WonderWomen: May 2007

— By Malorie Lucich

We created this feature to celebrate the awe-inspiring achievements of Bay Area "superheroes" in commerce, community, education, and the arts and sciences, who are working — often quietly — to improve our lives.

WonderWomen is named for the tremendously strong and honorable comic-book hero, Wonder Woman, created in 1941, who was discovered on an island in the Bermuda Triangle and was brought to the U.S. to fight the Nazi threat.

This indelible American icon came to life on TV during the height of the feminist movement in the '70s. Played by Linda Carter, Wonder Woman saved the planet from catastrophic viruses, the Bubonic plague, and gangs of "pistol-packing rustlers" from Texas.

WonderWoman: Hope Ishii

Hope Ishii

Investigating comet dust with connections to the earth's origins, and working on projects for NASA, are just daily tasks for lab physicist Hope Ishii.
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WonderWoman: Debra Pryor

Debra Pryor

Over the span of 22 years, Debra Pryor has seen firsthand the progress women have made in the fire service; and as Berkeley's first woman fire chief, has made strides of her own.
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WonderWoman: Leslie Sbrocco

Leslie Sbrocco

Leslie Sbrocco is enjoying life. As a woman of many trades, including wine expert, writer, mother, and television host of the PBS series "Check, Please! Bay Area," she manages to find balance and happiness.
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WonderWoman: Jane Garcia

Jane Garcia

In 1978, Jane Garcia, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, began a six-month work program at La Clinica de la Raza, a series of East Bay health clinics that focus on multilingual and multicultural communities.
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WonderWoman: Daya Fisch

Daya Fisch

When her best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer more than five years ago, Daya Fisch, the director of the Breast Health Project, looked for anything she could do to help. As a certified massage therapist with a Masters Degree in Holistic Nutrition, Fisch learned about essiac tea and coffee enemas, and every alternative therapy imaginable. The most important thing she learned was that if a woman gets to know her breast tissue, she can help prevent breast cancer.
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WonderWoman: Cheryl Broussard

Cheryl Broussard

At the young age of nine, Cheryl Broussard began thinking long and hard about her finances — thanks to her love for Barbie dolls. After her mom made her earn the $1 for a must-buy Barbieô outfit, she learned that if there's something you want, you have to plan, be disciplined, and save your money.
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WonderWoman: Rose Ann DeMoro

Rose Ann DeMoro

Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Association (CNA), has been hailed as the "The Woman who met the Terminator's match." For the last 13 years, she has run the boisterous, nearly all female 70,000-member union that neutralizes its opponents, including actor-turned governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, with creative direct action, alliance building and media manipulation.
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WonderWoman: Elizabeth Colton

Elizabeth Colton

In the late '80s, when Elizabeth Colton's daughter was young, she wanted to take her someplace that she envisioned was a museum of women's history. Colton wrote letters to everyone she could think of asking, "Where is a museum where I can take my daughter?"
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Wonder Woman: Christina Clarke

Christina Clarke

At a time of reported significant drops in U.S. cancer deaths, Christina Clarke is immersed in an exciting arena of research. As Associate Director of the Surveillance Research division of the Greater Bay Area Cancer Registry, she monitors changes in cancer incidence and survival patterns among various population sub groups.

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Wonder Woman: Adrienne Pon

Adrienne Pon

Since opening its doors eight years ago, Zeum has gained recognition as a unique venue for children. Zeum integrates digital technology, animation, filmmaking, visual and performing arts, and storytelling in a hands-on interactive environment.
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WonderWoman: Karen Klaber

Karen Klaber

In the age of corporate consolidation and Internet omnipresence, small publishers have been going through a challenging period. But The East Bay Monthly, under the helm of artist and co-founder, Karen Klaber, has endured the test of time. Nestled among the other independent publications on Bay Area newsstands, The Monthly has been appealing to upscale readers with articles on news, culture and entertainment for 36 years.

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WonderWoman: Sylvia Rosales-Fike

Sylvia Rosales-Fike

Sylvia Rosales-Fike is the granddaughter of a Salvadoran criminal attorney who defended that country's poor, influencing her to do the same. But during El Salvador's civil war of the '80s, helping the poor became a crime punishable by death.Continue Reading This Article