Without a doubt - my Mom.  She was a strong, independent and wise woman.  She taught me to be compassionate along with everything I do each day.  She was truly a wonderful woman and way ahead of her time. I miss her each day.

I would say Oprah Winfrey.

Her talk show was the first that truly spoke to the issues that are important to us as women. She was the first to show race, age, weight, economics were merely superficial, that we as women are bound by all of these factors and more. Emotionally we all deal with the same "stuff" in our lives that derive from childhood experiences to love relationships, work, etc.

She challenged us to think outside the box and embrace books as a way of socializing and learning at the same time. Yes, book clubs existed before Oprah ever uttered the phrase, but she took that idea to a grand level. She helped us embrace the art of "paying it forward" and encouraged millions of people to take to the street and give in creative ways.

Through her magazine, movies she produced and radio shows she went beyond fluff and addressed deep and heady subjects. And it is because of her vast wealth she was able to back others who are now influential to the world (Dr. Oz, Rachelle Ray, Dr. Phil to name a few). Without her production team and personal support, would they be the household names we know them to be? And for me personally, she made it okay to go from fat to thin and back and forth in both worlds without beating myself up about it. 

She is an inspiration to millions and millions of women (and men) and has definitely had a tangible affect on the world around her. I have always used this as a gauge when determining the importance of a person…their value. "What would life had been like if this person had not done this or that?" If the answer is there would have been a huge void, that’s when you know they did indeed make a difference. 

All 3 of my children—my first born daughter, my second born daughter with Downs Syndrome that passed away at 29 and my last born son.  Without them I would be nothing,

Former First Lady  now Secretary of State Hillary Cliinton.

And alright Cagney and Lacey.

I cannot name just one, but I will start with Rosa Parks (when we stand, stand for something, the start of America coming together as ONE), Maya Angelou (words that inspired, encouraged, strengthen, holding your head up high thru the storms), Barbara Walters (breaking down and thru the barriers, sharing her knowledge with us), Oprah Winfrey (bringing insight and understanding of relationships and differences of cultures, helping women to understand their emotions, and showing us how to survived life challenges, letting us know we are not along), Hillary Clinton (Strength under Fire), Whoppie Goldberg (teaching us how to laugh,  how we can succeed and rise above those "images" that our society set… she have contribute to all women having high confidence in themselves especially Black Women, Thank-you Whoppie).