Girls Inc. of Carpinteria will celebrate empowering women and girls at its annual Women of Inspiration fundraiser luncheon, noon-1:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, at the organization’s campus, 5315 Foothill Road, Carpinteria.
Keynote speaker will be Tracey Van Houten, a rocket scientist and lead engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
This year’s luncheon will recognize four honorees with the Women of Inspiration 2022 awards: Lynda Fairly, Catherine Brozowski with the Audacious Foundation, and Mercedes Millington and Susan Torrey with the Mithun Foundation.
In her nearly two decades at JPL, Van Houten worked on the Perseverance and Curiosity Mars rover missions, an Earth Science mission called SMAP, and more than 100 conceptual space missions.
Currently the Europa Clipper System Testbed lead engineer at JPL, Van Houten calls herself a ‘STEMinist’ – an activist, advocate and mentor for women and all those who have been historically excluded from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields.
“Our mission at Girls Inc. is to ignite girls’ potential so they can break through barriers, reach for the stars and accomplish their goals,” said Jamie Collins, Girls Inc. of Carpinteria’s executive director.
“Tracey is a shining example of what it means to be strong, smart, and bold; and her incredible story of discovering a world beyond her own highlights the importance of encouraging girls to dream big and follow their aspirations,” Collins said. “We’re thrilled to have Tracey share her inspiring journey with the community at this year’s luncheon.”
In 2017, Van Houten campaigned to be the first female engineer in the U.S. House of Representatives and currently serves as a State Assembly appointee on California’s Oil Spill and Recovery Technical Advisory Committee. She is a life member of the Society of Women Engineers, a California board member of the National Women’s Political Caucus, and a public-school advocate.
Luncheon tickets are $75 and all proceeds will support Girls Inc. of Carpinteria’s mission to inspire girls to be strong, smart and bold. For more information or to buy tickets, call 805-684-6364 or visit girlsinc-carp.org.