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"Let us resolve to invest in today’s adolescent girls so that tomorrow they can stand strong as citizens, political leaders, entrepreneurs, heads of their households and more. This will secure their rights and our common future." -Ban Ki-moon, Secretary- General United Nations.

In celebration of International Day of the Girl, let's take a look at three women who helped shape the National Park Service. Please meet Mardy Murie, Betty Reid Soskin and Titus Putnam. Three girls who grew into three leaders.

Margaret Thomas "Mardy" Murie (top left photo) was a naturalist, author, adventurer, and conservationist. She was born August 18, 1902  and passed away October 19, 2003. Dubbed the "Grandmother of the Conservation Movement" by both the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society, she helped in the passage of the Wilderness Act, and was instrumental in creating the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She was the recipient of the Audubon Medal, the John Muir Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom which is the highest civilian honor awarded by the United States.

Betty Reid Soskin (bottom left photo) is a current Park Ranger with the National Park Service, assigned to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. As of May 19, 2016, at age 94, she is the oldest National Park Ranger serving the United States. Betty joined the National Park Service at 85 years old. She conducts park tours and serves as an interpreter, explaining the Park's purpose, history, various sites, and museum collections to park visitors. She has been celebrated as: "a tireless voice for making sure the African-American wartime experience – both the positive steps toward integration and the presence of discrimination – has a prominent place in the Park's history".

Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam (right photo) is an American conservationist who in 2010 won the second highest civilian award, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and was the first conservationist to have ever won the honor. She founded the Student Conservation Association in 1957 and served as its President until 1990. Ms. Putnam graduated from Miss Porter's School in 1952 and from Vassar in 1955. She currently resides in Shaftsbury, Vermont, and the Vermont legislature passed act R-107 in her honor.

Three wonderful women who changed the world in their own way. =]:)