Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce Hosts OWL International Women’s Day Celebration Next Week

The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce next week will host the 2022 OWL International Women’s Day Virtual Celebration to celebrate Women’s History Month. The annual event gathers professionals from throughout the community to enjoy wonderful networking and an inspiring virtual program.

The OWL International Women’s Day Celebration will be held virtually on March 16, 2022, from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. The event’s sponsors include KABC7, Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, Saint John’s Health Center, Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel and Barker Hanger. Tickets for members are $30, $45 for non-members and students are $10.

This year’s theme, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history .

2022’s “Outstanding Women Leader” honorees are Lindsay Call, City of Santa Monica’s Chief Resilience Officer and Cheryl Kunin Fair, President and General Manager of KABC-TV, the ABC-owned local television station in Los Angeles and Celebrity Chef Nyesha J. Arrington.

This year’s esteemed honorees join the company of past award-winning recipients including presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, Julie Pilat from Apple 1, documentary director Amy Ziering, actress Jennifer Garner, Assistant City Manager Elaine Polachek, CALIFORNIALIST founder Bettina Duval, Mallika Chopra (Living With intent), Santa Monica Chief of Police Jacqueline Seabrooks, Channel 11 news anchor Christine Devine, and County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl among others.

Cheryl Kunin Fair is President and General Manager of KABC-TV, the ABC-owned local television station in Los Angeles.

Cheryl joined the station in 1994 to lead the local news operation. As Vice President and News Director for more than twenty years she helped Eyewitness News become the #1 news operation in Southern California. Under her leadership, Eyewitness News set the standard for excellence in news coverage on broadcast and digital as well as reinforcing a strong tradition of commitment to the community. The station also achieved many milestones in technology, including the first HD newscast and the first news helicopter, later equipped with Skymap aerial helicopter mapping technology. The station was also the first to create a team of community journalists assigned to live in and cover underserved sections of the Southern California community.

During her tenure, KABC became a market leader in digital and social media and continues to have the largest Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram following of any local station in the country.

Cheryl began her career at KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, moving a year later to WPVI-TV in Philadelphia where she eventually was named Executive Producer. She was promoted to her current position in 2015.

A Philadelphia native, Cheryl is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Speech/Communications. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as well as on the Board of Trustees for the CHLA Foundation.

Lindsay Call has served as the City of Santa Monica’s Chief Resilience Officer, overseeing the Office of Emergency Management, for the past five years. Her position is responsible for citywide coordination of emergency response activities and 9-1-1 dispatch services. Lindsay leads the City’s COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center and has overseen the City’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Throughout the Covid 19 pandemic, Lindsay has been especially focused on keeping the City’s workforce healthy and ensuring Santa Monica businesses and non-profits receive timely information and resource support.

Lindsay has lived in Southern California for over 15 years. Before joining the City of Santa Monica, her positions included Director of Emergency Management & Public Safety at Providence Saint John’s Health Center and a Public Health Preparedness Associate for the US Army and Department of Homeland Security. Lindsay studied African studies and emergency public health with degrees from American University in Washington, DC and UCLA. Since she was a small child, Lindsay has been passionate about volunteering and doing her best to fight the world’s injustices. In an effort to promote racial equity and serve the most vulnerable, Lindsay serves as a board member of the Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council and American Red Cross, Western Los Angeles chapter. Lindsay gets her strong purpose to serve others from her incredibly supportive family. Lindsay and her husband, Ryan, are excited to welcome a daughter into the world next month.

Chef Nyesha J Arrington has been in love with the kitchen since she cooked alongside her grandmother at a young age. Born in Southern California, Arrington was introduced to diverse foods such as bulgogi, octopus, and homemade kimchi during the first stages of her life, which shaped Arrington’s palate and her ideas about cooking and culture.

By integrating flavors and techniques from around the world, Arrington creates a global style that is both personal and unparalleled. A graduate of the Art Institute of California in Los Angeles, Arrington draws from a fine dining background working with the legendary French chef Joel Robuchon.

Arrington has been featured on the Los Angeles Times, Food & Wine, GQ, Cooking Channel, Essence Magazine, Life and Thyme, and Eater LA for her unique artistry in the culinary industry. Partnerships with Facebook, Tastemade, Nike, PBS continue to showcase her culinary vision for the world. Additionally, Arrington has headlined Austin Food & Wine, Los Angeles Food Bowl, Disney California Adventure®, New York Food & Wine Festival. She featured on was recently on the cover of Rachael Ray Everyday and Delta Airlines Sky Magazine. Currently Chef Nyesha is starring on “Next Level Chef,” a new series in which she collaborates with Gordon Ramsay.

Arrington owns and operates a full-service chef consulting & catering business and travels the globe for speaking engagements and dinner collaborations. Her greatest passion will always be diving into the creative process and cooking “Food that Hugs the Soul.”

The event will be hosted by The Organization of Women Leaders (OWL), an organization celebrating and inspiring women to join and develop personally and build success for their business through networking and partnerships, enhancing the wellbeing of each other and the community. For more information, please visit https://smchamber.com/owl-3/