{"id":119337,"date":"2026-01-11T21:31:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T21:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/119337\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T21:31:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T21:31:30","slug":"nominations-open-for-2026-el-paso-womens-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/119337\/","title":{"rendered":"Nominations open for 2026 El Paso Women\u2019s Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM<\/a>) \u2014 The El Paso Commission for Women announced the opening of nominations for the 2026 El Paso Women\u2019s Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nominations will be open until Friday, Jan. 16. You can submit your nomination through the following:<\/p>\n

Online at the El Paso Commission for Women\u2019s website<\/a><\/p>\n

Mail to Anna M Harris Howell, Chair, El Paso Commission for Women, 4804 Apis Court, El Paso, Texas, 79924<\/p>\n

A panel of judges, composed of local leaders, will evaluate each submission on each merit. Nominees must have lived or currently reside in El Paso County and must have demonstrated a significant, long-term impact on the community, according to the commission.<\/p>\n

Posthumous nominations are also welcomed, and previously nominated women who were not selected may be re-nominated.<\/p>\n

The Hall of Fame was established in 1989 and honors women who have made a \u201clasting difference\u201d in El Paso County through professional achievements, volunteer service or community activism, read the release by the commission.<\/p>\n

Here is a list of women who have been inducted:<\/p>\n

Pioneers and Civic Leaders<\/p>\n

Lucy G. Acosta (1990):\u00a0A monumental figure in El Paso\u2019s civic history and a co-founder of the Project Amistad. She was a lifelong advocate for civil rights and the elderly, and was the first woman and first Hispanic person to serve on several prominent local boards.<\/p>\n

Alicia R. Chac\u00f3n:\u00a0A trailblazer in local government, she was the first woman elected to the El Paso County Commissioners Court and later became the first woman to serve as County Judge.<\/p>\n

Suzie Azar (2005):\u00a0Noted for being El Paso\u2019s first (and to date, only) female mayor, serving from 1989 to 1991. She was also a pilot and a long-time advocate for women in politics.<\/p>\n

Arts, Science and Education<\/p>\n

Rosa Guerrero (1991):\u00a0A legendary dancer, educator, and cultural historian. She is widely known for her efforts to promote multiculturalism and traditional Mexican dance through her \u201cInternational Folklorico\u201d group.<\/p>\n

Ginger Kerrick (1997):\u00a0An El Paso native who became a NASA flight director\u2014the first Hispanic woman to hold that role. She has been a major advocate for STEM education for young women.<\/p>\n

Dr. Diana Natalicio:\u00a0The long-time President of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Under her 31-year leadership, UTEP became a top-tier research institution while maintaining its commitment to access for the binational community.<\/p>\n

Adair Margo:\u00a0Founder of the Tom Lea Institute and former Chairman of the President\u2019s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities under George W. Bush.<\/p>\n

Public Service and Law<\/p>\n

Veronica Escobar (2019):\u00a0Currently serving as the U.S. Representative for Texas\u2019s 16th congressional district. Before Congress, she served as a County Commissioner and County Judge.<\/p>\n

Kathleen Cardone (2004):\u00a0A distinguished United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas.<\/p>\n

Recent Inductees (2024)<\/p>\n

Dr. Adeeba Raheem:\u00a0An Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at UTEP, recognized for her contributions to engineering and her mentorship of women of color in STEM.<\/p>\n

Dr. Manuela Gomez:\u00a0A specialist in philosophical pedagogy and ethics who has focused on feminism and Latin American philosophy.<\/p>\n

Honorary Members<\/p>\n

The Hall also recognizes a select group of \u201cHonorary Members\u201d who represent the historical backbone of El Paso\u2019s progress:<\/p>\n

Herlinda Chew:\u00a0Business leader and activist.<\/p>\n

Drusilla Nixon:\u00a0A pioneer in the African-American community who helped integrate local institutions.<\/p>\n

Polly Harris:\u00a0A long-time community volunteer and civic leader.<\/p>\n

Hedwig Schwartz:\u00a0Known for her extensive philanthropic work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our opportunity to elevate and celebrate the remarkable women who have shaped the fabric of our city,\u201d said Anna M. Harris Howell, Chair of the Commission. \u201cWe invite individuals and organizations to help us identify and honor the women whose contributions have uplifted others and opened doors for future generations,\u201d read the release.<\/p>\n

The Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon will take place at noon on Saturday, March 28, at El Paso Community College\u2019s Administrative Services Center, located at 9050 Viscount Blvd.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) \u2014 The El Paso Commission for Women announced the opening of nominations for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[52112,138,52111,1060,140,139,21504,5692,52113,27,4533],"class_list":["post-119337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-anna-m-harris-howell","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-commission","tag-el-paso-county","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news","tag-hall-of-fame","tag-local-government","tag-m-harris","tag-texas","tag-utep"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}