In Celebration of Santa Fe Native Nina Otero-Warren

Adelina (Nina) Otero-Warren’s incredible impact on history and contribution to the suffrage movement is being nationally recognized as she becomes the fourth woman featured on the U.S. quarter as part of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters™ program.    

“Nina Otero-Warren knew how important it is that public officials represent the populations they serve. I am proud to lead a state where that representation really matters, and where we see that representation at every level of leadership,” said Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. “Her selection as one of the women to be featured on U.S. currency is well deserved, and I hope her story serves as inspiration to Hispanic girls and women around the country to continue to ensure our voices are heard.” 

Otero-Warren, the first Hispanic woman to run for U.S. Congress and the first female superintendent of public schools in Santa Fe, was a leader in New Mexico’s women’s suffrage movement. She emphasized the necessity of using Spanish in the suffrage fight to reach Hispanic women and spearheaded the lobbying effort to ratify the 19th Amendment in New Mexico. She strove to improve education for all New Mexicans, working especially to advance bicultural education and to preserve cultural practices among the state’s Hispanic and Native American communities. Learn more here. 

The National Women’s History Museum and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative serve as consultants to the Mint for the American Women Quarters Program. The Nina Otero-Warren Quarter is the fourth coin in the program, following Maya Angelou, Dr. Sally Ride, and Wilma Mankiller. 

This press release and all others distributed by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs can be found here https://media.newmexicoculture.org/releases.