Leadership Profiles

Nice sample presentation, Noah!

Here is the list of lesser-known, i.e. not commonly researched by middle/high schoolers, community leaders that I am providing for students who are having trouble coming up with their own cl to profile. Off to the library tomorrow...

Community Leaders Project

The following are persons who qualify as community leaders for the purpose of our project. This is not a complete list. You are encouraged to profile a person who is not included in this list. Any individual who affects positive change within a community qualifies as a “community leader.” Please get teacher approval for your selection, even if they are included on this list.

Addams, Jane (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement, and the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Allende, Salvador (June 26, 1908 – September 11, 1973) was President of Chile from November 1970 until his death during the coup d'état of September 11, 1973.

Aristide, Jean-Bertrand (born July 15, 1953) is a former Roman Catholic priest who was President of Haiti in 1991, again from 1994 to 1996, and then from 2001 to 2004. Aristide was the first democratically elected leader of Haiti and was popular among its poor inhabitants.

Ashe, Arthur (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was a prominent African American tennis player who was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia.

Baker, Ella (December 13, 1903 - December 13, 1986) was a leading African American civil rights and human rights activist beginning in the 1930s. She was a behind-the-scenes activist whose career spanned over five decades. She worked alongside some of the most famous civil rights leaders of the twentieth century, including: W.E.B. DuBois, Thurgood Marshall, A. Philip Randolph, and Martin Luther King Jr. She also mentored such then young civil rights stalwarts as Diane Nash, Stokely Carmichael and Bob Moses.

Clemente, Roberto Walker (August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a professional baseball player and a Major League Baseball right fielder.

Commoner, Barry (born May 28, 1917): an American biologist, college professor, and eco-socialist. He ran for president of the United States in the 1980 U.S. presidential election on the Citizens Party ticket.

Davis, Angela (born, January 26, 1944 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American political activist and university professor who was associated with the Black Panther Party for Self Defense and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

El Saadawi, Nawal (Arabic: نوال السعداوى) (born October 27, 1931) is an Egyptian feminist writer, activist and physician.

Fanon, Frantz (July 20, 1925 – December 6, 1961) was a psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary, and author from Martinique.

Fox, Michael J. (born Michael Andrew Fox on June 9, 1961) is a Canadian/American film and television actor.

Fox, Terry CC (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer treatment activist.

Freire, Paulo (Recife, Brazil September 19, 1921 – São Paulo, Brazil May 2, 1997) was a Brazilian educator and is an influential theorist of education.

Fry, Elizabeth (née Gurney; 21 May 1780 – 12 October 1845) was an English prison reformer, social reformer and, as a Quaker, a Christian philanthropist.

Gibbs, Lois (born 1952) is an American environmental activist.

Guevara, Ernesto “Che” (June 14,[1] 1928 – October 9, 1967), commonly known as Che Guevara, El Che, or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, politician, author, physician, military theorist, and guerrilla leader.

Hayden, Tom (born December 11, 1939) is an American social and political activist and politician, most famous for his involvement in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s.

Hill, Joe born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund, and also known as Joseph Hillström (October 7, 1879[1] or 1882[2] – November 19, 1915) was a Swedish-American labor activist, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, also known as the Wobblies).

Hoffman, Abbie (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was a social and political activist in the United States who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies").

Ireland, Patricia (born October 19, 1945 in Oak Park, Illinois) is a U.S. administrator and feminist. She served as president of the National Organization for Women, from 1991 to 2001 and published an autobiography, What Women Want, in 1996.

Jackson, Jesse (born October 8, 1941) is an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as "shadow senator" for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997.

Jones, Mary Harris “Mother” (May 1, 1830 or August 1, 1837 – November 30, 1930), better known as Mother Jones, born in Cork, Ireland, was a prominent American labor and community organizer, a Wobbly, and a Socialist.

Kelley, Florence (September 12, 1859 – February 17, 1932) was a social and political reformer from Philadelphia. Her work with children's rights is widely regarded today.

Kyi, Aung San Suu (Burmese, born 19 June 1945) in Rangoon, is a pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma, and a noted prisoner of conscience and advocate of nonviolent resistance.

LaDuke, Winona (born 1959) is a Native American activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer. In 1996 and 2000, she ran for election to the office of Vice President of the United States as the nominee of the United States Green Party, on the ticket headed by Ralph Nader.

Langer, Felicia (born 1930) is an Israeli human rights attorney known for her defense of Palestinians charged with political violations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. She has also authored numerous books alleging human rights violations on the part of Israeli occupation authorities.

Lee, Barbara (born July 16, 1946), is an American politician, and has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1998, representing California's 9th congressional district (map). She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee is the First Vice-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Lee is notable as the only person in either chamber of Congress who voted against the authorization of use of force following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Luke, Wing (1925-1965) was Assistant Attorney General of Washington state in the Civil Rights Division from 1957 to 1962, and a member of the Seattle City Council from March 13, 1962, to his death in 1965. He was the first Asian American to hold elected office in the state.

Machel, Samora (September 29, 1933 – October 19, 1986) was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique. Machel led the country to independence in 1975 until his death in 1986, when his presidential aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain where the borders of Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa converge.

McCloud, Janet (born May 8, 1958) is a British designer, writer and television presenter. He is best known for his work on the Channel 4 series Grand Designs. Kevin lives in Somerset with his wife Suzanna and their four children.

Menchu, Rigoberta (b. 9 January 1959, Chimel, Quiché, Guatemala) is an indigenous Guatemalan, of the Quiché-Maya ethnic group. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the plight of Guatemala's indigenous peoples during and after the Guatemalan Civil War (1960-1996), and to promoting indigenous rights in the country. She was the recipient of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize and Prince of Asturias Award in 1998. Menchú is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Muhammad, Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942) is a retired American boxer and former three-time World Heavyweight Champion.

Nader, Ralph (born February 27, 1934) is an American attorney, author, lecturer, political activist, and independent candidate for President of the United States in five elections, including the current election, with his role in the 2000 election in particular being subject to much debate. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer rights, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government. Nader is both the first Arab American and Lebanese American presidential candidate in the U.S.

Nasrin, Taslima also spelled Taslima Nasreen and popularly referred to as 'Taslima', her first name, rather than 'Nasreen' (born 25 August 1962 in Mymensingh, East Pakistan) is a Bengali Bangladeshi ex-physician turned feminist author who describes herself as a secular humanist.

Ngau, Harrison is an defender of Borneo’s threatened ancient forests.

Nkrumah, Kwame (September 21, 1909 - April 27, 1972)[1], was an influential 20th century advocate of Pan-Africanism, and the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966.

Obama, Barack (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2008 general election.

Owens, Jesse (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay team.

Palermo, Steve (born October 9, 1949 in Worcester, Massachusetts) is a former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1977 to 1991. His field career ended when he was shot in the back following his intervention in an altercation outside Campisi's, a Dallas Italian restaurant. He wore uniform number 14 when the American League began using uniform numbers for its umpires in 1980.

Paul, Alice (January 11, 1885 – July 9, 1977) was an American suffragist leader. Along with Lucy Burns (a close friend) and others, she led a successful campaign for women's suffrage that resulted in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.

Pelosi, Nancy (born March 26, 1940) is the current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Before being elected Speaker in the 110th Congress, she was the House Minority Leader from 2002 to 2007, holding the post during the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses.

Randall, Margaret is a feminist poet, writer, photographer and social activist. Born in New York City in 1936, she has lived for extended periods in Albuquerque, New York, Seville, Mexico City, Havana, and Managua.

Randolph, A. Philip (April 15, 1889 – May 16, 1979) was a prominent twentieth century African-American civil rights leader and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which was a huge achievement for labor and especially for African-American labor organizing.

Reed, John (October 22, 1887 – October 19, 1920) was an American journalist, poet, and communist activist, famous for his first-hand account of the Bolshevik Revolution, Ten Days that Shook the World. He was the husband of the writer and feminist Louise Bryant.

Richardson, Gloria (born May 6, 1922) is best-known as the leader of the Cambridge Movement, a civil rights struggle in Cambridge, Maryland in the 1960s. The Movement made significant strides against institutionalized racial discrimination in Cambridge by bringing attention to social injustices such as inadequate wages, poor housing, and poor health care.

Robeson, Paul (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was a multi-lingual American actor, athlete, Basso cantante concert singer, writer, civil rights activist, fellow traveler, Spingarn Medal winner, and Lenin Peace Prize laureate.

Robinson, Jo Ann Gibson (1912-1992) was a civil rights activist and educator in Montgomery, Alabama. Born near Culloden, Georgia, she was the youngest of twelve children.

Romero, Oscar (August 15, 1917 – March 24, 1980), commonly known as Monseñor Romero, was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador who was killed in 1980 for defending human rights. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez.

Sandino, Augusto Cesar (May 18, 1895 – February 21, 1934) was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion against the U.S. military presence in Nicaragua between 1927 and 1933.

Savio, Mario (December 8, 1942 – November 6, 1996) was an American political activist and a key member in the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. He is most famous for his passionate speeches, especially his "place your bodies upon the gears" address given at Sproul Hall, University of California, Berkeley on December 2, 1964.

Shuttlesworth, Fred (born Freddie Lee Robinson on March 18, 1922) is a civil rights activist who led the fight against segregation and other forms of racism as a minister in Birmingham, Alabama. He continues to work against racism and for alleviation of the problems of the homeless in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he took up a pastorate in 1961.

Trudell, John (born February 15, 1946) is an American author, poet, musician, and former political activist.

Washinawatok, Ingrid (also known as O'Peqtaw-Metamoh and Flying Eagle Woman) (July 31, 1957- February 1999) was an internationally-known member of the Menominee Nation of upper Wisconsin. She was murdered by FARC guerrillas in Colombia. At the time of her death she was forty-one years old, a wife and mother of a 14-year-old son.

Williams, Robert F. (February 26, 1925 – October 15, 1996) was a civil rights leader, author, and the president of the Monroe, North Carolina NAACP chapter in the 1950s and early 1960s. At a time when racial tension was high and official abuses were rampant, Williams was a key figure in promoting both integration and armed Black self-defense in the United States.

Wu, Harry (born 1937; Wu Hongda) is an activist for human rights in the People's Republic of China. Now a resident and citizen of the United States, Wu spent 19 years in Chinese labor camps, for which he popularized the term laogai. In 1996 the Columbia Human Rights Law Review awarded Wu its second Award for Leadership in Human Rights. [

Zapata, Emilio (August 8, 1879–April 10, 1919) was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South.

Zorich, Chris (born March 13, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins.