On behalf of the girls we serve, we would like to thank our sponsors, guests, donors, board members, and staff for helping raise funds and host a successful event!
All proceeds raised will help support our STEAM-based programs and ensure that more girls have access to learning about technology and engineering through hands-on projects.
In case you missed our event, or would like to experience it again, enjoy a recording of our Fall Virtual Benefit.
Video Highlights
4:25 – DIY Girls Alumni Video
7:00 – Assemblymember Luz Rivas
18:00 – Event Panel
37:00 – Award Segment
OUR HONOREES & PANELISTS
Senator Lena Gonzalez
California State Senator
Recipient of the Community Leader Award & Panelist
A former Long Beach City Council member, Senator Gonzalez was first elected to the state Senate June 2019. As State Senator, she represents nearly 1 million residents in Southeast Los Angeles, Signal Hill, portions of South Los Angeles and Lakewood, and her hometown of Long Beach.
In the state Senate, Senator Gonzalez is a strong voice for multiple groups in her community. She is a proud daughter of Mexican immigrants from Aguascalientes, Mexico. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from CSU Long Beach and a Masters in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University. For her full bio, click here.
Christina Hernandez
NASA JPL Payload Systems Engineer
Recipient of the Inspirational Leader Award & Panelist
Through her work at JPL, Christina has worked as a micrometeoroid and orbital debris specialist in the Natural Space Environments group. Serving as one of Perseverance’s payload systems engineers, she has worked on three out of the seven science instruments: MEDA (weather station), RIMFAX (radar) and PIXL (spectrometer).
She was able to strategically guide three instrument teams through various phases of hardware development and integration and test, including preliminary and critical design review. This led to the delivery of 13 pieces of instrument hardware and three instrument software packages on the Mars rover. For her full bio click here.
Diana Trujillo
NASA JPL Aerospace Engineer
Recipient of the Inspirational Leader Award & Panelist
Diana Trujillo is an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she currently serves as a Flight Director and as the Robotic Arm System domain lead for the Mars Perseverance mission. Born and raised in Colombia, Diana immigrated to the United States at the age of 17 to pursue her dream of working for NASA.
Diana has worked in several roles on the Mars Curiosity and Constellation programs since joining JPL in 2008. Most recently, she served as the Mission Lead, Deputy Project System Engineer, Deputy Team Chief of the Engineering division for Curiosity (also known as the Mars Science Laboratory). For her full bio, click here.
Daniela Orozco-Jimenez
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University
DIY Girls Alumnus & Panelist
Daniela is a San Fernando Valley native with Mexican-Honduran roots. Daniela attended San Fernando High School through which she was able to participate in the DIY Girls Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam, and was exposed to engineering for the first time. She then attended Stanford University obtaining her B.S in Mechanical Engineering. Daniela’s interests in engineering are rooted in the ability to improve the lives of others and hopes to pursue this in her career.
With a special guest appearance by DIY Girls’ founder and Assemblywoman Luz Rivas.
For her full biography, click here.
OUR MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES
Sandra O’Neill is the News Anchor for Telemundo 52’s award-winning weekday morning newscasts, Noticiero Telemundo 52 a las 5 a.m. y 6 a.m. O’Neill is a seasoned journalist with nearly two decades of storytelling experience covering issues and significant events impacting the community. Her storytelling has earned her notable recognitions from the Associated Press Television and Radio Association, an Edward R. Morrow award for production and three Emmy awards for her coverage of the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 2015 San Bernardino massacre.
For her full bio, click here.
THANK YOU TO OUR SILENT AUCTION CONTRIBUTORS!
Chris Weisbart, codeSpark, Diane V. Radel, Final Girl Vines, Hollywood Wax Museum, Los Angeles Clippers, Marty Mankes, Mater of Fact, Nathan Makaryk, Nick Bruel, Organized by Kammy, Pottery by Janeen, Mastermind Games, Sarah Swoffer, Stacy Yip, Susie Cakes, Svahaa, The Succulent Doctor, Tori Pulkka