In starting and growing her leasing business, Leezee had become very aware of the inequality of being a woman in a "man's" business. Banks paid little attention to her requests for lines of credit and loans in the beginning, and it was tough getting the money to grow. 

One day Leezee got a visit from two ladies who had the same problem and their timing could not have been better. She had just been turned down by the only bank where she had any leverage and she was “hopping mad!” Leezee recalls, “it was very clear that they turned me down because I was young and female and in their words, ‘could not possibly succeed!’" There two women, who were named Dixie Pemberton and Nancy Felipe Russo, had contemplated starting the first nationally Chartered Women's Bank in the nation. Someone had given them Leezee’s name and they had come to see if she was interested in joining them.  The answer was a resounding, YES!

That began a fascinating learning experience of it's own! The ladies had a great advantage in that John Heimann had come to Washington to be Comptroller of the Currency from being Comptroller in NY. While in NY he had watched a group of well-intended women fail to get their charter, so he was well-versed in the issues that made so many women feel discriminated against in the banking world. He was a good guide to Leezee and her two co-founders as we applied for a national charter. Leezee became one of the three founders of The Women's National Bank and a Director for several years, helping the bank to grow. It eventually became the Adam's National Bank and years later merge with another bank in West Virginia.

Left to right: Cathy Douglas, Leezee Porter, Fritz Korth, and Bill Henry.

Treasury Under Secretary Bette Anderson smiles after cutting ribbon of two-dollar bills to open the Women's National Bank of Washington.