FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Marin Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2020 Announced (Marin, CA, November 25, 2019) YWCA San Francisco and Marin is pleased to announce five extraordinary women who will be inducted into the 2020 Marin Women’s Hall of Fame. The community is invited to attend the induction celebration on Thursday, March 26, 2020. This inspiring group of honorees share characteristics of passion, dedication, wit and hard work, and through their actions, have demonstrated their drive to ensure the progress and well-being of Marin’s citizens. Tickets to the induction celebration may be purchased at bit.ly/MWHF2020 and more information can be found on our website at www.mwhf.org Before the start of Marin Women's Hall of Fame, virtually no records of women's achievements had been recorded in Marin County. In its mission to empower women and eliminate racism, YWCA San Francisco and Marin stewards this annual event, ensuring a legacy for future generations that documents not only successes, but also represents a diverse sisterhood of women supporting each other, standing together and moving the needle on progress for all women. Today, more than 150 women have been recognized for their outstanding achievements and contributions to Marin County and beyond. Please join us in welcoming and congratulating the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame 2020 Honorees: ? Patricia Kendall, Medical Group Administrator, Kaiser Permanente ? Dr. Eva Long, Ph.D., Founder, President and CEO, Center for Longevity Transition & Renewal ? Tamra Peters, Founder & Executive Director, Resilient Neighborhoods ? Amy Reisch, Executive Director, First 5 Marin ? Cecilia Zamora, Executive Director, Latino Council BIOS LISTED BELOW Patricia Kendall Medical Group Administrator, Kaiser Permanente Pat Kendall is the Medical Group Administrator for Kaiser Permanente in Marin and Southern Sonoma County. Pat's leadership position is operational, strategic, financial, quality, care, service experience, people and community. Her guiding philosophies are patient, family, physician and staff focused. She often speaks of seeking Health Care as one of the most intimate things we do in life. In addition, Pat believes in building a healthy community with an upstream emphasis focused across the spectrum of Prevention, recognizing the impact of the social determinants of health. Creating a healthy work place fortified by value and respect and engaging the leader in all levels of staff is a lifelong endeavor. Pat holds degrees in Nursing, Business, Organizational Development, Human Resources and Leadership. She has completed post graduate work at UC Berkeley and Stanford University. Pat is presently on the boards of North Bay Leadership Council, North Bay Children Center, Healthy Marin Partnership, School to Career Partnership, Marin Economic Forum, Hospice and the Agricultural Institute of Marin. Pat was the recent recipient of both the North Bay Leadership Award for Leadership and the North Bay Children’s Center’s Champion for Children in 2012. She was also the San Rafael Citizen of the Year, 2013 and the 2016 Woman of the Year for Marin County, awarded by Senator Mike McGuire and the 2017 North Bay Leadership Council “Women of Industry” honoree. Dr. Eva Long, Ph.D. Founder, President and CEO, Center for Longevity Transition & Renewal Eva Long, Ph.D., is a public schools educated native Californian, a daughter of immigrants, and her primary language was Chinese. Her father was an immigrated “merchant” who returned to Canton and married Eva’s mother, a hospital doctor. Eva’s father returned to California for work, leaving his pregnant wife in Canton, and thus her mother became a single working parent for Eva’s early years. Ten years later, Eva’s family was finally reunited when they immigrated to Angel Island. Eva lived as a typical child until she was 7 years old. In the 1940’s, a rare deadly bone disease was diagnosed and was working its way through Eva’s body. Two major surgeries and recuperation years ensued. Eva accepted her destiny for every day alive. Her parents and doctors were always supportively protective of her physical limitations as a physician’s “poster child” case. Eva was driven by purpose, ethics and morals, and God’s will. In challenging times, she developed resiliency, independence, self-determination, and never lost hopes and dreams with her gift of life. She always gives back, contributes and expresses thanks and appreciation. She practiced generosity of time to others, understanding “we have only this moment”. Dr. Eva Long is visionary, innovative, compassionate, humble, a voice of reason, and a servant leader with a compelling passionate mission. She has been an educator and medical science research for over 26 years. Highlights from her history are as follows, including many first female & first Asian American appointments: Elected Marin county-wide, 5 term Marin Community College District Trustee for 21 years; appointed to the California Curriculum Commission for 3 terms; recipient of Rockefeller, Ford, Fulbright, and Stanford University Graduate Fellowships; recipient of the Marcus Foster Civil Rights Award; appointed Portola Valley (Pre-K-8) Superintendent of Schools and appointed Davis Unified School District (PreK-12) Superintendent of Schools; Past President of the Marin National Women Political Caucus launching Campaign Leadership Training for Candidate Development; and Co-Founder of the Mini-Medical School Training with College of Marin for Community, Students, & Health Science Professionals serving over 2,200 students. Tamra Peters Founder & Executive Director, Resilient Neighborhoods Tamra Peters has dedicated her life to people and nature. Her career started at The Nature Conservancy in 1970 and included positions at the Natural Resources Defense Council and Rainforest Action Network, among others. She has also served on boards including California Earth Share, Strong Foundation for Environmental Values, and Sustainable Marin. After nearly five decades of environmental advocacy, Tamra had earned the right to pull back. But with climate change threatening the people and ecosystems she loves, she couldn’t retire. Instead she leveraged her background and master’s degree in organizational development to bring the fight against climate change to her home, Marin County. Ten years after Tamra launched her Resilient Neighborhoods program, 1,400 program graduates have reduced household CO2 emissions by an average of 35% (eliminating 7.4 million pounds of emissions annually), while protecting themselves against the impacts of climate-linked disasters. RN also partners with Marin’s municipalities to support local and State climate action goals. Tamra served as Executive Director of RN for a decade—mostly without pay. Her other accomplishments include working with her husband Bill Carney to save 3.1 acres from development by purchasing and donating the land to protect access to an existing 33-acre open space reserve. Tamra has been recognized with awards including San Rafael’s Citizen of the Year Award for 2017, MCE’s Charles McGlashan Advocacy Award, Marin Conservation League’s Award for Environmental Leadership, and Special Recognition from Congressman Huffman and the California State Legislature. Amy Reisch Executive Director, First 5 Marin For nearly forty years, Amy Reisch’s lifelong, deep commitment to justice, equity, equality and compassion has manifested in both her professional and volunteer life. She has held leadership positions in the non-profit and public sector. A common theme across the organizations in which has served is that they have reflected shared values around inclusion and equity. San Francisco & Marin 30 N. San Pedro Rd. Suite 170 San Rafael, CA 94903 P 415.479.9922 F 415.479.9934 ywcasf-marin.org Those themes are also found in her service on boards (e.g. United Way of the Bay Area, First 5 Association of California, and the Center for Young Women’s Development) as well as local and state task forces and coalitions (eg Northern California Civil Rights Coalition and the Marin Working Group on Public Charge and Immigrant Rights). Ms. Reisch has served as the Executive Director of First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission since July 2001. As such, she has been a champion for the importance of the first 5 years of a child’s life and for the primary role the family and community play in ensuring that children thrive. She was among the first to institute alternative funding practices, and inclusive, community-led program development that are just becoming more commonplace nationally. When emerging issues arise, even if controversial, Ms. Reisch reaches out to others to deepen understanding, build relationships and identify solutions. Under her leadership, the First 5 Marin Commission has been flexible, nimble and responsive to shifts in context while staying true to its values and mission. Cecilia Zamora Executive Director, Latino Council Cecilia Zamora is the Founder/Executive Director of the Latino Council, a nonprofit based in the City of San Rafael since 1997. The Latino Council’s focus is strategic planning, organizational development, board diversity, data gathering/research, and advocacy/public policy development. Cecilia is President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Marin and is a charter member of the Board of Supervisor-appointed Workforce Alliance of the North Bay. Cecilia served on the Marin Women’s Commission from 1996 – 2017, and chaired the commission twice. She served on the National Association of Commissions for Women Board of Directors, a national organization supporting Women’s Commission across the country, since 2004 and was President from 2010-2016. Cecilia is a Fellow of the Women’s Policy Institute of the California Women’s Foundation and a graduate of HOPE (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality) Leadership Institute. She is a graduate of the San Rafael Leadership Institute and has chaired the Institute since 1998. Cecilia’s many acknowledgements include the Spirit of Marin Award, Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award, Hero of Marin Award, Leadership Beyond Boundaries from the Institute for Women’s Leadership, Community Diversity Award presented by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, Servant Leader of the Community Award presented by Rep. Jared Huffman. Cecilia is featured in the 2004 book “100 Faces of Marin”. During National Women’s History Month (March 2017), she was named “Northern California Woman of the Year” by Sen. Mike McGuire. Cecilia has been a Marin County resident since 1986 and currently lives with her husband of 32 years in San Anselmo. ABOUT MARIN WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME Since 1987, MWHF has publicly honoring the achievements of Marin women, preserving their stories, educating the public and inspiring the continued achievements of women and girls. YWCA San Francisco & Marin is thrilled to act as the stewards of the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame, and we celebrate the successes and growth of women’s contributions each year. We look forward to welcoming these exceptional women into the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame on Thursday, March 26, 2020 at Peacock Gap Event Center in San Rafael, and we hope to see you there. Media Contact: Beatriz Castillo 408-295-4011, ext. 2002 mwhf@ywcasf-marin.org
