Since 2018, I’ve had the honor of serving as the commissioner of the Department of Children and Families in New Jersey. Our department is known primarily for our work in child safety, but the scope of our department is much broader. Among other areas of focus, we’re working to develop, promote and expand women’s rights and leadership opportunities, through the work of our Division on Women.

The DCF Division on Women also provides domestic and sexual violence prevention education, an address confidentiality program for residents who experience stalking and other violence, and economic empowerment programs to help residents to enter or reenter the workforce.

At the heart of each of these programs is our goal for all New Jerseyans — including women — to be safe, healthy, and connected.

As my colleagues and I work to support women’s future, we are inspired by our past.

In honor of Women’s History Month, here are seven women who have helped shape New Jersey and the world. We will continue to work every day to ensure that New Jersey women have the opportunities to fulfill their personal potential and become history-makers, too.

Dix is known as America’s first mental health activist, who gave a voice to people who couldn’t advocate for themselves. She founded the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital in 1848, the first public psychiatric hospital in the state.

A Westfield native, Apgar is the creator of the Apgar Score, the assessment that determines whether a newborn needs extra help in their crucial first moments after birth. She was also the first woman to become a full professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Salas is the first Hispanic woman to serve on the federal District Court in New Jersey. In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed her to the role. Salas grew up in Union City and attended Rutgers University School of Law in Newark.

 

Barton is known as the founder of the American Red Cross. She also pioneered education in the state by starting the first public school in Bordentown in 1852.

Morrison is the author of “Beloved” and “The Bluest Eye,” among other titles. She taught for many years at Princeton University and was the first African American to have a building at the school named after them. Her awards include the Pulitzer Prize, the American Book Award, the Nobel Prize, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian award in the United States.

In 2016, Muhammad became the first American athlete to compete in the Olympics wearing a hijab. She was also the first Muslim-American woman to medal at the Games, winning bronze in the women’s fencing team sabre competition. Muhammad grew up in Maplewood, where she was the only African American Muslim at her school.

Molly Pitcher was not a single person, but rather a composite folk hero, who encapsulated the women who helped during the Revolutionary War and the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey. These women would deliver water to the fighters, assist with fallen forces and help with the artillery. Mary Hays, the daughter of a New Jersey dairy farmer, joined her husband on the battlefield and was allegedly nicknamed Sergeant Molly because of her heroic efforts.

— Graphics by Kaytalin McCarry; New Jersey Department of Children and Families.