Santa Clara County supervisors honor Womanhood Project, declare March observances and recognize labor, staff achievements

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on March 10, 2025 presented a series of proclamations and commendations, including recognition of the Womanhood Project, declarations naming March as Women’s History Month, Youth Arts Month and Social Work Month, a commendation for Teamsters Local 853 members who secured a contract with their employer, and county employee excellence awards.

The board unanimously approved the set of presentations before the proclamations were read and guests invited to the dais. A roll-call vote recorded five affirmative votes: Supervisor Abakota (aye), Supervisor Young (yes), Supervisor Ellenberg (yes), Vice President Sylvia Arenas (yes) and President Lee (yes).

The Womanhood Project, introduced to the board by former Supervisor Diane McKenna, described work the group says began under a county contract issued in late January 2020. "The project was originally intended to be funded with $5,000,000 from the county to create 5 permanent monuments recognizing women in each supervisory district, plus 1 in central civic center," McKenna told the board. McKenna and project representatives said the county funding for implementation has not been provided, and the team used its contract with the Office of Women’s Policy to develop plans, run pilot projects and raise outside funds.

Project staff described their public-engagement work: a WOMANHOOD database and mapping platform, text- and voicemail-based outreach in multiple languages, 22 focus groups, 14 webinars, 20 newsletters and in-person engagement across 15 municipalities. They said they commissioned 14 artists for an initial women’s history kickoff and have launched "Journey Through Womanhood," an augmented-reality project the team said will total 100 temporary AR artworks countywide; the first, they said, commissioned 20 markers honoring women from about 1896 to the present. Project leaders asked the county to prioritize placemaking partnerships with the Office of Fleet and Facilities and the Parks Department and said they will continue fundraising.

Vice President Sylvia Arenas presented a proclamation declaring March 2025 as Women’s History Month, noted the county’s history of women’s civic leadership and invited staff from the Office of Women’s Policy and community partners to the podium. Alexis Roman, county director of the Young Women’s Freedom Center, thanked the board and described the Center’s programs for justice-impacted young mothers, calling the proclamation "an honor" for the young leaders her organization serves. Dr. Sofia Fojas, arts coordinator for the Santa Clara County Office of Education, accepted a proclamation declaring March as Youth Arts Month and described district arts programs, a county Young Artist Showcase and collaborations with county departments that include student artworks addressing the opioid crisis.

The board also proclaimed March 2025 as Social Work Month. County social services leaders — including Wendy Kinnear Rausch, identified in the meeting as director of the Department of Family and Children Services, and other department directors — accepted the proclamation and described social workers’ roles across child welfare, veterans services, adult protective services and in-home supportive services.

Supervisor Renick (motion) and Supervisor Ellenberg (second) moved to approve the presentations at the start of the items; the board recorded a unanimous vote to carry the motion. (See "Actions" below for the full vote record.)

The board recognized members of Teamsters Local 853 who organized at Premier Recycle and, after a multi‑year labor campaign, secured a contract the union representatives said was finalized Dec. 11, 2024. Michael Flores, identified at the dais as a steward, called the campaign "a hard fight" and said, "This company did everything in their power to destroy us... and now we do."

The meeting concluded with county employee excellence awards presented by County Executive James Williams. The board recognized more than a dozen staff across departments — including Ricardo Romero Morales (language access), Abdel Awas (communications systems), Cynthia Pimienta (county counsel paralegal), Sgt. Mario Ledesma (Sheriff’s Office), Deputy Probation Officer Joshua Anguiano and his canine partner Bodie, Shaila Garcia (Social Services Agency), Tiffany Lee (Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital), Dr. Philip Letts (custody dental services), Brian Medallia (County Fire senior mechanic) and others — each cited by presenters for contributions to emergency operations, public safety communications, legal services, reentry programs, public health and operations.

President Lee closed the session by thanking award recipients and adjourning to the board’s next regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 9:30 a.m.