About

Who was Elizabeth Kates?

Elizabeth Kates was the first female warden in Virginia, beginning with an inmate population of 13. Her 30-year VCCW career lasted from 1934 to 1964. A woman ahead of her time, Kates believed that inmates in prison could benefit from personal growth, and by learning the necessary job skills to become productive members of the community after paying their debt to society.

As the prison population grew and needs changed, Kates called upon the members of the Richmond Alumnae Club of Pi Beta Phi and other community members to help her meet the growing needs for vocational training and education. That group quickly took action to support those needs, with the ultimate goal for inmates to make the reentry into society after incarceration a successful one. Thus began The Elizabeth Kates Foundation in 1942.

Upon her death in 1965, Kates bequeathed monies to The Elizabeth Kates Foundation to continue her life’s work into the future.