Hon. Barbara Hackman Franklin
Chair, Advisory Board
President and Chief Executive Officer
Barbara Franklin Enterprises

In 1997, an advisory board for "A Few Good Women...", chaired by Barbara Hackman Franklin, formed on an interim basis and launched a pilot project to obtain oral histories from women and men involved with the advancement of women in government. The board initially identified twelve individuals to be interviewed and established a cooperative relationship with the Penn State University Libraries to house the histories for use by scholars and historians. As the project continued, this list was expanded to include twenty interviews.
Jean Rainey, a retired public relations executive who was active in women's issues during the era of the project, was named project administrator. Penn State set up a 501(c)(3) vehicle to receive contributions for funding of the project and a deed of gift document was developed to provide for donation of the oral histories to the project and Libraries at Penn State. A process was created whereby participants could request copies of their oral histories to be sent to other institutions as well.

In addition to the archiving of these important histories, other outcomes of the project are being evaluated. They include a summary publication of the memoirs; a documentary photographic calendar of the interviewees; and a documentary drawing on the oral histories to chronicle the role these individuals played in shaping the role of women in government service.

Funding for the project has been raised from private corporations and individuals.