The Lompoc-Vandenberg branch of the American Association of University Women will host a virtual ChangeMakers meeting at 7 p.m. March 18.
The dual-language event will recognize women who are leaders, especially women of color. It will celebrate the significant positive changes they make in their communities.
AAUW — in collaboration with the Allan Hancock College student government — seeks to honor these ChangeMakers and inspire the next generation.
The ChangeMakers celebration will feature keynote speakers such as Dolores Huerta and state Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara.
Ms. Huerta is the founder and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation and co-founder of the United Farm Workers Group. Her many awards include The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S.
Sen. Limón was born and raised in the Legislature’s 19th District, which includes all of Santa Barbara County and half of Ventura County. She has worked as an educator, leader and an advocate for various causes.
Ms. Huerta and Sen. Limón will share their stories of making change and then answer questions from the audience.
The ChangeMakers celebration will also include a live performance from singer songwriters and students Azyiah, Amia and Maliah Simmons.
The Simmons Sisters, all of whom attended Lompoc High School in 2019-20, were the winners of the Hamilton Education contest and were featured on ABC’s “Good Morning, America.” They were also nominated for the 2021 Lompoc Peace Prize for their work.
“AAUW believes it is important to recognize the significance that women leaders, especially women of color, have had in making positive change in our nation, state and communities. We wanted to celebrate and highlight women leaders as ChangeMakers, hence the name of the celebration,” said Pam Buchanan, president of the Lompoc-Vandenberg Branch of AAUW.
“Our branch believes it was vital to bring these ChangeMakers to our communities in order to hear their stories and to inspire us all to be ChangeMakers in our own way.”
The free event will be live via Zoom from 7 to 8 p.m. March 18. To register, go to lompocvandenberg-ca.aauw.net.
Learn more at www.aauw.org.
email: gfall@newspress.com
