Born: 15 September 1938, Federated States of Micronesia
Died: 2009
Country most active: Federated States of Micronesia
Also known as: NA
Chuukese women’s rights activist Shinobu Mailo Poll was president of the Federated States of Micronesia’s Chuuk Women’s Council (CWC) from 1997 until her death in 2009. She also helped found the Trukese American Women’s Association in 1960 and the Young Women’s Association in Moen in 1963, and served as president of the Women’s Christian Association of Moen starting in 1975.
After graduating from the Trust Territory School of Nursing in 1958, Poll worked at Chuuk State Hospital and continued her training, including studying clinical nursing at the University of Hawai’i. From 1977 to 1979, she worked with the Red Cross and on disaster planning. She also participated in the World Health Organization’s Epidemiological Surveillance training in 1981. She retired in 1996 after almost four decades in the profession and having risen to the role of Chief Nurse.
During Poll’s dozen-year leadership as president, the CWC and its influence grew. Its micro-grant program enabled women to start small businesses, and its craft shop provided a way for women to sell their work. Poll also ran public health education programs on issues like diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Following her death, Poll’s daughter, Christina Stinnett, followed her as CWC president. In her will, she had left the CWC land that became the site of the organization’s new headquarters, named the Shinobu M. Poll Memorial Center.