Learn about the inductees for 2014
The COSW would like to thank the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (Platinum Sponsor) and Richard and Susan Leisner (Gold Sponsors) for their support of the Hillsborough County Women's Hall of Fame Class of 2014.
Ms. Eleanor McWilliams Chamberlain
Eleanor "Ella" Collier McWilliams was born in Iowa, the nation's first state to admit women to its public university. She was in the first generation of college women, often called "co‐eds." In 1870, she married Fielding P. Chamberlain, a progressive and feminist advocate. They came to Florida in 1881 and settled in Tampa in 1883.
Ms. Nancy Ford
A native and life‐long resident of Tampa, Nancy Torbett Ford was the only child of Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Torbett. She received a Bachelor of Arts in 1948 from Randolph‐Macon Woman's College in Virginia, and credited Randolph‐Macon with giving her confidence, leadership and volunteer opportunities, plus the firm belief that women can accomplish anything they want or need to do. Fittingly, in 1998 she was named an Alumna of Distinction by her alma mater.
Senator Arthenia Joyner
Arthenia L. Joyner, representing Florida Senate District 19, is a dynamic individual whose personal life reads like a chronicle of the struggle for equal justice. She has not just lived history ‐‐ she made it. Born in Lakeland, Florida, Senator Joyner earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Florida A & M University in 1964 and Judicial Doctorate in 1968 from its College of Law. She was the first Black attorney in Polk County and first Black female attorney in Hillsborough County and has been in private practice for 45 years – longer than any other Black woman in the history of Florida.