Happy International Women’s Day! 

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we look back and commemorate the founding of The Trusteeship. The story bears repeating:

It began in 1979 when women were scarce at the top levels of business. At a meeting of women business executives, Adrienne Hall, founder, and CEO of the first national advertising agency headed by a woman, found herself sitting next to Cynthia Ryan, vice president and general counsel for Pacific Mutual Insurance Company, one of L.A.’s largest enterprises. The two had never met. As they walked out of the luncheon, Adrienne voiced her feeling that there should be an organization of preeminent women, regardless of profession or discipline. Cindy shared this view and the idea for The Trusteeship was born from that conversation.

The vision was to bring together preeminent women from diverse fields who could gather—much as men had done for centuries—in a non-competitive, non-partisan social setting to find common ground in an atmosphere of trust and compound their powers to support one another and to advance women.

What was never envisioned at the beginning was the powerful emotion of bonding that has occurred over four and a half decades. It’s difficult to describe the “gestalt” of The Trusteeship and how it has led to friendships that transcend professional boundaries, political parties, cultural origins, and philosophical differences. Our membership is now more than 200 strong. 

We joined forces with the International Women’s Forum and are part of an organization with more than 8,000 diverse and accomplished women from over 33 countries on six continents. 

We are trailblazers, leaders, innovators, and pioneers united to Champion Women’s Leadership.

Have a wonderful Women’s History month!

Linda

I had the honor of being interviewed this month by one of our members, Dr. Renee Fraser, on her radio show The Dr. Renee Fraser Show, Why Women on KABC-AM 790 about The Trusteeship/IWF Southern CA and on Fearless Leadership: Women Championing Women. Click here to listen in.

Join some of your fellow Trusteeship members on Saturday, March 9 for an Art Crawl in Barrio Logan at noon. The Barrio Logan Art Crawl takes place every second Saturday of the month from noon to 5:00 pm. It is a self-guided tour with gallery/exhibit showings, open studios, outdoor murals, music, dinning, and shopping an highlighting Chicano art and culture. We’ll meet at For Vida Coffee, 2146 Logan Ave., San Diego, 92113 at Noon and explore Barrio Logan galleries and shops together. There is no cost for this informal event. Wear walking shoes.

Any questions, or to carpool, contact our hostesses: Judy Gradwohl or Nikki Clay. If you are a Trusteeship member who does not live in the San Diego area, you are most welcome! Hope you can join us!

Judy and Nikki

jgradwohl@sdnhm.org

nclay@carpiclay.com

IWF Western Region Virtual Cocktail Café

Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 4:00 – 5:00 pm PT

We are excited to have over 20 Trusteeship members joining our IWF Western Region Virtual Cocktail Café!

• This event will take place on Thursday, March 14, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. PT. Bring along a cocktail, glass of wine, coffee or your favorite beverage –and be ready for fun and interesting conversation with your IWF sisters from other forums!

• We’ll be gathering with members from the five other IWF Western region forums (British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Utah and Northern California)! We look forward to reconnecting with our friends in the Western region.

• The hosts will be from our Western region forums. Each group will have 6-7 members – small enough to engage in robust conversation.

WE ARE EXCITED TO SHARE AN EXCLUSIVE MUSE/IQUE EXPERIENCE WITH YOU!

On behalf of Trusteeship member Rachael Worby, MUSE/IQUE would love to invite 50 members to their upcoming March 17 (evening) show at the Mark Taper Forum. MUSE/IQUE is slashing admission prices and offering a friends & family price of $50 per ticket.

A Peek Behind the Nobel Prize Curtain

The Trusteeship (IWF Southern California) invites you into the rarified space with 3 of its Nobel Prize Awardee forum members: current members Dr. Frances Arnold (Chemistry 2018), Dr. Andrea Ghez (Physics, 2020), and former member, Dr. Elizabeth H. Blackburn (Physiology 2009). 

Moderated by award-winning writer, television/radio personality, and Trusteeship/IWF member Patt Morrison, we will enter the world of the Nobel Prize and Nobel Laureate process and learn about their experiences and reflections, as we are guided through their unique journeys. 

Date: Thursday March 28

Time: 5:00pm – 6:30pm PT

**Special note: This virtual program is being offered to IWF Globally as part of the Program Passport.

The YouTube Effect: A Virtual Program

2024 is an election year, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Social media is in the spotlight for contributing to misinformation and radicalization, and yet the largest platform of them all, YouTube, gets a free pass. Many times larger than all of the other platforms combined, YouTube has 3 million channels with 1 billion hours of content viewed daily. Should we be worried about YouTube’s impact on the world as the global village square?

Filmmaker Alex Winter (PANAMA PAPERS, DEEP WEB) and IWF, Southern California / Trusteeship member Gale Anne Hurd will answer all of that and more in their compelling documentary, THE YOUTUBE EFFECT. Participating in our panel will the film’s producer Gale Anne Hurd, victims rights attorney Carrie Goldberg, and Monika Bauerlein, CEO of Mother Jones Magazine.

Date: Thursday April 4

Time: 5:00pm – 6:00pm

**Special note: This virtual program is being offered to IWF Globally as part of the Program Passport. Once you RSVP, you will be sent information on how to view the documentary film The YouTube Effect. We highly recommend you watch it before the program on April 4.

Pizza Lovers Unite! IWF Chicago member Amy Dordek Dolinksy and her Emmy-award winning husband Steve (known as the Food Guy) is offering IWF/Trusteeship members a special discounted rate to attend the 2nd annual Pizza Fest in Downtown LA April 27 & 28. Pizza City Fest offers a stellar lineup of Southern California’s best pizza makers in one location, giving fans the unique opportunity to taste, see live demos, and attend panel discussions with culinary experts over two days at L.A. LIVE. Feel free to share this link with family and friends. 

Buy tickets today as they will go fast: 

Link: https://www.axs.com/series/21249/pizza-city-fest-los-angeles-supergroups-offers-tickets

Code: IWF

Thank you to everyone that joined our most popular event of the year on February 21. Click above to watch the recording where we introduced our newest members on that very special evening.

IWF Oregon is thrilled to announce the dates and location for the 2024 IWF West Coast Leaders Retreat: 

Friday, September 20^th – Sunday, September 22^nd, 2024

McMinnville, OR (the heart of Oregon wine country!)

We would like to extend a warm invitation for an unforgettable weekend in the quaint small-town heart of Oregon wine country, bringing together members from our six West Coast Regions: Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, Washington, BC, and Utah.

Please fill out this form indicating your interest in attending.

This is an incredible opportunity for us to forge new friendships and reconnect with our long-time IWF sisters. It promises to be a weekend of laughter, exploration, learning, enjoying scrumptious food and wine and more, in a beautiful setting while you experience all the Willamette Valley has to offer. Framed by the Coast Range to the west and Cascades to the east, it is recognized as one of the premier winegrowing regions in the world.

Hong Kong, SAR: 2024 Cornerstone Conference

November 20 – 22, 2024

Details to be announced.