How a family history of women’s leadership and legacy shaped my career path and paved the way for future generations

This Women’s History Month, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on generational strength—how the most influential women in my childhood (my family members) helped to shape the woman I would become, the two women I would later raise, and the granddaughters I am watching become women now. In fact, women in leadership is our family tradition.

My Mother: Women Breaking Barriers in Finance and Family

My mother graduated Summa cum Laude with a degree in finance from Syracuse University circa 1936. She couldn’t get a job in a bank because they weren’t hiring women—even as tellers. She had the intelligence, credentials, and ambition, yet the opportunities simply weren’t there.

(Photo: My mother as a young woman)

Fast forward a few decades … I was in high school and wanted to work at a local family-owned department store during the Christmas season. My dad said absolutely not. No daughter of his was going to work. But my mother had different ideas. I don’t know what she said to him, but he let me take the job. Four years later, when my sister wanted to work, it was no problem at all. In fact, she worked for our dad. (I guess that was okay by then.)

Looking back, my mother’s quiet strength changed the trajectory of our family. She didn’t get the job she deserved, but she made sure her daughters had opportunities she never had.

My Aunts: Women Who Spoke Their Minds

Then there were my two aunts. Leona, my mother’s sister, and Gert, my father’s sister, were both forces to be reckoned with. They each had definite points of view and weren’t afraid to share them.

Aunt Leona, always full of wisdom, taught me never to say never. When I proudly announced in high school that I’d never smoke, she made me write down my vow and put it in the safe-deposit box. Well, fast forward to my freshman year of college—I did smoke. Not much, and I quit years later, but she never berated me. She just knew life had a way of proving us wrong.

(Photo: Aunt Leona with Uncle Joel)

Aunt Gert, my oldest aunt, was as tough as she was generous. She and my uncle lived in Atlantic City, where their home was always open to friends and family. I remember summers spent at her house, packed with visitors, laughter, and long meals. She had strong opinions and was never shy about expressing them. When it came to even the simplest choices—like picking out petunias for her front porch—she knew what she wanted. We visited three nurseries just to find the perfect white ones.

(Photo: Aunt Gert)

My family was relieved when they finally took Aunt Gert’s driver’s license away in her late 80s. She drove five miles an hour around corners without looking. When anyone expressed concern for her safety, she simply said, “They’ll see me.”

My Paternal Grandmother: Strength in Stubbornness

Anna, my paternal grandmother, was “Grams” to us. Born in 1885, she was one of the hardest-working women I knew. She ran a rooming house on the Jersey shore, cooking, cleaning, and carrying groceries up and down endless stairs—all while raising five children close in age.

(Photo: Grams with my grandfather)

Grams wore corsets, orthopedic shoes, and print dresses, her thick stockings sometimes rolling down to her ankles. She never wore makeup, only wire-rimmed glasses, and kept her black and gray-flecked hair pulled back in a bun. Fiercely independent, she refused help even when she needed it. I often wonder what she would have been like if she had been born 50 or 100 years later—would she have been a CEO, a political leader, an entrepreneur?

My Maternal Grandmother: The Woman of Valor

Helen, or “Nanny Helen” to us, was born in the 1890s. The second oldest sister in her family, she couldn’t even get married without her older sister’s permission. That’s just how things were back then.

She had a home on the beach block in Atlantic City, and my childhood summers spent with her were magical—playing in the sand, running along the boardwalk in a world where no one locked their doors.

(Photo: Nanny Helen)

Nanny Helen taught me how to crochet, and I still have the afghan blanket she made. But what I remember most is her fearlessness. After moving to California, she became deeply involved in fundraising for Israel Bonds. She met Golda Meir (the former Prime Minister of Israel) in person in 1962 and was named a Woman of Valor for raising $100,000—an incredible sum at the time.

Aunt Rae: The Accidental Entrepreneur

Aunt Rae wasn’t technically my aunt—she was my aunt’s mother-in-law—but she was an inspiration to this future business-owner. Born in 1883 during the administration of Chester A. Arthur, she was an astute businesswoman. In the early 1920s, while riding a bus to Atlantic City, she spotted a Going Out of Business sign on a clothing store. On a whim, she got off the bus to look inside. Days later, she and her husband bought the business, which they eventually expanded into three stores in two cities.

(Photo: Aunt Rae pictured with her husband and business partner in a local newspaper)

Beyond her business acumen, she was a fearless ocean swimmer. She would body surf into shore, letting the waves carry her, completely unafraid. She lived to be 107, her strength and determination carrying her through an entire century of change.

What Their Stories Mean to Me

These women shaped who I am. Their generational strength, independence, and resilience were woven into the fabric of our family. Growing up, I didn’t think about how these women’s leadership and legacy impacted my life. I just knew they did. We’ve always had a close, loving family. I credit these women for instilling their values in me, as well as my daughters and grandchildren. 

My mother didn’t get her dream job, but she made sure her daughters had every opportunity. My aunts spoke their minds unapologetically, and my grandmothers refused to let circumstances define them. Aunt Rae saw opportunities where others saw failure and turned a spur-of-the-moment decision into a family legacy.

They paved the way, not just for me, but for generations to come. And now, I honor them by carrying their lessons forward—by being bold, speaking up, and doing my part to ensure that the next generation of women has no limits placed upon them.

This Women’s History Month, I celebrate the strong women in my family. Their legacy lives on.

What stories of resilience and strength exist in your family? I’d love to hear them.