Sisters in the spotlight - Leah Ward Sears, justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia - Cynthia Bramlett Thompson, Chair of the Girl Scouts of the USA - Charlotte McKines, Director, marketing & communications - Annice Canady. first female college football official - Dr. Toni-Marie Montgomery, Dean of Music, Northwestern University - Jeri Lynne Johnson, Assistant Conductor, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia - Jillian Bullock, filmmaker, wrestler, boxer - Sheryl Swoopes, WNBA star and devoted mother - Yvette Jarvis, Councilwoman, Athens, Greece

WHEN she was 8 and traveling the world with her military family, Leah Ward Sears realized she wanted to be a judge--or the next Thurgood Marshall, or a lawyer for the NAACP. Even as a child, she saw the injustices Black people faced in the justice system, and she wanted to be their next champion.

The little girl memorized Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education and several other pivotal cases involving Blacks and civil rights. From overseas bases, she followed court trials on through the appellate process, and she learned everything she could about the law because she wanted to be involved one day.

Today, Sears sits at her desk in Atlanta, fighting for justice just like Marshall, as a trailblazer. With her appointment and subsequent election to the Supreme Court of Georgia at age 36, she became the first woman and youngest-ever justice in the state's history. And after almost 11 years, the 47-year-old Sears has become the presiding justice, the No. 2 justice on the court, and the next in line to become chief justice.

"I still sometimes find it hard to believe that a Deep South state elected a young, Black female to a statewide office," Sears says. "From where I was sitting in 1963, it's an amazing thing when I look back at it."

Born to a U.S. Army colonel and a school-teacher mother, Sears circled the globe twice before her family settled down in Savannah, Ga., when she was 16. Setting her sights on a law career, she earned a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1976 and a law degree from Emory University in 1980. She stayed in Atlanta, making a name for herself as a trial lawyer before becoming a judge by 30. Two years later, she became the youngest superior court judge in Georgia.

Sears spent five years presiding on that level, winning respect and acclaim for her preparation and practical sense. In 1992, then-Gov. Zell Miller appointed her to the state's high court. She retained the seat after winning a statewide election that July.

Expected to ascend to the chief justice's position in the near future, Sears plans to work toward making the justice system more available and affordable to everyone. After reaching that goal, she says a higher power will direct her.

In the meantime, the wife and mother of two is looking forward to son Addison, 19, graduating from the University of Virginia, daughter Brennan, 16, attending college and, after that, spending more time with her husband, Haskell Sears Ward, a former New York City deputy mayor.

"But I won't retire," she says. "I'll only be 53."

9 SPECIAL WOMEN Who Are Making News, Making History & Making Their Own Statements

Cynthia Bramlett Thompson CHAIR of the Girl Scouts of the USA

Cynthia Bramlett Thompson has been a Girl Scout for long time. As a child, Thompson was a cadette, junior and senior scout. She was a counselor at Girl Scout camp while earning two master's degrees in college, including her MBA. Her own daughter, Sela, was a Girl Scout. So it's no wonder that a woman who has shown such commitment to a group for more than 35 years would eventually get the chance to lead it.

As chair of the national board of directors for the Girl Scouts of the USA, Thompson heads the world's largest girls-only volunteer organization, which has more than 3.7 million members nationwide. She leads a national board that helps guide the New York-based organization, focusing on advocating for girls and providing quality volunteer and other community programming. Thompson's new role also gives her a chance to continue mentoring young women, help set career goals and guide them through the challenges of growing up.

Thompson's leadership skills can be seen through the course of her life. She, along with her husband, Ronald Thompson, started MidWest Stamping Inc., an Ohio-based automotive component manufacturer. In addition to her co-owner duties, Thompson serves as vice president of human resources. Since the company's beginning in 1993, MidWest Stamping has grown to a staff of 580, with more than $130 million in sales.

While helping to build MidWest Stamping into a success, Thompson continued to serve the Girl Scouts on a more professional level. Since 1989, she has served as a board member and vice president in charge of corporate planning for the Greater St. Louis Girl Scouts chapter, and nationally as second vice president of finance, human resources and fund development.

Living in the Toledo, Ohio, area, Thompson, who also has a son, Nance, says she reads and enjoys gardening in her spare time. She even gets in time for exercise.

Just a few months into her three-year stint as chair, Thompson wants to visit as many local chapters as possible and increase dialogue between the national board and the volunteers. She says she hopes that, through the Girl Scouts, she can reach as many young women as possible and help mold the volunteer organization into an even safer and more nurturing environment for adolescent and teenage girls.

Charlotte McKines DIRECTOR, marketing & communications