THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Sr. Teresita Hinnegan, CNM
July 18, 1927 – February 10, 2020
“I get a little impatient with a lot of talk and no action!”
A strong women’s rights advocate and a tireless proponent for the well-being of women and humanity. RN, nurse-midwife and hospital administrator. Helped form the Maternity Care Coalition, PA. Taught at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Established a long-distance learning program for rural midwives. Co-founded Dawn’s Place, a safe home for exploited women and opened the Center for the Empowerment of Women and Girls. Became the first religious sister to offer the opening invocation at a session of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, an honor usually reserved for ordained clergy members, 2013.

More About Sr. Teresita:
- Obituary, Social justice giant Sister Teresita Hinnegan
- Statement on the passing of Sr. Teresita Hinnegan, CNM, American College of Nurse-Midwives.
- On a Mission: The Life and Legacy of Sister Teresita Hinnegan, Greater Good Media
- “Safe house a doorway to recovery for prostitutes,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 2012.
- “Dawn’s light for ladies of the night,” Dawn’s Place, by Julie Shaw, December 2007
- Dawn’s Place website
- Maternity Care Coalition