Gov. Ron DeSantis has named Belle Yates Bear, Mary Brickell and Dotti Groover-Skipper as the 2025 inductees into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame.
Each year, the Florida Commission on the Status of Women recommends nominees for the honor and the governor selects three inductees to recognize for their significant contributions to the state.
Groover-Skipper, of Tampa, is an advocate against human trafficking. She is the anti-trafficking director at The NOMORE Foundation and chairs the SAFE Alliance of Tampa Bay. She founded the HeartDance Foundation and has helped shape state and national anti-trafficking policies. In 2024, she received both a Lifetime Achievement Award from Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister and the Women Who Win Award from Tampa Bay Business and Wealth magazine.
Bear, of Pensacola, is a philanthropist and principal of the Bear Family Foundation. She co-founded IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area, which awards grants to nonprofits, and has served on numerous boards including the YMCA of Northwest Florida and the Arc Gateway Foundation. She also founded PALS, a workforce development initiative for people with disabilities, and has received multiple honors for community service including the Florida Senate Presidential Medal.
Brickell, who died in 1922, is considered one of the co-founders of Miami and is often called the “Mother of Miami.” In the late 1800s, she and her husband played a key role in the city’s early development, opening the first post office, bank and general store, and later helping to bring Henry Flagler’s railroad to the region.
Photo caption: Dotti Groover-Skipper accepts her 2024 Women Who Win Award from TBBW.