By Elise Devlin
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
With March being Women’s History Month, the Baltimore County Government hosted through Facebook Live three conversations with female leaders to capture their challenges, successes and achievements, and to discuss the importance of equity.
Sandra Kurtinitis, president of Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), Baltimore County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins and Maj. Gen. Linda L. Singh all agreed that women are capable of great achievements and bring a different perspective to jobs and all other assignments given to them.
In the 1970s, Kurtinitis said she had a poster hanging on her classroom door at Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) with the quote, “Well-behaved women seldom make history” plastered on the front of it.
“That quote represents edginess and passion, and many felt that it showed ‘by darn we were good at what we did,’ and other people knew about it, rather than quietly sitting in the corner and waiting to be recognized,” said Kurtinitis.
Before moving up the ranks as a community college professional, Kurtinitis earned a bachelor’s degree in British Literature from Misericordia University, a master’s in British Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park and a doctorate in American Civilization from George Washington University.
Kurtinitis left PGCC to work at CCBC in 2005 and has been there since. Her presence as president has played a major role in shifting the institution’s focus to students over everything else.
In an interview with The Baltimore Watchdog, Kurtinitis touched on the gradual increase in women holding powerful positions, and the importance of their perspectives.
“I consider myself and my colleagues of the time of the women’s movement pioneers,” Kurtinitis said. “We were creating new forms of higher education that came out. I think of myself as a pioneer today because we are working to create the 21st Century college, for all students and all jobs.”
Bevins, who has represented Councilmanic District 6 since Dec. 6, 2010, said county residents have benefited greatly from the perspective she has brought to the County Council.
“It’s not that one is smarter than the other, we just have a different perspective,” Bevins told The Baltimore Watchdog. “Sometimes I have changed my mind listening to the men bring their points up, but I like to think I have changed their minds in some ways as well.”
Bevins pointed to the role she played in the council’s decision to require background checks for all Baltimore volunteers upon joining the County Council.
“Because I am a female, a mother and a grandmother,” Bevins said, “I have to think about that, and so do women everywhere. With an all-male council and no females, these types of things are not thought about or pushed forward.”
Bevins is from Dundalk but now lives in Middle River with her husband. The couple has four grown children. She worked as the Constituent Services Coordinator in the Office of former County Executive James T. Smith Jr. 2004-2010, before running for the County Council. Bevins said spending her entire life in Maryland is why she has a soft spot for this community.
Bevins explained that because of the boldness of women in the past to take on roles meant for men, this new generation of women will only know those positions as something meant for anyone.
“I wish there were more women than just me, but it does send a message that you can do this,” Bevins said. “Any young girls growing up now, this will be normal for them. I’m in my 60s, and I never thought this was going to happen. The more we have in office, the more little girls and even older women can dream about making a difference.”
Singh, the 29th Adjutant General of Maryland, talked during an hour-long Facebook Live chat about the many hardships she suffered while pursuing her career. However, she acknowledged that the hardships shaped her character and contributed to the determination she possessed to achieve success.
Singh was born in rural Western Maryland, and lived with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in an old, cramped four-room house in Urbana of Frederick County for the first eight years of her life.
“All of the women in my family worked,” said Singh. “They had to work to make ends meet so when you grow up in that environment, you just assume life is that way.”
It was through this environment Singh said she developed the mindset to keep moving forward in life, even when things do not go your way.
Singh was appointed as the 29th Adjutant General of Maryland on Jan. 21, 2015, responsible for the daily operations of the Maryland Military Department. She was a senior advisor to the governor, responsible for the readiness, administration, and training of more than 6,700 members of the Military Department.
“Women’s History Month provides an important opportunity to highlight the critical contributions women have made throughout our history and to share their stories to help inspire the next generation of women leaders — including my young daughter,” said Johnny Olszewski, Baltimore County Executive.
Olszewski said more still needs to be done to empower women in Baltimore County and across the country.
“Women lead in a certain way,” said Bevins. “We do it with our heart and our head, and it makes a difference.”