March is Women’s History Month, and all month long, News4JAX is sharing the stories of local women who have inspired and educated future generations.
From cancer research to architecture to engineering, this week’s featured women led their respective fields.
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Vickie Cavey
Vickie Cavey, who grew up in Jacksonville and graduated from Sandalwood High School, earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida.
Cavey started at JEA in 1984 as one of the utility’s first female engineers. She later became an administrator in 1996 and served in that role until her retirement in 2016.
Cavey returned to JEA in 2020 as a special assistant to then-interim CEO Paul McElroy.
She came back again in 2024 as interim CEO, following Jay Stowe’s resignation.
Five months into the role, JEA’s board decided to cancel a nationwide search for a new CEO and instead made Cavey the utility’s first ever permanent female CEO.
Anna Kingsley
Anna Kingsley was a princess in Africa who was captured and sold into slavery at age 13 in the early 1800s. Zephaniah Kingsley brought her back to what was Spanish Florida at the time.
Anna eventually became one of Zephaniah’s four wives -- and they had two children. Zepaniah freed Anna and her children when Anna turned 18.
Anna went on to own property in her own right as a free woman in 1813. The Spanish government awarded her 5 acres of land in Mandarin.
The family lived on Kingsley Plantation on Fort George Island from 1814 to 1837. It is now a historic site open to visitors.
Anna and some of her family fled to Haiti after the United States took control of Florida.
Delores Barr Weaver
Delores Barr Weaver has been married to her husband Wayne Weaver since 1955. The two were the first-ever owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars when the city was awarded the team in 1993.
The Weavers later sold the team to current owner Shad Khan.
Delores Barr Weaver is also the founder of the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center, which contributes philanthropically to local projects.
And she is the chairwoman and CEO of the Jaguars Foundation, which grants over $1 million to help disadvantaged youth.
Dr. Shala Masood
Dr. Masood is a Persian-born physician and researcher at the University of Florida College of Medicine, where she is a professor and chair in the college’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
She is also the medical director of the UF Health Jacksonville Breast Center.
Masood is an internationally recognized expert in breast cancer diagnosis and prognosis and has received many awards and much recognition for her scientific work.
She is highly respected for the contributions she has made to advancing global breast health education and improving the quality of breast health care.
Since 2000, Masood has hosted an annual public forum on breast health. The free event brings breast health education to some of Jacksonville’s most medically underserved communities.
The forum takes place in October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month each year.
Henrietta Cuttino Dozier
Henrietta Cuttino Dozier was born in Fernandina Beach in 1872.
In 1899, she was the only woman to graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Architectural Program.
Dozier eventually moved her architecture practice to Jacksonville in 1914, making her the city’s first professionally-trained woman architect.
One of her most recognizable local works is the Old Federal Reserve Bank, which has stood at 424 North Hogan Street since 1924.
She was the first Southern woman admitted to the American Institute of Architects and was an early advocate for sustainable, affordable housing.
