University at Buffalo (UB)
Women’s History Month
"Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less." Susan B. Anthony
The Office of Inclusion and Cultural Enhancement at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences recognizes all the women in our communities, acknowledges their accomplishments and the need to reduce the barriers encountered in pursuing their dreams.
The World Economic Forum predicts that it will take 151 years for North America to close the gender gap. That this is clearly too long. We must support gender equality laws, invest in removing gender bias in education, advocate for working family policies and promote the necessary changes you need in your life and community.
While we work to meet these challenges, let’s take a moment to acknowledge the remarkable influence that women have had in our history. Please review these extraordinary stories, bios, and resources.
Yes, we want to hear from you! What we are looking for is to keep building our Digital Library of Insightful Resources, with suggestions from you, that we can promote to build a better and more inclusive community.
Please share with us how you learn about :
- reproductive justice
- women in leadership and STEM advancement
- gender equality
- feminism
- women’s health
- any topic that is impacting women today!
Your recommendations can be:
- books
- podcasts
- videos
- movies
- articles
Help us learn and grow through your perspective!
Honoring Buffalo Leaders
These women have worked tirelessly from their leadership positions building a better community in Buffalo, NY. We want to acknowledge their extraordinary work, thank them for all they do, and celebrate their accomplishments with them.
LaVonne Ansari, PhD, CEO at Community Health Center of Buffalo.
For over 16 years, her tenacity, advocacy and hard work in health care allows their center to serve every patient that arrives, regardless of their ability to afford care.
Gail Wells, MA, Buffalo Freedom Garden Project
Making healthy food accessible, her project has helped the community providing free gardens allowing neighborhoods to have access to healthy nutritious food with family meals, grocery bags, and grooming makeovers.
Dawne Hoeg, Founder of Stitch Buffalo
She was inspired by the diversity of Buffalo’s West Side to create a place where refugee women and the community at large could find creative fulfillment and personal empowerment through a shared love of sewing, weaving, embroidery and more.
Maritza Vega, Kaleida/Hispanic Heritage Council
Her leadership focuses on building a more healthier and inclusive city of Buffalo at Kaleida Health. As an Hispanic culture advocate, she brings awareness of cultural barriers existing within the Hispanic community.
Jennifer Surtees, PhD, Co-Director Genome, Environment and Microbiome Community of Excellence
As an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry, her research focuses on multidisciplinary approaches to understanding genome stability, converging different disciplines to integrate research, education and community engagement.
Archana Mishra, MD, Clinical Professor, Medicine
Dr. Mishra is a pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine expert. She leads research in wellness and gamification. She is known for her enthusiasm for teaching, ability to connect with patients and her passion to serve.
Shanna Crump-Owens, Director Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program
Making a difference in CSTEP program, she empowers talented undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in STEM. Her passion and dedication to the success of this program is unstoppable!
Shareefa Albanna, Entrepeneur and Humanitarian
She is a proud Yemeni American global citizen. She has developed economically disadvantaged communities. Highly recognized by the community, she has a strong focus on entrepreneur-led economic development channeling her passion in supporting the growth of historically underrepresented start-up founders, serving as the startup success manager with the Cultivator program at the UB Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships.
Support Women’s Initiatives and Businesses in Buffalo, NY
We R Buffalo Strong
In 2013, motivated by the families sleeping under the bridge on Michigan Street, Evette Phillips-Garcia started handing out 30 meals to people in need. Today, she has helped over 14,000 people in Buffalo, including homeless veterans.
WRBS also feeds and clothes homeless veterans. In 2017, she was awarded the Humanitarian for New York State award. In 2019, she was named The Red Cross Real Hero and in 2022 she was given The Woman Touching The World Award.
Papercraft Miracles
Specializing in events and custom orders, they offer a variety of handcrafted papers, paper flowers, seed bombs and other gifts using sustainable materials at their solar-powered studio.
Historical UB Female Figures to Honor
These women were pioneers in science, health care and women’s rights at UB. Their extraordinary abilities, strength and talent paved the roads we walk today.
Picture a Scientist Documentary
Watch this must-see documentary describing the experiences of distinguished women scientist with mistreatment, discrimination and harassment that affected their career development at prestigious institution who nevertheless succeeded.
Featuring biologist Nancy Hopkins, PhD, chemist Raychelle Burks, PhD, and geologist Jane K. Willenbring, PhD.
Women taking action at UB
At UB, we are inspired by women who take action and activate their power into organizations and centers.
DoctHERs
Network of female physicians, scientists, faculty, health care professionals, residents and students who address current issues in the medical and scientific field.
Gender Institute
A university-wide research center founded in 1997, the Gender Institute promotes research and teaching related to women, gender, and sexuality.
NAVIGATE Project
A case-study approach to overcoming barriers to advancement for women in STEM.
UB Women in STEM Cooperative
Empowering women in STEM by offering engaging content, authentic conversation and a supportive community to women students, faculty and professionals in STEM from UB and Western NY.
Women in Science and Engineering
Provides support and extracurricular opportunities for female students in STEM fields with the goal of increasing the recruitment, retention and success of women in the sciences, math and engineering.
