A Williamsville native is now at the helm of the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls. But Dr. Kristen Oehlrich, the new CEO and executive director, notes that there are many more Buffalo connections within the Seneca Falls, NY site. She shared some of her favorites and discussed the ongoing challenges of preserving and telling women’s history and stories in a recent conversation with BTPM NPR.
Oehlrich took her new position in September. She points out the Hall, located in Seneca Falls, is not that long of a car trip for Western New Yorkers, and Buffalo and Western New York are well represented among the more than 300 of the Hall’s inductees. She highlighted three of them during her interview with BTPM NPR: Mary Burnett Talbert, Harriet Williams Russell Strong, and Marian de Forest.
Her job now is to preserve the stories and accomplishments of these women, because elsewhere history has not.
“We're focused on highlighting women's stories and achievements. However, women's accomplishments, achievements and stories have historically been written out of history, and it's the mission of the hall to help that traditional narrative and instead shine light on women's achievements,” she said.
The inductees from various backgrounds and are recognized for their achievements and advancements in many fields including science, the arts, education, social justice, politics, athletics, even the military. But this institution, and other not-for-profits specifically working to share women’s history and stories, face a steep uphill challenge in terms of financial support. It’s spotlighted in a report released by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute, part of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at the University of Indiana.
“It's currently at just over two percent, according to the most recent report from the Women's Philanthropy Institute, and that's really, really low,” Oehlrich said. “That signals just how much support is needed for the Hall and for our sister institutions across the nation. We really need your support moving forward, because women and girls need you, so that their voices, achievements and histories are vibrant and accessible to all.”
Monetary contributions including memberships obviously help the Hall, as do visits and tours, but Oehlrich suggests building support for women’s stories can begin at the grassroots level, by following the Hall and women’s history through social media and online. It can even begin at home, where Oehlrich says individuals may discover women’s history makers are within one’s own family tree.
“Especially when people are gathering around the Thanksgiving table, it's always interesting to talk about those histories and stories, because often I talk to people visiting the Hall who say ‘I had no idea, but like, I realized my grandmother was a suffragette. I found these old photos in my family's storage area, and I couldn't believe that they were engaged in these things.’ So check out even in your own family,” Oehlrich said. “It's quite amazing how deep and resonant the mission of the Hall is, even today.”
The National Women’s Hall of Fame will hold its latest biennial induction in 2026. The inductees will be introduced in March, and then formally enshrined in September.
Oehlrich looks forward to seeing firsthand how the Class of 2026 will be selected.
“I'm very much learning about this myself in real time. I haven't yet witnessed an induction in my new role, so I'm excited to see the process, too,” she said.
