First Women City Council Members
Bertha Knight Landes and Kathryn A. Miracle were the first women elected to Seattle City Council. Landes served from 1922 to 1926 and was the first woman Council President. She went on to become the first woman Mayor for the City. Kathryn Miracle served on Council from 1922 to 1925.
First Woman hired by the Seattle Police Department
Emma Taylor was the first
woman hired by the Seattle Police Department. She was hired in 1893 as
the first female police matron. Of note: Seattle and Los Angeles were
the first police agencies in the nation to hire actual policewomen.
Policewomen were introduced in Seattle on January 1, 1912 and were paid
at the same rate of $85.00 a month as their male counterparts.
Shab Zand was the first woman Safety Officer in the Seattle Water Department. Ms Zand started working for the City of Seattle Parks Department in 1984 as a college intern and was later hired by the Water Department in 1986 as a Safety Officer (a role previously held by males). In 1993 Ms. Zand was hired by Seattle Public Utilities as a Senior Environmental Analyst in SPU's Hazmat Unit. Again Ms Zand was the first and only female in the Hazmat Unit.
Venerria L. Knox became the first woman Director of Seattle's Human Services Department in 1994. In her position she reports directly to the Mayor. Ms. Knox began her career with the City of Seattle in 1985 as a legislative analyst and finance manager for the Seattle City Council.
Pam Hyde was the first woman Director of the Department of Housing and Human Services. She was in that position from 1991-1993.
Chief Sue Rosenthal was hired in 1980 and promoted to Lieutenant in 1986, Captain in 1995, and Battalion 7 Chief in 1999. Her station is #29 in West Seattle.
Betty Bartleson was the first woman keeper at the Woodland Park Zoo. She was hired in 1968 and retired from the City in 1986.
Sue Nichol was Woodland Park Zoo's first Horticulturist. Ms. Nichol led the effort to develop the zoo's capacity to install naturalistic exhibit landscape and transformed the Woodland Park Zoo into a botanical showplace. She was one of the founders of the Association of Zoological Horticulture and led the planting of over 5000 trees on the zoo's grounds. Ms Nichol worked for the City from 1982 to 1996.
Harmony Frazier was Woodland Park Zoo's first Conservation Coordinator and began the zoo's first conservation grant program to support-on site conservation and research. Along with veterinarian Billy Karesh, Ms. Frazier conducted the first field research in Indonesia that determined that Bornean and Sumatran orangutans were genetically distinct subspecies. Ms. Frazier began her work for the City in 1978.
Kathy Scanlon was the Woodland Park Zoo's first Operations Manager. Ms. Scanlon later went on to head up Seattle Center and the Goodwill Games.
Erin Sullivan was Woodland Park Zoo's first Entomologist. Ms Sullivan helped design the Bug World and Butterflies and Blooms exhibits. Ms. Sullivan began her work with the Woodland Park Zoo in 1996.
Janis Joslin became the first woman Veterinarian at the Woodland Park Zoo in 1987. She was also the second woman to become President of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. Dr. Joslin reports that when she received her veterinarian degree only 10% of graduating veterinarians were women. Today more than 50% of graduating veterinarian classes are women.
Janice Martin (Jan) was the first woman Microbiologist to work in the Water Quality Laboratory of SPU. Ms. Martin began her work with the city in the Seattle-King County Health Department in 1968, moving then to the Water Quality Laboratory in the Seattle Water Department as a Microbiologist in 1971 and was later promoted to her position as first woman Supervisor in 1974. Ms Martin relates that when she started in the Water Quality Laboratory, there was only one other woman in the department (Marj Miller) and the division had built a restroom for Ms Miller since there were no women's rooms in the area.
Ms Martin also became the first woman to earn Water Distribution Manager IV certification from the Washington State Department of Health. Ms. Martin retired from the city at the end of 1996.
Laurel Harrington was the first woman engineer hired by the Water Department in 1980. At present Ms. Harrington is head of the Dam Safety Group at SPU.
Karla Bock was the first woman hired at SPU Water full-time as a Heavy Equipment Operator in 1999. Ms Bock , with a class A Commercial Driver's License, operates all types of heavy equipment.
Sara Gates was the first woman to be hired as a Communications Technician in the Electronics Maintenance Shop, Operations Control Center, SPU Water. Ms Gates was hired in 1990.
Susan Hill was the first woman to work as Water Supply Dispatcher in the Control Center at SPU. She was hired in 1977 and left the City in 2000.
Michelle Nielsen was the first woman Water Treatment Operator at SPU. She was hired in 1979 and left the City in 1999.
Suzanne Flagor (Suzy)was the first woman Forester and the first woman Watershed Director at SPU. Ms. Flagor was hired in 1982.
Sharon Olson was the first woman forest maintenance worker at SPU. Ms. Olson was hired in 1981.
Linda Walker was the first woman Scale Attendant at the Solid Waste Transfer Station (now part of SPU) and was also the first woman semi-truck driver for Solid Waste Utility (then part of the Seattle Engineering Department). Ms. Walker drove an eighteen wheeler garbage hauler to the landfills in Kent and Midway. Ms Walker was hired in 1978.
Evalene Wasson was the first woman engineer in the Seattle Engineering Department. She was hired in 1928 and retired in 1969.
Annette Stevenson was the first woman Maintenance Laborer in the Asphalt Paving Division, Seattle Engineering Department. Ms. Stevenson was hired in 1978.
Gail Bernandez Sherwin was the first woman Laborer for the Seattle Engineering Department. Ms Sherwin was hired in 1975.
Stephanie Heglund was the first woman Street Use Inspector hired by the Seattle Engineering Department. Ms Heglund was hired in 1984.
Other trailblazers in Seattle Engineering Department
Valorie Yamasaki (1972), Gayle Starr(1977) and Renee Brulotte (1980) were the first women Crew Chiefs hired by the Seattle Engineering Department.
Delores Petty was the first Manager/Operating Manager at Animal Control. Ms Petty worked for Animal Control from 1971-1996.
Mary Felix is the first Kennel/ Enforcement Supervisor at Animal Control. Ms. Felix worked for Animal Control from 1969 to 1999.
Vickie Kobayashi was the first woman Civil Engineer hired by City Light in 1980. Although she was recruited to work for Boeing, Ms Kobayashi left the aerospace industry to come to City Light to do basic civil design in dam safety and structures that didn't fly. She went into project management in 1989 and has been doing it ever since. Her most notable project has been the System Control Center. "It wasn't that long ago when I was on a floor that didn't have a women's restroom, there was no space for maiden name on the Professional Engineer application, or engineers never got pregnant." she comments.
Sarah Yessler was the first woman Librarian for the Seattle Library Association, formed in 1868. She was appointed Head Librarian and served from 1868 through 1873. In 1873 the Association had elections and she became Treasurer of the Association.
