To mark the conclusion of Women’s History Month, Rep. Salud Carbajal has announced the six winners of the 2019 Congressional Women of the Year Award.

They are Jill Anderson, Lompoc; Tania Israel, Santa Barbara; Dr. Leola Dublin Macmillian, Morro Bay; Yessenia Marroquin, Santa Barbara; Anahi Mendoza, Santa Maria; and Sandi Sigurdson, San Luis Obispo.

The annual Congressional Women of the Year Award honors exceptional women across the 24th Congressional District who have left a positive impact on their communities.

Winners span a variety of backgrounds and professions and represent the thousands of women working to improve quality of life on the Central Coast.  
 
“The recipients of this year’s Congressional Women of the Year Award are all doing incredible work to improve the quality of life on the Central Coast, often without the recognition or compensation they deserve,” Carbajal said.

“From creating spaces for compassion and understanding in our communities, to improving healthcare for our underserved populations, it is a privilege to recognize these trailblazers for their indelible contributions to our community,” he said.
 
Carbajal will recognize the winners by entering a special written tribute for each woman into the official Congressional Record, preserving their stories and their impact on the local community.

Following is a little about each of the honorees.

» Ten years ago, Anderson and her husband founded Shadow’s Fund, an organization to help find homes for senior and difficult-to-adopt dogs. Starting with only a few dogs, they have grown to caring for 42 dogs onsite and even more in foster homes.

Along the way, they established a sanctuary for those dogs, as well as pigs and wild horses.

Anderson has developed programs in the Lompoc community working with with local residents on dog ownership, as well as bringing the community to their sanctuary.

She also created a program to rescue pitbull puppies from backyard breeders, socialize and train the dogs, and make them breed ambassadors. She works 60-70 hours a week as a volunteer for Shadow’s Fund.

» Israel is a professor of counseling psychology at UCSB who has provided leadership in the Santa Barbara community and beyond for decades.

In 2010, she collaborated with several Santa Barbara nonprofits to lead a community-based participatory research project which surveyed the LGBTQ community about their perceptions and concerns.

The project led to a mandatory five-hour workshop on LGBTQ issues for all sworn police officers in the city of Santa Barbara. The workshop almost immediately proved to significantly improve relations between police and the LGBTQ community.

Recently, Israel designed and presented a two-hour interactive workshop, titled Beyond the Bubble, to help participants engage in productive dialogues across political lines by building skills in active listening, managing emotions, and perspective taking.

Hundreds of people in Santa Barbara County have taken advantage of Beyond the Bubble in workshops delivered to the Santa Maria-Lompoc NAACP, Santa Barbara Progressive Coalition, Congregation B’nai B’rith, and a League of Women Voters community forum.

Israel has not charged any of these organizations or their participants for her time and expertise, instead describing the workshop as her offering to the community.

» Macmillian serves on the board of Just Communities Central Coast, is on the steering committee of RACE Matters San Luis Obispo County, and is a member of the SLO Police Department’s Police And Community Together (PACT) community group.

She has been a lecturer at Cal Poly for the Ethnic Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies departments.

Macmillian is invested in making the community a more just and equitable place. She has organized and led workshops on the Central Coast, discussing how difference (in race/class/gender/sexual orientation/(dis)ability) is understood within U.S. contexts.

A keen advocate for her students, Macmillian has been supporting and guiding students in pursuing their own advocacy projects.

Those include helping to organize the UnstoPPable Conference at Cal Poly, and bringing to the attention of SLO City Council the need for improved lighting in neighborhoods surrounding Cal Poly campus.

» Marroquin has been serving the community for 20 years through her work at Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, and she is not even 40 years old.

She came to the U.S. from El Salvador as a child and has excelled ever since due to her intelligence, perseverance and good nature. She began at SBNC in college as a volunteer.

Over the years, she has worked as a  medical assistant, clinic manager and now serves as the director of operations. She is an unsung hero of SBNC, according to her colleagues.

Marroquin has remained dedicated and calm through multiple challenges and the clinic almost shutting its doors. Through it all, Yessenia and her warm smile were a beacon for its employees and patients.

She has led numerous initiatives at SBNC that have resulted in better patient care, coordination with other community partners, and ensuring SBNC is meeting the needs of the Hispanic community.

» After graduating from Harvard University, and working two years on immigration cases in New York City, Mendoza realized the city she grew up in, Santa Maria, is largely populated by Hispanic agriculture people many who are immigrants at risk of being deported and separated from their families.

Starting with her passion for civil rights and immigration law coupled with the help of generous donors, Mendoza founded the Santa Barbara County immigrant Legal Defense Center, which has been helping many immigrant families in the community.

Mendoza has been conducting Know Your Rights presentations in Santa Barbara County so immigrants are informed of their rights should they encounter Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

She has worked extensively to create community clinics to screen individuals for immigration relief, assess their criminal record, and determine whether they have a final order of deportation.

She works alongside pro-bono attorneys in the area to help immigrant individuals in detention centers. Thanks to Mendoza’s efforts, she is making a huge impact within the Hispanic community on the Central Coast.

» Sigurdson’s commitment to community, to professional excellence, and to the hard work that creates meaningful change has served the Central Coast, especially its women, well.

Her early concerns about the environment moved her from the hospitality industry into a senior position with the then-fledgling ECO SLO. She grew the organization in visibility and prominence, creating mainstream awareness of environmental issues.

Sigurdson’s management abilities and love of music led her next to the San Luis Obispo Symphony, where for 15 years she managed an award-winning organization that made its way to Carnegie Hall and concert performances in Europe; spawned a youth symphony; and brought music to the masses, especially to young children.

She mentored her young female employees, many of whom today hold executive positions throughout the country.

For the last eight years as executive director of Leadership SLO, Sigurdson has taken her talents to a larger stage. She is first to raise her hand when help is needed, proud to speak up on topics needing a voice, and always keeps the greater in her sight.

— Tess Whittlesey for Rep. Salud Carbajal.