The National Women's History Alliance (NWHA) is the founding organization of California teachers that started Women's History Week in 1978. Now a group of New York college students may also call themselves founders, as they plan a ten-page takeover of the NWHA's annual publication creating a new national initiative titled March of Icons.
Led by graduate student Fiona Lakeram (MS Business Analytics '26), the concept was pitched to the NWHA by the “Catalyst Committee” of St. John’s University. This student-led committee serves to increase the recruitment and retention of female students pursuing degrees at St. John’s Tobin College of Business. With NWHA’s announcement of a sustainability theme for 2026, the St. John’s business students pivoted to recruit environmental science peers to help research icons and art & design peers to illustrate these inspirational women.
March of Icons is a campaign to elevate 30 iconic women into the national spotlight around the annual theme chosen by the NWHA. A fold-out centerfold calendar features short biographies of women who are working to ensure a sustainable future. St. John's students were insistent that these printed pages were only the first step, as an online collaboration was essential to engage new audiences. Colleges and K-12 schools are invited to create online tributes to specific icons on the designated dates, posting on social media while tagging with #NWHA2026 and #MARCHofICONS. The 30 icons chosen are not a comprehensive list nor intended to rank contributions to the environment. The students sought to identify “past, present, and future” contributors and wherever applicable, approached these icons’ alma mater schools to consider participating.
The Catalyst Project will be hosting a magazine release party and gallery exhibition featuring the iconic portraits by SJU student Theresa Lovero. The event will be held on Wednesday, February 25 from 6pm-8pm at St. John's East Village campus at 101 Astor Place. Interested attendees are asked to RSVP on Partiful. Due to capacity and anticipated guest list, invitations are extremely limited. Advanced copies of the magazine are available to media by request to [email protected].
The team also encourages supporters to vote for the 2027 theme throughout March 2026, so they may get started on the next year's theme immediately. Voting may be found at the NHWA homepage.
Picture: Catalyst members at the Queens Botanical Gardens. From the left, Annike Engstrom, Christina Nimblett, Fiona Lakeram, Theresa Lovero, Cara Dunleavy. Photograph by Lionel Morel.