Loren Lieb, who is a founding member and co-President of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and is on the Board of Women Against Gun Violence, will speak at the Annual Conference of the Sierra Mar District of Business and Professional Women on Saturday, April 30, 2016 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 2009 S. Garfield Avenue, Monterey Park. Registration is at 9:00 A.M. with the meeting starting at 9:30 A.M. The conference and luncheon is open to all interested people. There is no registration cost for guests, but the cost of the luncheon is $15. Call or E-mail Marie Clifton (626) 287-5306 or mclifton40@msm.com to make a reservation or for questions.

Loeb has a Master’s in Public Health from UCLA and recently retired after 34 years as an epidemiologist at the Los Angeles County Public Health Department. She has been a gun violence prevention activist since August 1999, when her 6-year-old son was shot at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills (he is 23, now).

The luncheon speaker will be Stephanie Ruiz, who is Sierra Mar’s Young Professional for 2016 and the Coordinator of the DISCOVERY program at MERCI in Monterey Park. DISCOVERY provides services for adults with developmental disabilities, with medically fragile conditions and severe behavioral challenges in the San Gabriel Valley. Ruiz was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She obtained her B.A. in Social Work from California State University, Los Angeles. She has three years experience working in the field of Social Services and has spent the last three years working with homeless youth, emotionally disturbed teen girls and individuals with developmental disabilities. She is an active volunteer at The Compton Initiative, which is a non-profit organization that is committed to bringing hope and restoration to the City of Compton. She has also been coordinating an annual fundraiser for homeless on skid row during the holidays for the last eight years. Ruiz will talk about the challenges in her life which brought her to her present position.

The mission of Sierra Mar District of the California Federation of Business and Professional Women is “to promote and support equity for working women in all phases of their lives and to promote personal empowerment and professional development.” Our objectives are “to advocate on state and national legislative issues of importance to women, to promote personal and professional development for women and to foster connections among women to promote BPW and its members.” Membership is open to both men and women who support this mission and these objectives. Those who are members also belong to EPW-USA and BPW International. For more information about membership contact Sally McMahon (909) 596-5624 or daskm@aol.com.