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Francine Frazier, Senior digital producer
Erin Seaton, Producer
Published:
Francine Frazier, Senior digital producer
Erin Seaton, Producer
March is Women’s History Month, and all month long, News4JAX is sharing the stories of local women who have inspired and educated future generations.
This week we highlighted political leaders, education stalwarts, sports execs and “The Mother of the Blues.”
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Longtime Jacksonville political operative Susie Wiles was named President Donald Trump’s chief of staff not long after November’s election. The high-profile position makes her the president’s closest adviser and counsel.
Wiles, a longtime Florida-based Republican strategist, successfully ran Trump’s campaign to return to the White House, and also ran his 2016 and 2020 campaigns in Florida.
Before that, she successfully ran Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor.
Wiles has strong ties to Jacksonville and was a key player on former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney’s staff. She also worked with former Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton’s team, helping to set policy and get their messages out.
Wiles is the daughter of legendary NFL play-by-play man Pat Summerall.
Former State Attorney Angela Corey was born and raised in Jacksonville and attended Englewood High School.
She received her law degree from the University of Florida and later worked for state attorneys Ed Austin and Harry Shorstein.
Corey ran for and was elected 4th circuit judicial state attorney in 2008, making her the first woman to hold the position.
During her time as state attorney, Corey prosecuted George Zimmerman in the murder of Trayvon Martin, and worked other high-profile cases such as the murder of Jordan Davis and the Cristian Fernandez case.
She was defeated by current state attorney Melissa Nelson in the 2016 election.
Former WNBA president Donna Orender has lived in Jacksonville since 1990.
She played three seasons in the Women’s Pro Basketball League, and then spent 17 years with the PGA tour, working her way up to senior executive.
In 2005, she was named president of the WNBA, serving in the role until 2010.
In 2011, Orender launched consulting and advisory firm Orender Unlimited and started the nonprofit Generation W.
The organization aims to bring women together to inspire and connect through mentorship.
This past January, Orender was named commissioner of the new women’s basketball league UPSHOT. The league will feature a local team and is set to debut in 2026.
Gertrude “Ma” Rainey would come to be known as the “Mother of the Blues” — but her career began as a minstrel and vaudeville performer.
Her most notable traveling vaudeville group was the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, a company started by Jacksonville native Pat Chappelle.
As part of the troupe, Rainey often performed at the Globe Theater on Ashley Street. That building is now the Clara White Mission.
Dr. Frances Bartlett Kinne moved to St. Augustine in 1958 as an Assistant Professor of Humanities at Jacksonville University. She founded the school’s College of Fine Arts in 1960 and later became its dean in 1969, making her the first woman dean of a college in the U.S.
Kinne made history again in 1979 when she was named JU’s first female president, which also made her the first-ever female university president in Florida.
Kinne retired as president of JU in 1989.
She was added to the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame and remained an active part of the Jacksonville community until she died at age 102 in 2020.
On May 23, 2021, then-Mayor Lenny Curry proclaimed the day as “Dr. Frances Bartlett Kinne Day.”
A statue sits in Kinne Plaza at JU in honor of Dr. Kinne.
Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
A Jacksonville native and proud University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 after spending nine years at The Florida Times-Union.
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Erin is a television news producer who strives to report from an unbiased point of view and spread news information globally.
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