Run. Win. Make a Difference.

We stand in solidarity to protect women’s rights, human rights, our safety, our health, and our planet, as we move toward a positive and just future. We are actively nonviolent in words and action. We work to unify our nation’s diverse communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots. We recognize that there is no true peace, freedom, or inclusion without equity for all.

Women's March SLO

Date: August 29, 2019 Time: 5:30pm – 8:00pm Location: United Church of Christ, 11245 Los Osos Valley Road, San Luis Obispo
Women’s March SLO invites you to an engaging evening focused on running, winning, and making a difference.
In the 2018 election cycle, great strides were made locally and nationally to elect women. That’s a benefit to all of us, because research shows that women govern differently, including compromising, focusing on policy that benefits families, and even bringing more money into their districts.
Our panelists stepped up for different reasons and are making changes in their own unique ways. Moderated by Dawn Addis, who like most of our panelists ran and won for the first time in 2018, our panel will talk about their tipping points, what they learned about campaigning, and how you can run, win and make a change in 2020 and beyond.
Enjoy refreshments, engage with panelists, have fun among kindred spirits, and get ready to make a difference!
Panelists:
Maria Garcia, City Council Member, Paso Robles
Maria Garcia currently serves on the El Paso de Robles City Council, the first Latina Women elected. Maria was born in Vermont and raised in a small town in Texas. Maria has been employed with the same company for 24 years, moving up from cashier to Lead National Certified Pharmacy Technician.
She’s the Co-Founder and currently the Vice President of the Hispanic Business Association, a nonprofit networking organization in the Central Coast. The HBA is dedicated to expanding economic development and business opportunities for the regions large and growing Hispanic community.
Her past civic leadership activities include Almond Acres Charter School Board community representative. She volunteered on multiple fundraisers and community group activities, young soccer league, after school programs, Echo homeless shelter and high school scholarships.
Maria has been awarded with a proclamation from the Mayor of El Paso de Robles, and was nominated twice for Woman of the Year in SLO County.
Erica A. Stewart, City Council Member, San Luis Obispo
Helping others has been Erica’s professional and personal interest for years. Currently, Erica is the Assistant Director of Personnel and Marketing at Cal Poly’s Campus Health &amp; Wellbeing, where she enjoys recruiting healthcare providers and educators to help Cal Poly students succeed. Outside of the office, she serves as President of the Cal Poly Alumni Association, and is the newest member of San Luis Obispo’s City Council.
Erica has managed human resources in healthcare, manufacturing, restaurants, and for the SLO County Superior Court. She has served as Chief Operating Officer at United Way, Civil Service Commissioner for SLO County, and owned her own wholesale bakery in downtown SLO.
Erica has served the SLO community through volunteering in organizations focused on education, diversity, homeless issues, growth for women and girls, small business success, and economic vitality. Her interest in serving the public led to earning a master’s degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco, participating in Leadership SLO, Class 15, and completing a highly competitive women’s candidate training program in 2018 – Emerge CA.
Erica is proud to call San Luis Obispo home, where she lives with her husband, Shay and two sons.
Susan Funk, City Council Member, Atascadero
Susan was elected to the Atascadero City Council in November, 2018. She’s been a management consultant for healthcare providers and companies for 25 years. She was a hospital administrator and has a Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University, with a certificate in public management.
She has a long history of community involvement in schools, civic organizations and professional societies. When her son entered college, Susan decided to run for the City Council to continue to use her talents and dedication to service. She and her husband Gordon Fuglie have lived in Atascadero for ten years.
Mariam Shah, City Council Member, Grover Beach
Mariam Shah was born in Cleveland, OH. She graduated from the University of Michigan and from the Georgetown University Law Center. Mariam always wanted a career in public service. Student loans dictated otherwise, and she became a corporate litigator for the next seven years – working in New York City and Ohio.
On a trip with her husband up HWY 1 back in 2008, they decided to leave the cold winters of the midwest and relocate to the Central Coast. Her husband secured a job as a hospitalist physician at Marian Regional Medical Center where he still works today. Mariam stayed home with her daughter Bibi (age 10) and Bobby (age 7) until running for Grover Beach City Council unopposed in 2014.
Mariam was re-elected in 2018 and is serving her second term on the council where she is currently the Mayor Pro Tem. Mariam also currently serves as the chair of the Air Pollution Control District Board (APCD), the Vice-Chair of the Homeless Services Oversight Committee (HSOC), and the Grover Beach Representative on the Visit SLO Cal Advisory Board. Mariam also enjoys being an active member of the California League of Cities, the largest advocacy group on behalf of cities in CA, where she serves as the President of the Channel Counties Division and as a member of the Community Services Policy Committee.
Outside of her government affiliations, she sits on the board of the Grover Beach Community Library and is an active storytime reader. She is also the current PTA President at Grover Heights Elementary School where her children attend.
Moderator:
Dawn Addis, City Council Member, Morro Bay
Dawn Addis is a newly elected Councilmember in Morro Bay. She was chosen as a 24th Congressional District Woman of the Year in 2017 and a 24th Congressional District guest at the State of the Union address in 2018. Dawn entered politics during the pink wave of 2018 and won in a landslide. She is a founder of Women’s March San Luis Obispo, a non-profit that organizes from the grassroots for a more positive and just future.
Dawn is currently the Council liaison to the Evonomi Vitality Corporation and the Recreation and Parks Commission, an alternate for the Integrated Waste Management Association, a member of the Aquarium Sub-committee and Aquarium Capital Investment Task Force.
Dawn is an inspirational public speaker, activist, and organizer. She has given speeches, led workshops, and been a panelist for numerous organizations including the League of Women Voters SLO County, Five Cities Diversity Coalition, South Bay Women’s Network, SLO Women’s Network, Central Coast Municipal Management Association of Southern California, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce, SLO Chamber of Commerce, Cal Poly Center for Service in Action and more.

United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo

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Run. Win. Make a Difference.

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