Through much of history, western cultural traditions conditioned women to be compliant and give way. Society labeled women who spoke out, who were independent of male partners, who were not conventionally feminine, who were not domestic goddesses. This session describes the role and value of historical archives and contemporary collections that preserve women’s voices and describe women who intentionally choose paths of their own design, who fulfill their desires and ambitions in ways that were and are unconventional. A panel of archivist-historians explore the primary and secondary resources available in selected Oregon collections that amplify and extend women’s voices and the research that brings the voices of these women into the public space for all to hear.