers, turn signals and other critical features in your car were invented by women? For Women’s History Month in 2023 Ford Canada created a commercial to capture these overlooked innovations in a clever commercial which satirically announces a Men’s Only Edition which lacks all of these key features.

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