Nina is a first generation Filipino American.    She graduated from Connecticut College in 1984 and received a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown Law Center in 1990. She was appointed to the Connecticut Superior Court in 2004 and appointed by Gov. Malloy to the Appellate Court in 2017, becoming the first Asian Pacific woman to be appointed judge.    She presided over criminal, juvenile and habeas corpus cases in Hartford, Tolland and New Haven Counties. She also served as presiding judge for the Child Protection Session in the Middlesex Judicial District.  Among many awards, she was honored in 2006 by the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association Women’s Caucus as a “Trailblazer in the Connecticut Judiciary.” She was also a recipient of the 2007 Connecticut Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section Diversity Award.   

Biographies of Appelllate Court Judges,  https://www.jud.ct.gov/external/supapp/appJudge_Elgo.htm 

The Day, Asian American Leaders Discuss Their Experiences,  https://www.theday.com/article/20210525/NWS01/210529618 

       At the Danbury Fair.

Ella's parents were Italian immigrants who settled in Windsor Locks where she was born.  She won a scholarship to the Chaffee School and went on to graduate from Mount Holyoke.  She stayed on there to earn a master’s degree.  In 1942 she married Thomas Grasso, a school principal, joined the League of Women Voters that same year and went on to be a speechwriter for the Connecticut Democratic Party.  In 1952 she ran for the Connecticut General Assembly and won, beginning her undefeated political career. She was the first woman elected floor leader in the Assembly. She became Connecticut Secretary of State in 1957 and held that position until 1970.  During those years she was the first woman to hold several prominent positions within the Democratic party at state and national levels. In 1970 she won election to the U. S. House of Representatives, the first of two terms.  1974 saw her running for Governor, defeating Robert Steele in a hard-fought campaign.  She became the first woman to be elected to the position of governor of a state.  During her time as governor, she faced numerous fiscal issues – state layoffs, budget crises and even the weather. During the blizzard of 1978 she closed the state by official proclamation which allowed emergency workers to clear roads and see that essential personnel got to their posts.  She stayed at the State Armory throughout the storm, appearing on television with updates and helping to coordinate emergency responders.  In 1980 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and submitted her resignation.  She died the following year. In 1984 President Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom 

Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, https://www.cwhf.org/inductees/ella-tambussi-grasso 

Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Grasso

Ella Grasso, Connecticut History.org, https://connecticuthistory.org/people/ella-grasso/

Connecticut Democratic Party, https://store.ctdems.org/ella-t-grasso-quote-3-5-x-3-5-vinyl-sticker-pack-of-two/

Connecticut Historical Society Museum and Library, http://emuseum.chs.org/emuseum/objects/11774/ella-grasso-at-danbury-fair;jsessionid=59D37762C8155A332498CFD5CD61C471

Ruth  was the first African American woman to reach rank of full colonel in the U.S. Air force and was the highest ranking African American woman in the air force. She graduated from Tuskegee University and joined the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. (WAAC ) She was one of only 40 black women accepted.  She transferred to the Air Force in 1947 and held positions in training and research during her career.  She was committed to increasing literacy and the education levels of service personnel.  

Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, Ruth A. Lucas, https://www.cwhf.org/inductees/ruth-a-lucas 

Honoring Ruth A. Lucas, The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/honoring-ruth-lucas/2013/05/30/9c637200-c8a9-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_gallery.html

First African American female air force colonel buried, The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/first-african-american-female-air-force-colonel-buried/2013/05/29/d78ed602-c8a0-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_story.html

WIkipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_A._Lucas

Motley with M. L. King and Wm. Kunstler         Motley with James Meredith              Motley being sworn in as a judge in the Southern Dist. of NY

(see links below for photo attributions)

Growing up in New Haven she decided she wanted to be a lawyer and went to work after high school to earn money for college.  While giving a speech at a local community center, she impressed Clarence Blakeslee, a wealthy white contractor in New Haven. He offered to pay for college.  She attended Fisk University in Tennessee and then NYU.  She was the first black woman accepted into Columbia Law School. She met Thurgood Marshall there and she worked at the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Getting her degree in 1946, she became one of their principal trial lawyers, wrote briefs filed in Brown v. Board of Education. She was lead council in the fight to get James Meredith admitted to the University of Mississippi.  She fought other cases to get schools desegregated and defended protestors being arrested during the Freedom Rides of the 1960s.In 12964 she entered politics. She was the first woman elected to the New York Senate and the first woman to be Manhattan Borough President. President Johnson appointed her to the U.S. District court in 1966, the first black woman to serve as a federal judge.   

Connecticut History.org, Constance Baker Motley: a warrior for justice, https://connecticuthistory.org/constance-baker-motley-a-warrior-for-justice/

BHA Constance Baker Motley, http://www.myblackhistory.net/Constance_Motley.htm 

Black Past,  https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/people-african-american-history/motley-constance-baker-1921-2005/ 

UNted States Courts, https://www.uscourts.gov/news/2020/02/20/constance-baker-motley-judiciarys-unsung-rights-hero

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Lawyer, Advocate, Judge Elected Official, https://www.naacpldf.org/naacp-publications/ldf-blog/cbm-100/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItP2quYaj9QIVmaXICh1RCQJqEAAYASAAEgLaNPD_BwE

 Pictures:   At Connecticut State Police, Lt. with the Millbury MA police dept., At press conference to recruit women state troopers as Deputy Commissioner of DESPP,  accepting position of New Have Chief Administrative Officer. (see links below for photo attributions)

The first African American woman to become a Connecticut state police sergeant, lieutenant, and colonel.  She graduated from UCONN in 1983.  In her junior year she had joined the U. S. Marine Corps Reserves and served for three years.  Not having the money for law school, she took a job at the prison in Niantic and realized she liked law enforcement.  She joined the Middletown police force becoming their first black female police officer.  She transferred to the U. S. Army Reserves.  When she tried to join the military police, she found that she was 2 inches too short. During her time in the Army reserves she was deployed to Iraq and later Afghanistan and was awarded a Bronze Star. She joined the Connecticut State Police and in 1996 became the first African American female sergeant, lieutenant, and then colonel. In 2019 she became the Deputy Commissioner for the Dept. of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. In December of 2021 she became the Chief Administrative Officer for the City of New Haven.  In May of 2022 she accepted the position of acting police chief on the retirement of the previous interim chief. 

New Haven Patch, May 10, 2022 – Mayor names Rush-Kittle acting police chief https://patch.com/connecticut/newhaven/mayor-names-regina-rush-kittle-acting-police-chief-dominguez-retires 

Hartford Courant, May 10, 2022, Connecticut CIty's acting police chief to retire after judge's order to step down, https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-acting-chief-connecticut-20220510-kyxbvifdczavfinc5xqcjonddy-story.html

Yale Daily News, July 11, 2022, Karl Jacobson confirmed as next chief of police   https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2022/07/11/karl-jacobson-confirmed-as-next-new-haven-police-chief/

New Haven Register, November 10, 2021  Five things to know about New Haven CAO nominee Regina Rush-Kittle https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/5-things-to-know-about-New-Haven-CAO-nominee-16610254.php

New Fairfield's Hamlet Hub, May 23, 2019 Lt. Governor and State Police announce initiative to recruit women to join the State Police https://news.hamlethub.com/newfairfield/publicsafety/46062-lt-governor-and-state-police-announce-initiative-to-recruit-women-to-join-the-state-police

Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, https://www.cwhf.org/inductees/regina-rushkittle 

The Middletown Press, Jan 11, 2017 Former Middletown cop to join Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame, https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/Former-Middletown-cop-to-join-Connecticut-11757144.php

Telgram and Gazette, July 14, 2016 Millbury youths to get close-up view of policing  https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2016/07/14/millbury-youths-to-get-up-close-view-of-policing/27490936007/

Born in the Killingly section of Danielson, she attended the University of Connecticut and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  Her first job was in the American Thread Mill in Willimantic in 1956.  She became president of her union local and from 1962 to 1970 was a union organizer in New England and the South. Following that she became assistant director of the Textile Workers Union Committee on Political education – the political and organizing arm of the union. She was an assistant agent for the State Board of Labor Relations, then director of COPE for the CT AFL-CIO. She succeeded John Driscoll in 1985 as President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, first woman to head the Connecticut branch.  She became first female Connecticut Commissioner of Labor when Gov. William O’Neill named her to the post in 1988.  Due to deteriorating health she had to step down at the end of 1990. 

Remez, Michael. Betty Tianti Dies at 64: praised as a labor pioneer   Hartford Courant, May 17,1994.  https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1994-05-17-9405170217-story.html 

Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, https://www.cwhf.org/inductees/betty-tianti 

New York TImes, Sept. 22, 1985 Labor's Image concerns new chief  https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/22/nyregion/labors-image-concerns-new-chief.html

Images: first two images from book published about her life.  3rd image - Speaking to high school students the day after MLK died.

Ann was born in Hartford to a close-knit Italian family.  She graduated from St. Joseph College and pursued graduate studies at Trinity College and UConn Law School.  She was the first woman mayor of a Connecticut municipality – Hartford, Connecticut and the only female to lead a U. S. city during the civil rights era, providing strong leadership during the reaction to the death of Martin Luther King. She ran for the office of U. S. representative but lost the race.  She was asked to take the position of Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs in the U.S. Dept. of Transportation in Washington D.C., becoming one of the highest-ranking women in the Nixon administration. She stayed on during the administrations of Presidents Ford and Carter and returned to Hartford in 1979.   She remained active locally as a trustee of several organizations.  A street in Hartford was named after her in 2008 and one in Canicattini Bagni, Italy in 2016.