Uploaded November 2018 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
Sonia Pressman Fuentes is the recipient of the 2018 Secular Student Alliance Backbone Award. The Backbone Award is given each year to an individual who exemplifies the secular humanist values that SSA stands for and has set an example with their life of activism.
Sonia Pressman Fuentes was born in Berlin, German, and immigrated, first to Belgium and then to the United States, when she was just a child, as she and her family fled the holocaust.
She later graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University in 1950 and first in her class at the University of Miami School of Law in 1957. She had a 36-year career as an attorney and executive with the federal government and multinational corporations. She was the first women attorney at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s and drafted several of its initial landmark guidelines and decisions. In addition to being one of the founders of NOW, she was also a co-founder of the Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL) and Federally Employed Women (FEW). In November 1996, Betty Friedan presented her with the Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) Medal of Honor in recognition of her efforts to improve the status of women.
She is the author of Eat First —You Don’t Know What They’ll Give You. Since her retirement in 1993, she has pursued an active career as a writer and public speaker.
She is joined on stage by her colleague, Patricia Ireland, a labor attorney and former president of NOW.
Like what you see? Consider becoming a supporter of the Secular Student Alliance! The SSA is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit that relies on the generous support of individuals. Go to secularstudents.org/donate for more information on how you can support secular students.
Sonia Pressman Fuentes is the recipient of the 2018 Secular Student Alliance Backbone Award. The Backbone Award is given each year to an individual who exemplifies the secular humanist values that SSA stands for and has set an example with their life of activism.
Sonia Pressman Fuentes was born in Berlin, German, and immigrated, first to Belgium and then to the United States, when she was just a child, as she and her family fled the holocaust.
She later graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University in 1950 and first in her class at the University of Miami School of Law in 1957. She had a 36-year career as an attorney and executive with the federal government and multinational corporations. She was the first women attorney at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s and drafted several of its initial landmark guidelines and decisions. In addition to being one of the founders of NOW, she was also a co-founder of the Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL) and Federally Employed Women (FEW). In November 1996, Betty Friedan presented her with the Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) Medal of Honor in recognition of her efforts to improve the status of women.
She is the author of Eat First —You Don’t Know What They’ll Give You. Since her retirement in 1993, she has pursued an active career as a writer and public speaker.
She is joined on stage by her colleague, Patricia Ireland, a labor attorney and former president of NOW.
Like what you see? Consider becoming a supporter of the Secular Student Alliance! The SSA is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit that relies on the generous support of individuals. Go to secularstudents.org/donate for more information on how you can support secular students.
