Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (District 45, Woodland Hills) hosted a special awards ceremony on Dec. 1 recognizing achievements and contributions of 13 individuals and organizations who helped to make the San Fernando Valley a better place to live over the past year.
The honorees included activists, civic and community leaders, educators and small business owners. Gabriel presented special California state legislature resolutions acknowledging their community work in San Fernando Valley.
The 2022 honorees
– Pierre Arreola, co-founder of GR818ERS, 2022 Mentor of the Year
– Marc Berkman and Ed Peisner, CEO and national director of education for Organization for Social Media Safety, 2022 Nonprofit of the Year
– Abbie and Reggie Cua, owners of Cafe Aficionado, 2022 Small Business of the Year
– Adnan Hamid, board member for the Dawoodi Bohra community of Los Angeles, 2022 Community Volunteer of the Year
– Dina Kimmel, founder of We Rock the Spectrum Kids Gym and My Brother Rocks the Spectrum Foundation, 2022 Woman of the Year
– Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi (M.T.O.) Shahmaghsoudi, 2022 Community Heroes of the Year
– Dale and Monique Mascari, owners of Grocery Outlet — Canoga Park, 2022 Businesspersons of the Year
– Serena Oberstein, CEO at Jewish World Watch, 2022 Activist of the Year
– Planned Parenthood Health Center — Canoga Park, 2022 Community Heroes of the Year
– El Proyecto del Barrio, 2022 Community Heroes of the Year
– Wendy Wooten, PhD, teacher at Reseda Charter High School, 2022 Educator of the Year
– Diana Weynand, chair of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of Climate Reality Project, 2022 Environmentalist of the Year
– Mike Young, political and organizing director of EnviroVoters, 2022 Environmentalist of the Year
The ceremony took place at the Local Peasant in Woodland Hills.
Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, local office number 818-346-4521, a45.asmdc.org/.