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Damari Namdori Kangalu Sefue was the first native Tanzanian woman to obtain a teaching certificate. Damari inspired young women to go to school, demonstrating that women can excel if given an opportunity.
East-Central Africa Division Biography Educators Groundbreakers Women
Marion G. Seitz Simmons was an Adventist educator for more than fifty years. At various times, she served as education superintendent, elementary supervisor, and associate secretary at the local, union, and division conference levels.
Adell Sherbet's refusal to work on the Sabbath (Saturday) led to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that expanded the legal rights of seventh day Sabbathkeepers as well as those of other people whose religious scruples kept them from working on a different day.
Frederika House was the youngest and only single person elected as an officer of the General Conference, and one of only three women to serve as a GC treasurer and GC officer.
North American Division Biography Groundbreakers Missionaries Women
Petra (Tunheim) Skadsheim was a pioneer missionary in Southeast Asia. Ultimately she gave her life in service in the mission field to which she committed her life.
South Pacific Division Biography Groundbreakers Missionaries Died/Imprisoned for Faith Women
Heather-Dawn Kamille Ernie Small (née Barker) was a distinguished international leader, passionate women’s advocate, and visionary servant of God. She served with distinction for nearly three decades, beginning her ministry in the Caribbean in 1995 and later serving the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church until her untimely death on January 2, 2024. Her leadership was marked by creativity, high standards, and servant leadership.
Mary Maud Smart, an Adventist educator, taught in the South Pacific for forty-six years. She was a respected pioneer of Seventh-day Adventist educational philosophy, principles, and practice.
South Pacific Division Biography Educators Groundbreakers Women
Sarah Ann Sparrow, better known as Sallie Sparrow, went to British East Africa in 1911 with her husband David Sparrow, and together they pioneered the Adventist faith among the Nandi people of western Kenya. They planted the first Adventist church in western Kenya and went on to take the faith to many Africans and European settlers in the Eldoret area.
East-Central Africa Division Biography Groundbreakers Missionaries Women
Martha Staples (born Long) was a pioneer Seventh-day Adventist in Africa – joining the faith in 1889. She was a foundational member of the Rokeby Park Seventh-day Adventist Church organized in 1889. It was one of the first Adventist churches on the continent.
Lillis Adora Wood Starr was a Seventh-day Adventist physician, the first female medical doctor authorized to practice in Mexico, and an active member of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
North American Division Biography Groundbreakers Missionaries Medical Workers Women
Almira S. Steele, educator and philanthropist, was founder of the Steele Home for Needy Children, regarded as the South’s first orphanage for African Americans.
Ruth Janetta Temple, M.D., was the first Black graduate from what is today the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, the first Black female physician licensed to practice in the state of California, and a lifelong public health crusader.
North American Division Biography Groundbreakers Medical Workers Women
Sarah Jane Thayer, better known as Jennie, was part of the first generation of children to be raised as Sabbath-keeping Adventists and the second generation of Adventist pioneers. She held offices in the International Tract and Missionary Society, traveled to England on behalf of the denomination, and was the first editor of the Atlantic Union Gleaner.
Gloria Thomas was the first South Asian woman to serve at the division departmental level, having served as an associate in the Sabbath School department in charge of children’s divisions in the Southern Asia Division.
Ethel Louise Twing was an Adventist missionary and a registered nurse who devoted her entire life to serving the continent of Africa.
East-Central Africa Division Biography Missionaries Medical Workers Women Educators
Maimu Väli (Vali or Vaeli) served as the Estonian Conference treasurer for 44 years (1948-1992) and secretary-treasurer for 20 of those years (1969-1989). She was also a translator and lyricist of hymns.
Trula Elizabeth Wade was a pioneer teacher, educator, and residence hall dean at Oakwood College (now a university).
North American Division Biography Educators Groundbreakers Women
Bertha E. Warner (née Milne) was a pioneer missionary teacher to Kenya. She moved to Nyanchwa, Kenya in January 1925 to establish the educational program for girls’ education.
East-Central Africa Division Biography Educators Groundbreakers Missionaries Women
Dorothy Eaton Watts was an Adventist educator, author, and women’s ministries leader who founded Sunshine Home, the first Seventh-day Adventist orphanage in southern India.
General Conference Biography Educators Groundbreakers Women Missionaries
Angelina Grimké Weld, pioneering American abolitionist and advocate of gender equality, became a fervent believer in the Second Advent message during the 1840s.