Jane Bigelow, Chair. is one of the founding members of the LWHP, starting with an idea in 1999. She was the first woman Mayor of London and has been active in founding various community organizations. Her volunteer work has always been with women’s organizations concerned with violence against women – Women’s Community House, Hamilton Sexual Assault Centre, London Sexual Assault Centre and My Sisters’ Place. Her biographical material is at the UWO Archives.
Jean Hewitt, Ph.D., Secretary; was the Western Ontario Status of Women Convener for the Federation of Women Teachers from 1971-76. As such, she worked to change many aspects of school leadership and the education of female students. In 1975, Jean brought together all the London area women’s groups to create, and chaired for 30 years, an International Women’s Year Steering Committee for the City.
Sheila Davenport: B.S.W., Treasurer. Retired – Former Manager, London Urban Resource Center, Former Councillor, City of London.
Mary McKim, M.D., has been involved from the beginning. Background in psychiatric practice. Interest in treating women suffering the consequences of childhood and/or ongoing abuse. Founding member of CARAL, National Board member. Later President of London Chapter of CARAL. Founding board Girl’s Group Home of London (now WAYS) and LSWAG, now Abused Women’s Centre. Her files are with the UWO Archives.
Catherine Charlton, M.A., is a former member of the Ontario Status of Women Council and the private Ontario Committee on the Status of Women. She was active in lobbying for family law reform, against bias in advertising, freedom of choice on abortion and other feminist issues.
Dory Crerar, M.A., is one of the founding members of the LWHP. An early volunteer with the Women’s Workshop, she has a Master’s Degree in Psychology and worked for the Dept. of Veteran’s Affairs and the London Mental Health Clinic.
Nancy Johnson, producer., Former executive producer for Lockwood Films, the production company that gave London 3 important cultural films, Doctor Woman: The Life and Times of Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw, Greg Curnoe and James Reaney: Listening to the Wind. In 1998, Nancy was named Woman of Distinction in the Arts and Culture category.
Barb Hyatt is one of the founding members of the LWHP. She is a graduate of UWO and gold medalist in Psychology, 1956. She was an early supporter of the Battered Women’s Advocacy Clinic. Barb was an artist whose work showed in London and Toronto. She was also a life-long athlete and interim coach of UWO Women’s Tennis Team in 1982-83.
Usha Tripathi, MA, CLIP; is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, UK. Now, a retired Assistant Keeper/Curator of the British Library, London, UK. She is an active member of the Council for London Seniors-participated publication of the Multilingual Services for Seniors directory; a Cultural Interpreter for the Across Languages, London, Ont; Program Director for the Association of Women of India in Canada, London, Ont.; now retired Assistant Keeper/Curator of the British Library, London, UK. She has a master’s degree from Delhi University, India.
Estela Quintero-Weldon – originally from Colombia, in Canada for 28 years, a UWO Sociology graduate. Community Services Manager with United Way of London & Middlesex for the last 14 years where she established several programs including “Young Leaders of Tomorrow”, “Youth in Action” and “Caring for Others”. As a volunteer she has been a member for 6 years, President for 2 years of the “Multicultural Committee to End Woman Abuse”, and 8 years on the London Diversity & Race Relations Advisory Committee (LDRRAC). Awards: “Unity Award on Race Relations” 2004; “Women Building Communities Award.” – 2008.
Consulting Historian
Rebecca Coulter, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Faculty of Education and the Department of Women’s Studies and Feminist Research at the University of Western Ontario. She was the Principal Investigator on a team of researchers that completed a large oral history project on women teachers in Ontario, the results of which were published in several journals and in the book, History is Hers: Women Educators in Twentieth Century Ontario. Dr. Coulter has received several teaching awards and was recently recognized with the Achievement Award of the Canadian Association for the Study of Women in Education for her contributions to the education of girls and women.