Jeannette Rosner Wolman

(1902 - 1999)


Jeanette Rosner Wolman, who was born in New York City, has been politically and socially active in promoting equal rights for women since first coming to Baltimore.  She studied at Goucher College, and was a member of the second class to graduate women from the University of Maryland School of Law.  She is founder and charter member of the Women's Bar Association, and became the first woman accepted as a member of the Bar Association of Baltimore City in 1956.

The first Maryland Commission on the Status of Women was established by Executive Order of Governor J. Millard Tawes largely due to Wolman's tireless efforts and unstinting dedication to create a voice for women within state government.  She was appointed by Governor Tawes to be the first chair of that Commission, and was reappointed to that post in 1968.  She continued to serve on the Commission under Governors Agnew, Mandel and Hughes.  She presently is the Honorary Chairwoman of the Maryland Commission for Women.

Through her activities, Wolman has touched the lives of many women and men. She remains an inspiration to us all.  She served as the first legal advisor to the ladies's Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, director of the Jewish Family and Children's Bureau of Baltimore, past president of the Business and Professional Women's Clubs, member of the Board of Trustees of Montrose School for Girls, and served on the Maryland Commission for Employment of the Handicapped.  She has been an active member of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and Congregation Sisterhood.

Wolman's lifetime of activity and participation have not gone unnoticed.  She was selected for the first Maryland Distinguished Woman Program of the Girl Scouts in 1981.  She was voted Woman of the year by both the Baltimore Chapter and the State Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs and inducted into the Baltimore City Commission for Women's First Annual Hall of Fame.

Biography courtesy of the Maryland Commission for Women, 1986.

© Copyright Maryland State Archives, 2001