--- description: "Why don’t women have coins or dollar bills with their faces on it?" title: Exclusive: Read a 9-Year-Old’s Letter to Obama About Putting a Woman on U.S. Currency — and His Response image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt288ea64405fc448d/69878605524fc01d02ded2d0/rrfiwe7cdis7viokbzmrtgwthkvumbxva_lps0q8z6w.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Exclusive: Read a 9-Year-Old's Letter to Obama About Putting a Woman on U.S. Currency — and His Response  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 31, 2015 5:16 PM CUT  Sofia, the girl who wrote to Obama asking him to put a woman on U.S. currency Sofia, the girl who wrote to Obama asking him to put a woman on U.S. currencyCourtesy of Kim B., Sofia's mother  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 31, 2015 5:16 PM CUT The little girl who asked Obama last year why there aren’t any women on U.S. bills has finally gotten a letter back from the President — _and_ she’s invited to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. President Obama made waves last year when he mentioned he had received a letter from a little girl asking him to put some women on U.S. currency, which he called a “[pretty good idea](http://time.com/3066424/if-women-had-their-own-currency-heres-what-it-would-be-worth/ "undefined").” That letter was from Sofia, a Massachusetts girl who was just finishing third grade at the time. “I was studying Ann Hutchinson, who stood up for women’s rights,” she says. “Almost everyone who chose a boy, on their poster they had pictures of different dollar bills or coins with their person on it. So I noticed, why don’t women have coins or dollar bills with their faces on it?” Sofia, now 9, knew immediately what she had to do. “I just came home from school and said, ‘I need to write to the president.’” Sofia’s mother provided her letter exclusively to TIME:  Image courtesy of Kim B., Sofia's mother For a while, Sofia didn’t hear anything back from the President. She says she “sort of forgot about it” until her dad showed her the President had mentioned her letter in a speech. “I was really excited about it, because I thought that maybe it would actually happen,” she says. In the months since Sofia wrote to Obama, a [campaign to put a woman](http://time.com/3747908/the-campaign-to-get-a-woman-on-the-20-bill-is-picking-up-steam/ "undefined") on the $20 bill has gone viral. The [W20](http://www.womenon20s.org/candidates "undefined") movement is hosting an online poll so the public can vote on which woman should replace Andrew Jackson. The group plans to petition Obama and the Treasury Secretary to make it happen. Almost 220,000 people have voted in the online poll so far. And Sofia, who is now in fourth grade, is a junior ambassador for the campaign. **MORE** [10 Countries That Put Women on Cash Before the U.S.](http://time.com/money/3754777/countries-women-currency/?iid=time%5Fspeed "undefined") Even though she’s a longtime fan of Ann Hutchinson, Sofia wants to see Rosa Parks on the $20\. “What she did was really important,” she says. “If it wasn’t for her, we’d still be segregated today.” She got her whole class to vote in the online poll, and her third grade teacher got her class to vote as well. Last month, Sofia finally got a personalized letter back from the President, along with an invitation to attend this year’s White House Easter Egg Roll. Here’s what President Obama wrote to her:  Image courtesy of Kim B., Sofia's mother “The women you listed and drew make up an impressive group,” Obama wrote. “And I must say you’re pretty impressive, too.” “I’ll keep working to make sure you grow up in a country where women have the same opportunities as men, and I hope you’ll stay involved in issues that matter to you,” he continued. “If you keep focusing in school and trying to help others whenever you can, there are no limits to what you can accomplish.” Sofia wants to be a teacher or a scientist when she grows up — after a younger friend was diagnosed with cancer, she decided she wants to study cures. But she also has some advice for other kids her age who want to make a difference. “Write a letter to somebody important,” she says, “because something could happen and it could actually change.” _Read next:_ [_The Campaign to Get a Woman on the $20 Bill Is Picking Up Steam_](http://time.com/3747908/the-campaign-to-get-a-woman-on-the-20-bill-is-picking-up-steam/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ### See Photos of Barack Obama in College  Chance Encounter In 1980, when Obama was a freshman at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he was approached by an aspiring photographer named Lisa Jack, who asked him if he would be willing to pose for some black and white photographs that she could use in her portfolio. Lisa Jack  Handsome Of her first meeting (in a campus eatery) with Obama, Jack remembers only that "He was really cute. But what else does a 20-year-old girl remember?" Lisa Jack  Styled In the photos, Jack says, "You can see he is just posing, initially, but as the shoot goes on, he starts to come out. He was very charismatic even then." Lisa Jack  Prop Jack never realized her dream of becoming a photographer and is now a psychologist. Lisa Jack  Pose Jack and Obama would see each other only a few more times while students. But in 2005, while on a tour, she spotted Obama on Capitol Hill and yelled hello. "He knew exactly who I was after all this time," Jack says. "I was amazed." Lisa Jack  Doubt On a dare from a skeptical friend, Jack decided to track down her negatives from the shoot. Lisa Jack  Searcher Initially, before she dug the film out from her basement, Jack never thought her pictures would have much life beyond her own darkroom. Lisa Jack  Smile When she found them, the images of Obama "blew me away," she says. "I had no idea I'd taken a whole roll of film." Lisa Jack  Charm For a while, Jack put the negatives in a safety-deposit box, so that they could not be used until after the election, when there would be no chance they could be used for a political purpose.  Thoughtful Today, Jack says, she hopes the photos reveal a "spirit of fun and thoughtfulness." Lisa Jack  The Man Who Would Be President "I'm not political," Jack says, "(But) these are historic photos and they should be shared." 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