Since 2024, the WAPUSH team has been interviewing scholars & people who have made women’s history. The project is led by Madison Verner and Geneva Williams. The interviews will be shared with the College Board as part of our proposal to create the first nationwide course on women’s history. You can read the interview by clicking on the person’s name.
Molly Murphy MacGregor
Co-Founder of Women’s History Month and
the National Women’s History Project/National Women’s History Alliance
Interview by Alondra Flores and Serene Williams
Molly Murphy MacGregor (pictured with Gerda Lerner on the left and Molly on the right) has had an incredible career as an educator, a community organizer and a Co-Founder of the National Women’s History Project, now known as the National Women’s History Alliance. MacGregor was on the forefront of the campaign to create Women’s History Month. In this interview she talks about her years as a teacher, her community organizing and her work with Dr. Gerda Lerner.
Jennifer Weir
Taiko Musician, Actor, Artist, Filmmaker
Interview by Tina Zhang
Jennifer Weir is a notable Taiko musician, an actor and an artist originally from Minnesota. She is also an innovative filmmaker. In this interview, she talks to Tina Zhang, a student leader of the WAPUSH campaign, about how she got involved in Taiko, the Japanese art of drumming that had long been inaccessible to women. In this interview, she also talks about the importance of representation for Asian women in the media and how it can be incredibly powerful to play the drums as a woman. Her fascinating work is at the intersection of cultural expression, solidarity among women and appreciation for the arts. You can learn more about Jennifer and her film on her website, Finding Her Beat.
Maria Cuevas
Musician and Leader of the National Women’s History Project
Interview by Alondra Flores
Maria Cuevas (pictured third from left) is a longtime leader of the National Women’s History Project, now known as the National Women’s History Alliance. Her work helped create Women’s History month nationally. Cuevas is also a talented musician who has played music for several decades. In this interview, she talks to Alondra Flores, a student leader of the WAPUSH campaign as well as a co-founder of the National Women’s History Alliance Youth Advisory Board.
Dr. Don Romesburg
Historian, author and expert in LGBTQ+ history
Interview by Caroline Christensen
Dom Romesburg is a scholar of Women and Gender Studies and a nationally recognized expert in LGBTQ+ history. A beloved educator and writer, Romesburg’s academic work was pivotal to the creation of the Fair Education Act in California which requires educators throughout the state to teach accurate history with regards to LGBTQ+ history and disability history. In this interview, he talks with WAPUSH student leader Caroline Christensen about his new Book Contested Curriculum: LGBTQ History Goes to School.
Dr. Ariella Rotramel
Scholar of Women & Gender Studies
Interview by Geneva Williams
Ariella Rotramel is a widely regarded scholar of Women & Gender Studies who teaches at Connecticut College. Rotramel is a prolific interdisciplinary scholar whose work is at the intersection of Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, Social Justice, Disability Studies, Queer Studies and more. In this interview, Rotramel talks with Geneva Williams about working as the Vice President of the National Women’s Studies Association and which topics should be included in an AP Women’s U.S. History course.
Rick Perlstein
Historian
Interview by Geneva Williams
Rick Perlstein is a widely regarded historian of the history of modern conservatism in the United States. He has written numerous New York Times bestselling non-fiction books including Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of the America and The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan. In this interview, he talks with Geneva Williams about working as a historian and which women should be included in an AP Women’s U.S. History course.
Muriel Fox
Co-Founder of the National Organization for Women
Interview by Geneva Williams
Muriel Fox is a leader in the women’s rights movement who co-founded the National Organization for Women. She worked as an executive in public relations for decades in New York. Fox was also notable activist on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. In this interview, she talks with the WAPUSH team about her new book on the history of the women’s movement, The Women’s Revolution: How We Changed Your Life.
Eleanor Smeal
Feminist Activist, leader of the National Organization for Women and the Feminist Majority Foundation
Interview by Brooke Soderbery
Eleanor Smeal is a longtime activist who has worked for women’s rights for over fifty years. She has served as president of the National Organization for Women and co-created the Feminist Majority Foundation. Smeal has helped lead the campaign to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment since the 1970s. She is pictured here in January 2022 in front of the White House, calling on former President Joe Biden to ratify the amendment two years after the 38th state of Virginia ratified in 2020.
Paula Hammett
Women’s History Advocate, Co-Founder of Women’s History Month
Interview by Alondra Flores
Paula Hammet is a longtime activist who has worked to advocate for women’s history since the 1970s. In her interview with WAPUSH leader Alondra Flores, Hammet shares how she got involved with the National Women’s History Project, a group that played a very important role in creating Women’s History Month.
Dr. Erin Costello Wecker
Professor of English and Irish Studies
Interview by Madison Verner
Dr. Erin Costello Wecker is an associate professor of English and Irish Studies at the University of Montana. Her research interests include Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy (RCL), Irish studies, feminist rhetorics and pedagogies, and gender and sexuality in rhetoric and composition. She talks to Madison Verner, Co-Leader of the WAPUSH Oral Interview Project, about her forthcoming book on Kate Kennedy.
Dr. Allison Lange
Historian
Interview by Madison Verner
A renowned historian of women’s history, visual culture and the women’s suffrage movement, Dr. Allison Lange is a professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology and served as a Historian for the United States Congress’s Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission.
Dr. Bettina Aptheker
Professor, Feminist Activist &
Leader of the Free Speech Movement
Interview by Geneva Williams
A widely regarded scholar of U.S. and women’s history, Aptheker taught one of the most influential introductory feminist studies courses for nearly three decades at UC Santa Cruz. She was also a leader of the free speech movement at UC Berkeley in the 1960s and a longtime leader in the women’s rights movement who has written many well regarded books about women’s history.
Dr. Julie Dubrow
Professor, Tufts University
Interview by Madison Verner
Julie Dubrow has an A.B. from Smith College in Anthropology and Sociology, and holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in media studies from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Much of her research centers on the content and effects of media on children; on issues of gender and ethnicity in media; and on how children make sense of these images in the world of animated programming. Dubrow’s other main research interests are in the intersection of women’s history and communication studies, and in biography.
Dr. Karla Jay
Scholar and Activist
Interview by Geneva Williams
Karla Jay is a longtime scholar and notable activist for women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights. Jay played a pivotal role in the Lavender Menace action which she discusses in this interview.
Father Anne
Catholic woman priest
Interview by Geneva Williams
Father Anne is a devout Roman Catholic who was trained as a theologian. She is one of the most prominent leaders of the women’s ordination movement in the United States
Mary Lee Sargent
Professor and Activist
Interview by Shannon Bennitt and Serene Williams
Mary Lee Sargent is a longtime educator and a notable activist for women’s rights. In the 1980s, she participated in a series of direct action tactics to work towards the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Daniel Williams
Historian
Interview by Serene Williams
Historian Daniel Williams is interviewed about his book on the pro-life movement before Roe v. Wade titled Defenders of the Unborn. In this interview, he talks about how to came to be interested in the topic and the impact participating in National History Day had on his professional career.
Dr. Wendy Rouse
On the Women’s Self Defense Movement
On Suffrage History
Interviews by Shannon Bennitt
Dr. Wendy Rouse is a progressive era historian and an expert on the women’s suffrage movement. Her new book Public Faces, Secret Lives, traces the political work of queer suffragists
Dr. Ileana Jiménez
Scholar Activist
Interview by Shannon Bennett
Dr. Ileana Jiménez is a recognized leader in the feminism-in-schools movement and creator of the hashtags, #HSfeminism and #K12feminism. She recently earned her PhD in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research focuses on Black and Latina feminisms, feminist and queer pedagogies, and digital feminist activism in the high school English classroom. She is @feministteacher on social media platforms.
Zoe Nicholson
Feminist Activist
Interview by Geneva Williams
Zoe Nicholson is a long time member of the National Organization and a life long activist for numerous civil rights causes including advocating for the Equal Rights Amendment, protesting against the Vietnam War and working for the protection of LGBTQ+ rights. Zoe is the author of numerous books and currently works as a historian of Alice Paul.
Sarah Schulman
Historian
Interview by Brooke Soderbery
Sarah Schulman is an English professor and a widely read author with a new book on the history of ACT UP titled, “Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP.” She was interviewed by the WAPUSH about documenting ACT UP and the AIDS crisis.
Gloria La Riva
Former Presidential Candidate
Interviewed by Madison Verner
Gloria La Riva is a former presidential candidate and an activist for immigrants, working class people and women. In her interview with Madison Verner, she discusses her history as a political organizer and what it was like to run for the U.S. presidency.
Dr. Bonnie Morris
Historian
Interview by Brooke Soderbery
Dr. Bonnie Morris is a professor at UC Berkeley and an expert in women’s history. She has written widely about U.S. women’s history, especially about women in sports and Title IX. Morris also has decades of experience with the AP program and has served as reader and an exam leader for AP U.S. History.
Dr. Breanne Fahs
Professor
Interview by Geneva Williams
Breanne Fahs is a professor of women and gender studies at Arizona State University, where she specializes in studying women’s sexuality, critical embodiment studies, radical feminism and political activism. She has written several books on women’s history and feminism including Valerie Solanas and Burn it Down! Feminist Manifestos for the Revolution.
Joyce Antler
Professor
Interview by Madison Verner
Joyce Antler is a scholar and author of numerous books on women’s and Jewish history. Her recent book, Jewish Radical Feminism: Voices from the Women’s Liberation movement was published in 2018 and highlights lesser known stories of women’s liberation and Jewish feminist pioneers. Professor Angler has taught at Brandeis University where she was a founder of the Women’s Studies program.
Dr. Catherine Monk
Professor
Interview by Clara Robinson
Dr. Catherine Monk is a professor at Columbia University and an expert in psychology. Her work focuses on perinatal psychiatry, developmental psychobiology, and neuroscience. In her WAPUSH interview she shares how her mother was influenced by reading Ms. Magazine in the early years of the publication.