In celebration of Women’s History Month, North Gwinnett Voice staff member Denise Rumbaugh reached out to women whose accomplishments have been influential and impactful in several areas, including education, politics, media and business. She asked each woman about other women throughout history they admire, the most influential women in their own lives, advice they would share with women and girls on achieving their own goals and dreams and the importance of celebrating women’s history. The NGV has compiled their responses in celebration of Women’s History Month and in honor of these incredible women leaving their marks.

Louise Radloff is the longest-serving former member of a school board in the state of Georgia. 

Denise Rumbaugh: Is there any particular woman or are there women in history you admire? What do you admire about her or them? 

Louise Radloff: Former Chairwoman Charlotte Nash. Charlotte was tenacious and led Gwinnett County with a fundamental knowledge of the county’s needs. She understood the complexity of those needs in a growing and changing county and was accessible to the people she served.

DR: Who has been the most influential woman in your life and why? 

LR: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She listened, learned and led with grace and strength. She was outspoken with her constituency and was well respected.

DR: What advice would you share with women and girls on working to achieve their goals and dreams?

LR: Young women today have many challenges surrounding balancing their lives with work, family and faith and the difficulty in establishing priorities in a world wrought with conflict. My advice to them is to take time for themselves, make it a priority to strengthen their own family, model ethical leadership and find time to pay forward the gifts they have been given.

DR: What do you think is the importance of celebrating women’s history? 

LR: Looking at and learning from the past help us build progressive futures. Our children will inherit what we plant.