About Us
The Lavinia Engle Scholarship Fund was established in 1980 in memory of Lavinia Margaret Engle, a leader in the women's suffrage movement in the United States. The fund offers need-based scholarships to hard-working, female-identifying, high school graduates living in Montgomery County, MD, who enroll in a 2 or 4-year undergraduate program within the state of Maryland.
Recipients decide how to use the money: some apply it to tuition, some use it to buy books, others use it to pay for gas so they can commute to classes. Many recipients are the first-generation in their family to attend college. The application does not ask about immigration status.
Each year, the Lavinia Engle Scholarship Fund awards approximately 20 scholarships ranging between $500-$2,000, as well as one or more Judith B. Heimann Memorial Scholarships of $2,500 to first year college students. Although our grants are modest, the letters we receive from our recipients illustrate their importance.
Some of the schools our recipients have attended:
Who was Lavinia Engle?
Lavinia Margaret Engle was born in Montgomery County, MD in 1892. Her mother was already involved in the suffrage movement, and Lavinia met Susan B. Anthony as a child. She earned a B.A. from Antioch College in 1912, and joined the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association [NAWSA] in 1913 as a field organizer. She traveled extensively in the South, campaigning for ratification of the 19th amendment. She also participated in suffrage marches in Washington, DC and New York City. Later, she completed graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, where she was the first woman to earn a doctorate in political science and economics.
After the dissolution of the NAWSA, Ms. Engle helped establish the National League of Women Voters. From 1920 to 1936, she served as the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Maryland, and she remained a faithful member of the local League in Montgomery County until her death.
In 1930, Ms. Engle ran successfully for the Maryland House of Delegates where she became the first woman elected to the House from Montgomery County. She was also the first woman to serve as County Commissioner. In 1936, President Roosevelt appointed her to the Social Security Board, and she served as an official of the Social Security Administration until her retirement in 1964.
After her retirement, Ms. Engle continued to serve Montgomery County as a member of the Commission for Aging and was its representative to the White House Conference on Aging. She died in 1979 at the age of 87. In 1989, she was posthumously inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.
Who was Judith B. Heimann?
Judith Bartmann Heimann was among the founders of the Lavinia Engle Scholarship Fund. She led our Board for many years, and was deeply committed to our mission of enabling women to achieve a college education. Each year, we award one or more Judith B. Heimann Memorial Scholarships to applicants who demonstrate exceptional academic ability and have significant need.
Judith Bartmann Heimann was born and raised in Germany and emigrated after World War II with her husband Ernest, who predeceased her by many years. After graduating from the University of Arizona with a degree in bacteriology, she became active in civic and political pursuits, holding offices in the League of Women Voters and serving as a Commissioner on the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and Chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Appeals.
Judith died on August 13, 2018, at the age of 97, at her Bethesda home where she raised her family and lived more than half her life.
Officers and Board Members
Officers
Marli Heimann Pasternak, President
Linna Barnes, Treasurer
Tedi Osias, Secretary
Judy Morenoff, Scholarship Committee Chair
Directors
Nancy Bliss
Shirley Brandman
Marsha Corley
Diane Hibino
Nancy Kopp
Lisa Morenoff