By Jack Houvouras
HQ 133 | Spring 2026
March is when we traditionally release the spring edition of HQ, but even more importantly, it is Women’s History Month. That prompted me to reflect on some of the local women leaders I’ve known in my lifetime who have made valuable contributions to Huntington, the nation and, in some cases, the world.
I’ve written in the past about my two favorite female leaders from Huntington — Verna Gibson and Jan Rader. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone, male or female, more accomplished than these two individuals.
Gibson, who got her start in retail working at The Smart Shop and The Princess Shop in downtown Huntington, eventually made her way to Columbus, Ohio, where she rose through the ranks at The Limited. In 1985, she became the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, becoming an inspiration to women around the world.
Jan is a pioneer in her own right. In 2017, she became the state’s first professional female fire chief. That same year, she was featured in the Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary Heroin(e), which followed Rader and two other women as they battled West Virginia’s opioid epidemic. Most impressive of all, in 2018, she was named to the TIME 100 — a list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
I’m honored to call both women my friends.
But Huntington has been home to a diverse group of other women trailblazers.
Ruth Sullivan was recognized worldwide as an innovator in the field of autism. In 1979, she founded the Autism Services Center, an agency in Huntington that has provided services to thousands of people with autism and developmental disabilities. In 1984, she convinced the Legislature to fund the West Virginia Autism Training Center at Marshall University. When she retired at age 83, she had received dozens of awards and delivered lectures on the subject around the world. The movie Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman, was based largely on her son Joseph.
Dr. Barbara Guyer founded the HELP Program at Marshall University in 1981. Over the last 45 years, the nationally renowned program has been a beacon of hope for countless college students with learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and related conditions. The center offers personalized academic support and comprehensive resources to help students achieve their full potential.
Julia Keller is a Huntington native who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 2005. The Marshall University graduate earned the honor for her three-part series in the Chicago Tribune on the deadly tornado that struck Utica, Illinois, in 2004. She is also the author of several novels and has taught at Princeton and Notre Dame.
Angela Dodson began her career at The Huntington Advertiser before eventually finding her way to New York and a job with The New York Times. There, the Marshall University alumna distinguished herself when she was named the first Black female senior editor in the newspaper’s long and storied history.
Laura Darby was 49 years old when she decided to enroll at Marshall University and fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse. For her senior-year project, she outlined a plan to start a hospice program in Huntington. She then worked tirelessly to make that plan a reality. Today, nearly 45 years later, Hospice of Huntington is a multimillion-dollar endeavor that has provided compassionate end-of-life care to more than 20,000 patients.
Their stories are different, but the common thread is unmistakable: vision, strength and determination. These women did not simply succeed in their respective fields — they changed institutions, built programs and opened doors for those who followed.
