Contact: Heartley Bachiller or
Carmen Ramos Chandler
(818) 677-2130
hbachiller@exec.csun.edu
The biennial Phenomenal Women Awards reception and silent auction, sponsored by CSUN's Women's Studies Department, will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. in the University Student Union's Grand Salon near the center of campus at 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge.
This year's honorees are health reporter and columnist Dr. Aliza A. Lifshitz; public historian Jean Bruce Poole; playwright and fiction writer Wakako Yamauchi; UC Santa Cruz women's studies professor and department chair Bettina Aptheker; and community and labor organizer, singer and songwriter Rosa Martha Zarate-Macias. They were selected by the Women's Studies Advisory Board and Planning Committee.
"We wanted to recognize the contributions of women who have made this a more just and equitable society," said Elizabeth Say, chair of CSUN's Women's Studies Department. "Not just successful women, but women who have made this a better place for everybody."
The award, which has been presented to nearly 20 women since 1996, gets its name from Maya Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Woman," which recognizes the strengths, abilities and integrity of women.
Born in Mexico City, Lifshitz was a four-time president of the California Hispanic American Medical Association and is a champion of Latino and woman doctors. She has been the health reporter for Univisión TV Network since 1988 and is the medical editor of "Primer Impacto," a Spanish-language news magazine.
Poole specializes in public history. She is the historic museum director at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. She coordinates and monitors the museum's historic restoration projects and is active in other conservation and renovation projects throughout the Southland.
A renowned figure in Asian American Literature, Yamauchi has written stories and produced plays which examine the experiences of pre-World War II Japanese Americans. One of her most notable plays, "And the Soul Shall Dance," is about two Japanese farming families in the United States trying to survive the Great Depression.
Aptheker is a teacher and scholar of women's studies. She has written several books about race, class, gender and sexuality, including "Tapestries of Life: Women's Work, Women's Consciousness and the Meaning of Daily Experience."
Zarate-Macias' work as a songwriter and community organizer is inspired by her experiences as a Mexican-born immigrant to the United States and her historic knowledge of her culture. In a summary of her many accomplishments, Zarate-Macias wrote, "My music sings of our hopes, our struggles and our life. It is also an echo of the cry of our peoples for justice and peace with dignity here in this country and all over our continent."
Say said the award is given to honor the extraordinary contributions of women. She hopes the award ceremony encourages the community to take part in events sponsored by her department throughout the year.
1998 Phenomenal Woman Billie Heller, founder of the National Committee of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of the Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), will be at Saturday's event to help honor the recipients.
Admission is $35 per person. For more information or reservations, call (818) 677-3110.
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