Ercilia Pepin

Ercilia Pepín (December 7, 1886 – June 14, 1939) was a teacher, feminist, and equal rights activist in the Dominican Republic. She dedicated herself to the welfare and preservation of the Dominican nation through education.

Early life Ambrosia Ercilia Pepín Estrella was born on December 7, 1886, in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros. She was the daughter of Don Jose Pepín and Edelmira Estrella. Through her father, she was related to the political and military figure Pedro "Perico" Pepín, right hand man of President Ulises Heureaux.

In 1891, when Pepín was five years old, her mother died and her father's involvement in the Dominican political struggles of the late 19th century between conservatives and liberals led her to live with her grandmother Carlota Alvarez in the village of Marilópez, on the outskirts of San- tiago. However, her grandmother's dire financial situation led to Pepín moving to live with Dolores Báez in the Nibaje neighbourhood of Santiago, where she lived for the rest of her life. She began her formal studies at the age of eight, in 1894, when she entered the first year of basic education. Her family was prominent in the political circles of the country, which led to Pepín received basic lessons in social studies, math, French, physics and other disciplines.

Pepín drafted a letter protesting the occupation of the Dominican Republic which was signed by hundreds of women before being sent to the U.S. Senate Committee studying the situation on the island. In the San Carlos area of La Romana, a street bears her name.

The Ercilia Pepín Parent Leadership Institute at New York's Children’s Aid community school in Washington Heights has offered adult high school graduation equivalent classes in English and Spanish for over twenty years.