EAST LOS ANGELES-MONTEBELLO BPW NAMES

ASIAN YOUTH CENTER (AYC) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MICHELLE FRERIDGE AS ITS “WOMAN OF ACHIEVEMENT” FOR 2020

Monterey Park, CA—The East Los Angeles-Montebello Business and Professional Women (BPW) has selected Asian Youth Center Executive Director Michelle Freridge as its 2020 “Woman of Achievement.” She will be honored at a Zoom meeting Wednesday, October 28th starting at 5:00 P.M. The program is free and open to all interested people. Networking starts at 4:30 p.m. with the dinner starting by 5:00 p.m. Cost of the dinner is $15. The dinner is open to the public. E-mail Linda Wilson at lindalwilson@juno.com to make a reservation and for Zoom information.

Freridge joined Asian Youth Center (AYC) as the Development Director in 2002, became the Program Director in 2007 and was tapped to be the Executive Director in 2012.

She completed a B.A. at Michigan State University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at Western Michigan University before moving to Southern California in 1999. After more than 20 years of direct service, development and management work in the non-profit sector, she attended Loyola Law School’s evening program and was admitted to the California Bar in 2011. Freridge is an Adjunct Professor at University of the West, where she teaches MBA classes with a non-profit focus.

She sits on the Board of the San Gabriel Valley Bar Association and the Pasadena Community College President’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Advisory Committee. Freridge is deeply committed to empowering youth to succeed in life.

This recognition program is part of East Los Angeles-Montebello BPW’s celebration of National Business Women’s Week_® (NBWW)_. National Business Women’s Week_®
lets communities, companies and organizations celebrate the contributions of workingwomen and companies that have made strides toward improving working women’s lives in their communities. Emma Dot Partridge, Executive Secretary of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women, came up with the concept of National Business Women’s Week_® with the first celebration being April 15-22, 1928. In 1938 NBWW moved to the third week of October. U.S. President Herbert Hoover was the first President to issue a letter recognizing NBWW and the contributions and achievements of working women. Every President since then has issued a proclamation recognizing NBWW.

East Los Angeles-Montebello BPW is a member of the California Federation of Business and Professional Women and also a member of the National Federation of
Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, inc. (NFBPWC) and BPW International. NFBPWC is 101-years-old this year and is the oldest organization of its kind in the

world; devoted entirely and actively to the interests and needs of all women irrespective of their occupations and of their status. Our mission is to achieve equity for all women in the workplace through advocacy, education and information. Today, we continue the fight for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, the ratification of the CEDAW treaty and equal pay for women. Membership is open to anyone who supports this and other items on our Public Policy Statement.

The recognition Zoom meeting is open to all interested people. For more information about the meeting or about BPW, contact Linda Wilson, East Los Angeles-Montebello BPW, at (626) 307-5650 or lindalwilson@juno.com.