The Trusteeship
International Women's Foundation

Joni Mitchel Tribute Concert – November 6

Talk about ticket of the year! It would have been nearly impossible to get your hands on tickets to the Joni Mitchell Tribute Concert, but because Trusteeship members, Rachel Moore and Lisa Specht have impeccable contacts (they are the contacts!) we were able to create a Trusteeship event around Joni’s amazing tribute!

Rachel and Lisa also hosted a champagne salute in the exclusive Founders Room at The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion where Trusteeship members gathered during intermission and shared their enthusiasm for the great performances.

One Member shared:  “Joni Mitchell is 75! Birthday Tribute at Music Center with performances by James Taylor, Graham Nash, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Emmylou Harris, Seal and many others. Also celebrating Frances Arnold, 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for “the directed evolution of enzymes”! Appreciation to Rachel Moore and Lisa Specht for tickets and Zee Marzec for dinner.”

What a wonderful night!

Eve Kurtin – Dine-Around – October 30

The Dine-Around on Halloween eve at Eve Kurtin’s beautiful home was a wonderful affair! Eve welcomes about 350 trick or treaters at her home so she was well stocked in goblins and treats. Karen Caplan, Martha De Laurentiis, Rabbi Laura Geller, Beth Morrison, Miriam Muscarolas, Lisa Specht, and of course, Eve, welcomed new member, Elizabeth Faraut and enjoyed a wonderful evening of delicious food, stimulating conversation and friendship. Thank you Eve!
 
Some lovely “thank you’s” to Eve about her Dine-Around:
 
  • Thank you for hosting a wonderful evening for us. Everything was perfect — the fun Halloween decorations, the delicious food and wine, your beautiful home and, of course, our Trusteeship friends. It’s always a joy to be in the company of engaged, interesting, thoughtful, successful women. I love the diversity of our industries and interests. I appreciated the range of our conversation — one conversation around the table is always my favorite — and being able to discuss everything from the International Women’s Forum conference; the benefits and joys of membership to more serious topics of religion and the increasing wave of antisemitism in our country and gun violence in places of worship. We are fortunate to live in progressive California but tragic that all of us must live on alert everywhere we go.
 
  • It was great to be in everyone’s company. Welcome, Elizabeth. You are a great addition. Thank you, Eve for bringing us together. And, thanks to your chef for preparing such a delicious and healthy meal.
 
  • I really can’t add much, except to say how nice it was that you accommodated all of our food choices! And the food was very yummy. I actually included a few comments about it in my President’s letter that will come out tomorrow morning. 🙂 Warmest regards and hope you don’t run out of candy tonight!
 
  • Just adding my voice to the choir. It was such a lovely evening, and I enjoy getting to know my Trusteeship sisters. I agree that this small group really does allow for group conversation and that’s rare. There’s something about choosing a topic to discuss too, which happened organically, rather than just chatting (which is nice too of course). I think having real discourse on current issues we are facing is a great thing, particularly in a world where we live in soundbites and tweets. Eve, thank you for being so accommodating with dietary things. And, what a gorgeous home you have! I hope to see some of you at my artist loft on the 1st of December and for the opera. For those that can’t come, please consider coming to the opera on another date: Click here Tickets are just $55 with the code: BMPfam Happy halloween!
 
  • I also want to thank Eve for providing such a wonderful and relaxing environment for a “get to know you”/ “get to know you better” evening. The food was exquisite, and if I didn’t think it would interfere with our burgeoning friendship, I would absolutely try to steal your wonderful chef!
 
  • Miriam and Karen you did a wonderful job curating the event. And you are right. A small group definitely works best and does lead to a table conversation. Beth, I agree, choosing a topic is important (In these times small talk can seem so — well, small). I so enjoyed hearing and participating in our table discussion on current issues. What wonderful opportunities the Trusteeship gives us to meet interesting women! Thank you again Eve.

Downtown Women’s Center for a Tour, Lunch with Residents and Panel Discussion – September 9

“The tour and talk at the Downtown Women’s Center was really eye-opening,” reports Sophia Jackson, The Trusteeship Event Coordinator. Sophia further shared, “…as we were talking about a huge issue in everyone’s backyard: women who are experiencing homelessness in LA, we learned a lot of statistics about how many women are homeless, the reasons why, and how institutions like DWC are actively helping these women reintegrate into society.”  The panelists, who were mostly Trusteeship members with some other LA officials joining in, was especially impactful and their knowledge and background really helped the our members and guests relate to this everyday issue.

It was also pretty amazing to learn that the founder of DWC was a past Trusteeship member, Jill Halverson! Kathleen Brown and Jill are still good friends, and Jill now lives in New Mexico. 

Per the information listed below from Melissa Tillman, Chief Development and Communications Officer, are shared links with information on how to help support organizations like the DWC, their wish list for donations, and information on their upcoming event, “Dinner With a Cause.” This event is intended to further highlight the issue of homelessness, and Trusteeship members are welcome to attend.

From Melissa:  “Thank you for the opportunity to host such a thought-provoking panel with the esteemed women of The Trusteeship. We appreciate your partnership in ending women’s homelessness and look forward to the group’s continued involvement with the Downtown Women’s Center. The panel discussion was very organized and thought-provoking, and we really enjoyed hosting your group!”

As promised, here’s a link to more resources and information about women’s homelessness, DWC’s wish list and information on our upcoming anniversary gala, Dinner With a Cause.

Frieda/Ecos Behind the Scenes Tours & Celebratory Luncheon – August 4

More than 30 Trusteeship members showed up at the Freida’s 81,000 sq. ft. distribution center at 10:00am for a behind the scenes tour. The morning started with lots of samples of fresh exotic fruit, like rambutan, jackfruit, horned melons and cape gooseberries and some colorful veggies, like purple, green and orange cauliflower. Three of Frieda’s enthusiastic employees (including Frieda’s daughter and Karen Caplan’s sister and business partner, Jackie) gave tours through the packing line, refrigerated warehouse, receiving dock and then up through the corporate offices. On Jackie’s tour, there were so many questions from the attendees, that the 30 minute tour took more than an hour! At the end of the tour, each Trusteeship visitor received an “Inspiration Box” filled with a curated selection of Frieda’s best sellers and a copy of The Purple Kiwi Cookbook. 

All then drove two miles to the offices and warehouse of Earth Friendly Products (ECOS), where Kelly and members of her team gave a presentation highlighting many of the awards their company has received for their innovation and leadership in the green space. Next, we got to tour their facility and watch them manufacture their high quality laundry detergent (which is on sale in every COSTCO nationwide). 

Following the tour, Karen and Kelly had their chef (they share a chef!) prepare a plant-based gourmet luncheon in the outside garden of Earth Friendly Products. The grand finale, was when we all sang Happy Birthday to Frieda – who celebrated her 95th birthday with her Trusteeship Sisters. It was a warm, but lovely afternoon for all. 

Zee Marzec – Dine Around – August 12

Zee hosted us to a beautiful al fresco seafood barbecue in her tree lined backyard. Ten of us gathered for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before coming to the grill where Zee had beautifully prepared skewers of scallops, shrimp and swordfish, topped with lemon sauce. Felt like an evening in Southern Italy, with conversation non-stop.

Upcoming Events

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IWF

IWF Conferences

Barcelona, Spain: April 2019 – IWF Cornerstone Conference

Toronto, Canada: November 13-15, 2019 – IWF World Leadership Conference

London, United Kingdom: May 13-15, 2020 – IWF Cornerstone Conference

Detroit, Michigan: October 7-9, 2020 – IWF World Leadership Conference

 

“The Trusteeship is a wonderful refuge — a place to go that is safe, nurturing and supportive. A place where you can suspend time — where the pressures and demands of your daily routine become secondary to the sharing of confidences and passions with women that walk similar paths and know your challenges and triumphs.”

– Rita