Mar 27, 20235 min
Updated: Apr 7, 2023
CA Legislative Women’s Caucus Celebrates Women’s History Month Honoring CA Women Making Herstory
SACRAMENTO – The California Legislative Women’s Caucus (LWC) acknowledged March as Women’s History Month, celebrating California women from every legislative district for their “herstory” making actions.
The Caucus’s California Women Making Herstory floor ceremony honors women selected by each member of the Assembly and Senate, as well as give special recognition to three record-breakers: Dr. Sonya Christian, newly appointed permanent chancellor of the California Community College system; Mayor Karen Bass, first woman elected Mayor of Los Angeles; and California secretary of state, Dr. Shirley Weber, first African-American woman elected as California’s Secretary of State.
The origins of Women’s History Month can be traced to 1977 when the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women launched a Woman’s History Week. The concept caught national attention, and in 1987 Congress officially declared March as Woman’s History Month to recognize the accomplishments of women who have launched innovations in every sector and made significant improvements to every field of American life but whose stories have been often untold or buried.
Extending this theme, the Legislative Women’s Caucus this year has branded its floor ceremony, “California Women Making Herstory,” giving every member of the Legislature the opportunity to honor a ‘herstory’ maker from their District, as well as to recognize three recent women’s herstory recordbreakers: Chancellor Christian, Mayor Bass and Secretary Weber.
Chancellor Christian is the first woman to be named a permanent Chancellor of California’s statewide Community College system, which serving 1.7 million students, is the largest higher education system in the country.
Mayor Bass, the first woman elected Mayor of Los Angeles, won her post by a 10% margin and received the highest number of votes of any mayoral candidate in LA history.
Following her initial gubernatorial appointment, Dr. Shirley Weber was elected in November to a full term as California’s first Black woman Secretary of State.
“The Legislative Women’s Caucus is proud to be honoring women from throughout the state who are making substantial contributions to science, technology, commerce, arts, culture and civic life. We are also thrilled to recognize our three ‘herstory’ recordbreakers, Chancellor Christian, Mayor Bass and Secretary Weber, who are constant reminders that when women are in roles that allow them to fully utilize their skills and talents on our behalf, we all benefit.” said LWC Chair, Senator Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley.
Locally in the Central Valley, Senator Shannon Grove, of District 12, selected Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp as her 2023 Woman of the Year. She was selected for her tireless dedication to justice and for bringing awareness to the critical issues that impact the Central Valley, most recently, for her efforts on educating our communities and youth across the state about the dangers of fentanyl.
“... In our Capitol building, we celebrate amazing women from each Assembly and Senate District who are working day in and day out to make their communities and our Golden State better. These women brought their own chair to the decision-making table and for that, we commend them. Their dedication and tenacity has inspired and changed our communities,” said LWC Vice Chair, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters.
The Senate and Assembly floor sessions commenced with the reading and passage of Senate Resolution #2 and House Resolution #17, commemorating Women’s History Month, followed by each member accompanying their California Woman Making Herstory honoree on the floor of their respective chamber to receive a certificate of recognition.
A list of all the honorees by district follows:
LWC Sonya Christian, Ph.D.
SD 1 Marjeanne Stone
SD 2 Abby Abinanti
SD 3 Linda Cantey
SD 4 Anamika S. Chand
SD 5 Mana Shooshtari
SD 6 Anne Marie Schubert
SD 7 Janet Frazier
SD 8 La Shelle Dozier
SD 9 Lateefah Simon
SD 10 Rona Popal
SD 11 Mary Y. Jung
SD 12 Lisa A. Smittcamp
SD 13 Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, Ed.D., LCSW
SD 14 Tamara Cobb
SD 15 DeAnna Pursai
SD 16 Lola G. Lerma
SD 17 Celia Moses
SD 18 Martha Zapata
SD 19 Graciela Casillas
SD 20 Maribel Garcia
SD 21 N/A
SD 22 Lizette Salas
SD 23 Barbara Riordan
SD 24 Maryam S. Zar
SD 25 Mary J. Alvord
SD 26 Evelina Fernández
SD 27 Iliana Tavera
SD 28 Karen Bass*
SD 29 Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks
SD 30 Mary Su
SD 31 Yolanda Esquivel
SD 32 Bridgette Moore
SD 33 Lucia Veloz
SD 34 Samantha Maria Soto
SD 35 Karen Bass*
SD 36 Mai Huynh
SD 37 Kate Wheeler
SD 38 Jennifer Ianoale
SD 39 Toluwalaṣé (Laṣé) A. Ajayi, MD
SD 40 Bari Landry Vaz
Lieutenant Governor: Ebony Ava Harper
AD 1 Heather Hadwick
AD 2 Jacque Williams
AD 3 N/A
AD 4 Quirina Orozco
AD 5 Laura Didier
AD 6 Dr. Olivia Kasirye
AD 7 Tanya Kravchuk
AD 8 Naomi Tobias
AD 9 Kathryn Siddle
AD 10 Josefina “Josie” Patria
AD 11 Regina Yin
AD 12 Joanna Paun
AD 13 Karen Rickman
AD 14 Michelle Milam
AD 15 Lori Sanson
AD 16 Deanne Pearn
AD 17 Jian Qing Zhang, DNP, MS, FNP-BC, NEA-BC, FAAN
AD 18 Elaine Brown
AD 19 Alicia Boccellari
AD 20 Aisha Knowles
AD 21 Gloria Rhodes Brown
AD 22 Rosalinda Vierra
AD 23 Dr. Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, EdD, LCSW
AD 24 Connie De Grange
AD 25 Tamara Mozahuani Alvarado
AD 26 Anne Kepner
AD 27 Stephanie Dietz
AD 28 Rosemary Chalmers
AD 29 Jennifer Laine
AD 30 Francisca Arroyo Rosales
AD 31 Genoveva Islas
AD 32 Kelly Habroun
AD 33 Honorable Connie Conway
AD 34 Penny Shubnell
AD 35 Esther Manzano
AD 36 Janette Angulo
AD 37 Terri Maus-Nisich
AD 38 Lynn Edmonds
AD 39 Dr. Aleka Jackson-Jarrell
AD 40 Mary MacAdam
AD 41 Dr. Devorah Lieberman
AD 42 Amy Bernstein
AD 43 Sonia Smith Kang
AD 44 Jane Viar
AD 45 Aisha Little
AD 46 Nina Tassler
AD 47 Dr. Andis Almasi
AD 48 Jenica Morin-Pascual
AD 49 Gay Q. Yuen, Ph.D.
AD 50 Annette Chavez
AD 51 Abbe Land
AD 52 María Brenes
AD 53 Diane Smyers
AD 54 Connie Chung Joe, JD
AD 55 Lillian Wilson
AD 56 Grace Wang Caltabiano
AD 57 Sade Elhawary
AD 58 Priscilla Grijalva
AD 59 Lina Tullberg
AD 60 Lizbeth Magallanes
AD 61 Ahmanise Sanati
AD 62 Maria Mendoza
AD 63 Gale Webb
AD 64 Priscila Coronado
AD 65 Supervisor Janice Hahn
AD 66 Colonel Mia Walsh
AD 67 JoAnna Schilling
AD 68 Martha Rivera
AD 69 Zoe Nicholson
AD 70 Dr. Bhikkhuni Elizabeth Vo
AD 71 Janette Chun
AD 72 Noella Passarelli
AD 73 Dr. Shaista Malik
AD 74 Robbie Calderon Hass
AD 75 Cynthia Elizondo
AD 76 Arcela Nuñez-Alvarez
AD 77 Carol Kim
AD 78 Dr. Wilma J. Wooten
AD 79 California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D.*
AD 80 Josephine S. Talamantez
* Also a 2023 LWC Herstory Recordbreaker