The first design schools in America were founded by women, for women. "The Women Who Founded RISD" introduces the remarkable women who founded the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, RI, USA, in a second wave, 140 years ago, because they believed in the power of design to effect change. The challenges these women overcame tell a timely tale as we continue to discuss how to empower women for a changing tech-driven workplace. It provides backstory for the current mandate to embrace STEAM education. This volume is part of a series based on Nancy Austin's 2009 Brown University PhD thesis on the women who founded RISD; it was one of the first United States dissertations to look at the history of design education and the entwined histories of art, design, engineering, and entrepreneurship.