Nan Johnson, director of the Susan B. Anthony University Center at the University of Rochester and a leading voice for women in the Rochester community, has won a 1996 YWCA "Women First" Award.
The award recognizes "unsung heroines" who have helped to improve the skills, experience, status, and participation of women in the community and the workplace. She will be honored in a ceremony Thursday, May 23 at School of the Arts.
Johnson's work at the University Center highlights the achievements of women. Classes she teaches as an adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science explore issues of gender and politics.
A Monroe County legislator for 20 years, Johnson was the first woman to serve as majority leader of the legislative body; she also was the first woman to run for Monroe County executive, setting a precedent for local women in elective office.
Johnson is president of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women, and serves on the boards of the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Susan B. Anthony Memorial.