Our National Founders

Nine Howard University students were led by Ethel Hedgemen Lyle to build a sisterhood in 1908. Four years later, Nellie Quander and her gallant and visionary associates contributed the added dimension of a national organization and perpetual membership. These women and those who came after them, created a never ending stream of eternally young, hopeful, and enthusiastic women.

                               9 Original Founders                                           7 Sophomores

                       Ethel Hedgeman Lyle                                   Joanna Berry Shields 

                       Beulah Burke                                            Norma Boyd                    

                       Lille Burke                                                Ethel Jones Mowbray                   

                       Margaret Flagg Holmes                               Sara Meriweather Nutter                    

                       Marjorie Hill                                              Alice Murray                    

                       Lucy Diggs Slowe                                      Carrie Snowden                   

                             Marie Woolfolk Taylor                                 Harriet Terry  

                       Anna Easter Brown                                

                       Lavinia Norman