An election, volunteering, a new logo, historic events, and opportunities to learn more about the needs and lives of women in our community. 2012 was a very busy year at Washington Area Women’s Foundation and much of it was captured on our blog. Here are our favorite blog posts of the year:

Q: Which First Lady of the United States was an advocate for civil rights, worked to enhance the status of women, but opposed the Equal Rights Amendment?

A: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was an international author, speaker, politician and activist.  An advocate for civil rights, Roosevelt worked to enhance the status of working women, however, she opposed the Equal Rights Amendment because she believed that it would adversely affect women.

Q: Who is the woman who’s listed in the Guinness Book of Records for being the first woman to become a millionaire by her own achievements?

Q: Who was the first woman to become chief of a Native American nation?

Q: This singer, songwriter and musician was named the most successful female songwriter of 1955-99.  At the age of 18, she co-wrote what would become the first song by a girl group to hit No. 1 on the American charts, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.”

Q: Who was the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as U.S. Surgeon General?  Hint: she served from 1990 to 1993.

A: Antonia Novello, MD, served as the 14th U.S. Surgeon General from 1990 to 1993.  Her work as Surgeon General focused on the health of women, children and minorities, underage drinking, smoking and AIDS.

Q: Who was the first black woman from a Southern state to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives?  Hint — she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994.

Q: Who was the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman elected to Congress?

A: Patsy Mink, a third generation Japanese American, represented Hawaii in the U.S. House 12 times.  In 1972, she became the first Asian American to seek the Democratic nomination for President, running as an anti-war candidate.  The Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act was named after Mink.

Q: Who was the first female filmmaker to win an Oscar for best director?

A: In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director.  Bigelow won for The Hurt Locker.  She was the fourth woman in history to be nominated for the Best Director Award.  The previous female nominees were: Sofia Coppola (for 2003′s Lost in Translation), Jane Campion (for 1993′s The Piano) and Linda Wertmuller (for Seven Beauties in 1975).

Q: Who was the first female member of the U.S. Supreme Court?

A: Appointed to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan in 1981, Sandra Day O’Conner served on the high court for more than two decades before retiring in 2006.