YWCA Pasadena Welcomes New Associate Director and Program Staff

From Top Clockwise: Jessica Kubel, Cinthya Martinez, Katie Driscoll, and Jomie Liu.

The YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley is excited to announce Jessica Kubel as its new Associate Director. Ms. Kubel began her career in nonprofit work at the YWCA San Gabriel Valley location, first as an Administrative Assistant and later, as Outreach Coordinator with the WINGS domestic violence program. Prior to joining the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley, Ms. Kubel served as Volunteer Manager with the Volunteer Center of San Gabriel Valley, where she planned and implemented large scale volunteer projects throughout the region, such as Make A Difference Day and Days of Service with local cities. Her extensive volunteer work and community activism includes organizing fundraising events for the Logelin Foundation, Shoes That Fit, and Relay For Life. Ms. Kubel has also spent several years as an analyst in the Global Content Quality division at Yahoo, Inc. She joined the YWCA Pasadena in April 2013 as the Community Relations Manager, and is excited to take on a larger role as Associate Director.

Helping those in need and shining a light on issues affecting the most vulnerable members of our community is a driving force in Ms. Kubel’s life. “From as early as eight years old, I was marching with my mother for women’s equality and becoming part of a bigger picture – to be a voice for the voiceless and recognizing a responsibility to stand against injustice and inequality.”

Ms. Kubel has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications & Media from Thomas Edison State College, and is alumni of the Jeremiah Fellowship through Bend the Arc (formerly Jewish Progress Alliance).

The YWCA also welcomes Program Coordinators Katie Driscoll and Jomie Liu. Ms. Driscoll is an experienced counselor and professional educator with more than 10 years of experience. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Women’s Studies from Boston College, as well as an MA in Applied Women’s Studies and Higher Education from Claremont Graduate University. She is responsible for, along with her team members, the design, organization and implementation of new and improved Just for Girls and Girls Empowerment Summer Camp programs that serve young women throughout the Pasadena area.

Jomie Liu joined the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley in 2011 as a Program Associate, and is honored to move into the role of Tech Program Coordinator. Ms. Liu leads our TECHgyrls program and our Adult Computer Classes, where she helps to create innovative impacts in hands-on STEM education for youth and adults in our community. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Human Biology from the University of California San Diego.

Additionally, the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley is proud to welcome Cinthya Martinez to the Marketing & Social Media Coordinator position. Ms. Martinez started as a volunteer with the YWCA and eventually became a Program Associate for the organization. Her background in media, design, and social media management allowed her to develop into her new role as Marketing & Social Media Coordinator. Ms. Martinez graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with two Bachelor’s degrees, in Psychology and English Literature.

The YWCA Pasadena is pleased to have such a high caliber group of strong and diverse women within the organization. With their knowledge, skills, and experience, we look forward to successful programs and community events in the year to come. For more information about the YWCA Pasadena, please contact Cinthya Martinez at (626) 296-8433, or at info@ywca-pasadena.org.

About the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley

The YWCA provides programs that strive towards the elimination of racism and the empowerment of women and girls in Pasadena and throughout the Foothill Valley. Learn more and donate to the programs of the YWCA at www.ywca-pasadena.org. (626) 296-8433. The YWCA is located at 1015 N. Lake Avenue, Suite 205, Pasadena.

YWCA Pasadena Announces 2014-2015 Board of Directors

The YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley is pleased to announce its 2014—2015 Board of Directors and is excited to welcome Marie Cantor, Olivia Glauber, Berta Montoya, and Grace Yuen as its newest board members!

Olivia Glauber is Founding Board Member and President of the Financially Fit Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial educational workshops. Ms. Glauber is also a commercial real estate investor in Pasadena. Berta Montoya is a Marketing & Recruiting Manager for New York Life, serving the financial needs of the Latino community. Ms. Montoya is also a member of the National Latina Women Business Association. Marie Cantor has been Associate Director of Foundation Relations for the Pasadena Senior Center for the past three years. Prior to joining the Pasadena Senior Center, Ms. Cantor worked in development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Grace Yuen is currently Vice President at Siebert Brandford Shank & Co, LLC, and has worked with a number of municipal governments in California and is a member of Women in Public Finance Los Angeles.

Our board members work hard to support the mission of the YWCA: Eliminating racism and empowering women. They are dedicated to program development, establishing innovative connections with our community, and creating more meaningful impact with those we serve in our region.

We are thankful for all the time, effort and diligence the YWCA Board of Directors put into our programs and events in the past year. We look forward to their continued support and perseverance as the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley continues to provide stellar services to the community at large.

Lorna Miller Reflects On Ferguson

Recent events at Ferguson reminded me of an experience I had several years ago on my way to work.  While driving down Fair Oaks Avenue, I came upon a police blockade.  When it was my turn to pass, an officer asked me for my driver’s license, added apologetically that it was just a “routine check,” and waved me through hassle-free. 

As I drove away, I could not help but think back to several conversations I’d had in recent months with fellow Pasadenans.  An African-American friend told me that when he comes to a roadblock, he stops the car, puts his hands on the dashboard in clear view, and asks the officer if he should come out of the car.  “It’s not worth risking a misunderstanding,” he said, “or becoming a victim of mistaken identity.”

Another friend told me of the sheer terror he experiences every time he gets in his car.  Although he has lived and worked in Pasadena for many years, and his children are U.S. citizens, he has been waiting almost 20 years to adjust his own immigration status.  Being pulled over by a police officer in Pasadena could mean excessive court fees and fines, losing the truck in which he needs to carry out his construction work, and possible deportation.  In short, it could cost him his livelihood and even this family.

It was during my tenure at the Office for Creative Connections, after listening to people’s daily experiences, that the need for serious dialoguie about strutural racism became clear.  City Conversations was born out of this need.  During these conversations we often heard about the subtle nature of racism, its invisibility to the populations in our city that are not directly affected by it.

Personally, City Conversations became a humbling and important journey for me – an opportunity to look critically at my own prejudices.  I had a new appreciation for the degree to which I can live my life not thinking about race or ethnicity, while others did not experience that luxury. And as a person of faith, I’ve had to question whether I, too, have been complicit in accepting or participating in policies and practices that have kept people on the margins of our city.

I continue to be made aware of the pain and frustration people carry from years of not being heard related to the injustices they experience on a daily basis and, as Ferguson reminds us, the way daily slights and stereotyping can quickly become a matter of life or death.

I deeply respect the mission of the YWCA to eliminate racism in Pasadena. A good way to begin is to make open and honest dialogue about racism and inequities an ongoing process and an absolute priority in our city.

 

A Fresh Look at the Just for Girls Program

A Fresh Look at the Just for Girls Program

“…since 1997 Just for Girls has been helping girls navigate the challenges that can prevent them from graduating from high school and being successful in reaching their goals. I am so excited about the new curriculum with fresh perspectives and updated topics relevant to girls today. The landscape is constantly changing and the factors for teens and pre-teens with it, any program that is going to be relevant to their healthy development and successful completion of high school must change as well.”Sharalyn Hamilton, executive director. Just For Girls Reduces Risk Factors and Promotes Positive Interpersonal Connections Increasingly, researchers find a positive correlation between healthy adolescent development and community, which is broadly defined to include family, school, youth organizations, etc. Just For Girls’ primary strategy is to create a peer support community that emphasizes girls’ physical, mental, emotional, and reproductive health. Just For Girls is designed to help girls increase positive connections to fellow youth, parents/guardians, and school; establish leadership and social skills; develop a healthy lifestyle; and prevent violence and bullying. As part of the program, participating girls meet in groups after school which are facilitated by trained YWCA staff through a curriculum that covers healthy relationship development, emotional health, substance abuse prevention, non-violent conflict resolution techniques, and nutrition. Within these groups girls form trust-based relationships with each other, become part of a positive peer group at school, and support each other as they work toward developing healthy lifestyles and relationships. Just For Girls also encourages participants to improve their relationships and communication skills with their parent or guardian through activities such as the annual Mother/Daughter Night. This year, we will also have the girls prepare for and participate in a 5k run/walk to encourage more physical activity. Because girls are living in an increasingly technological and socially-networked world, the new curriculum emphasizes skills that help girls engage in online environments in ways that are meaningful, respectful, critical, and useful. The new lessons model professional behavior in social media and teach the girls about maintaining a positive self-image and healthy lifestyle, both on and offline. In addition, program facilitators will undergo new training to further their understanding of the issues young women face, as well as to provide them with better skills to adapt their teaching of the curriculum to respond to the girls' developmental needs and concerns. Just for Girls groups meet after school at the YWCA as well as on school campuses. For more information visit our website or call (626) 296-8433.

Join us at California Pizza Kitchen on Thursday, September 11th for a tasty fundraiser! Bring in the attached flyer to CPK located at 99 N. Los Robles in Pasadena, and 20% of your purchases will go towards the YWCA Pasadena! This fundraiser is an all-day event, so stop by for lunch, dinner, dine-in or take-out and help support your local YWCA! We look forward to seeing you there!

YWCA Announces 2014 Racial Justice Award Recipient – Lorna Touryan Miller

It is with great excitement that the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley announces that the 2014 Racial Justice Award will go to Lorna Touryan Miller for her years of racial justice work locally and across the globe.  The award will be given at the 12^th annual Women for Racial Justice Breakfast on October 20, 2014.

Ms. Miller is Armenian by nationality and the daughter of two survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.  She immigrated to the United States at the age of eleven from Beirut, Lebanon. She is the co-author of “Survivors:  An Oral History of the Armenian Genocide” and “Armenia:  Portraits of Survival and Hope.”

Ms. Miller’s research and programmatic activities, both locally and internationally, have been based on extensive interviews with people who seek justice, equality, and a public voice in decisions related to their welfare and future. Since 2001, she and her husband have been conducting oral history projects in Rwanda in partnership with local widow and orphan genocide survivor associations. The Millers are currently writing a book on Rwanda based on 260 interviews, documenting how survivors cope in the aftermath of genocide, focusing specifically on healing and forgiving.

For 25 years, Ms. Miller was the Director of the Office for Creative Connections, a community development program of All Saints Church in Pasadena, California. She began her tenure at OCC by investigating the health care needs of children which she summarized in the report “The Health of Pasadena’s Children: An Assessment of Needs and Resources.” Her findings led her to convene the Health Coalition for Children and Youth and together under her direction, they founded Young and Healthy, a health care program for uninsured children.

Ms. Miller’s next research project was identifying available after-school resources for children and bringing together providers to develop methods to be more accessible to children. This resulted in the James Irvine Foundation asking OCC to head CORAL, an after school program in Pasadena. Under her direction, OCC re-granted close to $2 million for several years to community-based organizations and monitored their programs to standards set by the foundation.  Ms. Miller was also a founding member of New Vision Partners, an interfaith peace and justice program.

As director of OCC, Ms. Miller conducted focus groups and one-on-one interviews with multiple individuals in the city on the quality of life changes in Pasadena over the previous 20 years.  What surfaced was a common concern about institutional racism in the city. Working with a diverse group, OCC convened City Conversations for the purpose of raising awareness and conducting multicultural dialogue among elected leaders, neighborhood activists and heads of organizations.
The 12th Annual Women for Racial Justice Breakfast is scheduled for Monday, October 20, 2014, from 7:00 to 9:00 am, and will be held at the Pasadena Hilton Hotel. Individual tickets are $60 each until September 30th and go up to $70 thereafter. Tables of ten can be purchased for $600 until September 30th, and will go up to $700 afterward. To purchase tickets, please click here.

KTLA's Cher Calvin to return as Emcee for Women For Racial Justice Breakfast 2014

Cher Calvin joined KTLA in 2005 and anchors KTLA’s award-winning 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm nightly newscasts. Before her current role, Cher co-anchored the weekend evening news as well as KTLA’s morning show, where she won an Emmy in 2005. She has also won three Golden Mike Awards: two for Best Public Affairs Program, Access LA, and one Golden Mike for the KTLA Morning Show. She most recently received an Emmy in 2014 for her efforts in producing and leading a fundraiser for victims of Typhoon Yolanda in the Phillipines.

Her on-camera career began in Manila, Philippines. While she was there from 1998 to 2003, Cher served as news anchor and features reporter at GMA, Channel 7, followed by news anchor at CNN Asia Affiliate and national network ABS-CBN Broadcasting. At ABS-CBN, Cher was the national evening news anchor for “News Central” receiving the Golden Dove Award for Best Newscast. Cher also received the Philippine’s Star Award in 2002 for Best Lifestyle Host for the lifestyle magazine show “F” which she co-produced and hosted for four years. At the same time, Cher hosted the weekly political round table talk show “Points of View,” also on ABS-CBN, where she received two Golden Dove Awards in 2000 and 2002 for her work.

Believing it is important to give back to her community, Cher is a spokesperson and annual Master of
Ceremonies for the charity Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches. She has also participated in the Vagina Monologues to help stop violence against women around the world and putting an end to human trafficking. Cher speaks Tagalog, and participates in many Filipino, Asian community and KTLA-sponsored public events, including the annual Lotus Festival in Echo Park. Cher is a New York University graduate with a BA in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Political Science. Cher began her journalism career as a News Desk Assistant Editor for TIME Magazine in New York.

The 12th Annual Women for Racial Justice Breakfast is scheduled for Monday, October 20, 2014, from 7:00 to 9:00 am, and will be held at the Pasadena Hilton Hotel. Individual tickets are $60 each until September 30th and go up to $70 thereafter. Tables of ten can be purchased for $600 until September 30th, and will go up to $700 afterward. To purchase tickets, please click here.