Cora Bussey Hillis was a child welfare advocate. Her work advanced children's health care, education, and the juvenile justice system in Iowa. She was admitted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1976. Hillis Elementary School in Des Moines, Iowa, was named for her.

The Iowa Women's Hall of Fame was created to acknowledge the accomplishments of female role models associated with the U.S. state of Iowa, and is an endeavor of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW).