Jill Shook, Housing Activist, will talk about “Making Housing Happen” at the Annual Conference of the Sierra Mar District Business and Professional Women on Saturday, April 11, 2020 at the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 2009 S. Garfield Avenue, Monterey Park. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. with the meeting starting at 9:00 a.m. with a short memorial service for members who passed away this past year. Shook will be speaking at about 10:30 a.m. The conference and luncheon is open to all interested people. There is no registration cost for guests, but the cost of the box lunch is $10. Call Marie Clifton (626) 287-5306 or E-mail her at MarieClifton40@gmail.com to make a reservation or for questions.

The second morning speaker at 11:00 a.m. will be Dominique Ruedaflores, the winner of the Monterey Park Lion’s Annual Speech competition. The topic of the competition and the title of her speech was “Homeless in California: What is the Solution?” In 2018 she won second place in the Optimist International Oratory Contest.

The luncheon speaker will be Aida Diaz, who in January was honored as East Los Angeles-Montebello BPW’s Young Careerist. Diaz has worked at the Boys and Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley since 2003. She started at the front desk for the Boys and Girls Club and has worked her way up. She is presently Site Director of La Puente for the Boys and Girls Club of West San Gabriel. She is the only full-time staff person at that location. At La Puente they serve 80 children daily, but in the summer they serve 300 daily.

Huang, the afternoon speaker, is Partnership Specialist with the Los Angeles Regional Census Center. He will be talking about the census and why it is so important that everyone be counted. He will explain how this will be done and that the information collected for the census is confidential.

Sierra Mar District is based in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys and is part of the California Federation of Business and Professional Women (CFBPW).  The organization is a member of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs (NFBPWC) and BPW International. BPW has been advocates for women’s issues for more than 100 years.

The mission of the Sierra Mar District of the California Federation of Business and Professional Women (CFBPW) 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 CFBPW, NFBPWC and BPW International. For more information contact Marie Clifton at (626) 287-5306 or MarieClifton40@gmail.com.