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