Thirteen women received “Women of the Year” awards from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Commission for Women at their 38th annual Women of the Year Awards and commemorative celebration on Monday, March 13. Under the heading “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories,” they honored 13 women including Karen Bass, the 43rd mayor of the city of Los Angeles and first woman to hold the position. The 13 women were praised for working to better the lives of women across Los Angeles County through social and economic change.
The honorees also included Diana Diaz, creator and founder of Mexichic Crafts, the Goddess Mercado, and the Queer Mercado; Valaria M. Lincoln, retired, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Los Angeles District Office; Emiliana Guereca, founder, Women’s March Foundation; Monica Sanchez, City of Pico Rivera councilmember; Jill Zimmerman, dean of students, Antelope Valley College; Tema Staig, executive director, Women in Media; Erika Toriz, founder and executive director, Haven Services; Naomi Rainey-Person, president, Long Beach Branch NAACP; Luz Flores, director of operations, Women In Non-Traditional Employment Roles; Vivian Ekchian, superintendent, Glendale Unified School District; Andrea Piazza, director of virtual programming, Discovery Behavioral Health; and Muluemebet Alemayehu, immigration attorney.