8 women from Saint Mary's community and text CELEBRATING WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

Gael women making history: Clockwise from left, Lisa Congdon ’90, Sunayani Bhattacharya, Molly Dreher ’24, Holly Joshi MA ’16, EdD ’22, Annalouisa Gonzalez-Ortega ’96, LaReina Torres ’25, Myrna Santiago, and Ali Bamberger ’23

Celebrating Women’s History Month in the Gael Community

Here are some Saint Mary’s women who have made history—and who are making it. Who are creating opportunities for others. And making sure women’s stories get told.

by Office of Marketing & Communications Staff | March 8, 2024

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we’d like to introduce you to some remarkable women in the Gael community. These are women who have helped make history, are making history today—and who are working to ensure that other women’s stories are told. They’re students and faculty, alums and friends—leading on campus and the community, in competition and creative work alike.

Presidential Responsibilities for Angélica Garcia ’98 — in California and for the White House

After leading Berkeley City College, Angélica Garcia began serving as president of Santa Rosa Junior College in July 2023. And last year President Biden named her to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. This year, on March 27, as part of the 50th anniversary of the High Potential Program at Saint Mary’s, she returns to campus to deliver a keynote address. The event takes place at 3:30 p.m. in the Soda Center.

Solo Debut of Lisa Congdon Exhibition at SMC Museum of Art Alongside Corita Kent’s ‘heroes and sheroes’

On view from September 2023 through June 2024, “Hold it Lightly” features 57 serigraphs created by Lisa Congdon ’90. Her first museum solo show, it showcased work in dialogue with “heroes and sheroes,” an iconic printed series by 1960s pop artist and social activist Corita Kent.

Gael at Heart: California's First Black Millionaire Helped Get Saint Mary’s Off the Ground

Widely considered the mother of California’s civil rights movement, Mary Ellen Pleasant likely never stepped foot on the Saint Mary’s campus. But her influence on the Gael community is no less profound: She was one of the College’s early donors.

Like Father, Like Daughter: SMC’s Ali Bamberger ’24 Scores Big in Record Books

A Saint Mary’s senior forward, Ali Bamberger hit 1,000 points as a Gael, just as her father, Eric, did more than three decades ago. They are the only father-daughter team in NCAA basketball history to achieve that feat at the same school.

Elizabeth Sandoval at Graduation 1976 Archive

Fifty Years of High Potential: Elizabeth Sandoval ’76 Was There from the Very Beginning

One of the first women to attend Saint Mary’s—and a first-generation college student herself—Elizabeth Sandoval would go on to serve as a California state attorney for decades. She was also part of the team that helped the High Potential Program get off the ground.

Anastasia Chavez feature lede with campus.jpg

In Their Own Words: Mathematician Anastasia Chavez on the PRIMES Grant, Her First-Gen Journey, and the Joy of ‘Unknowing’

The $300,000 National Science Foundation grant supports research at minority-serving institutions. For Anastasia Chavez, it allows her to puzzle with matroids, build relationships with students, and continue disrupting the narrative of “who does math.” Read more >

Student Action Helped Bring the High Potential Program into Being. Fifty Years Later, Student Scholars Are Preserving Its History.

How a program born of protest came to represent “the best of our students”—Gaels past and present tell the story. Among them: LaReina Torres ’25, a Chemistry and History double major and an HP student herself. Through an oral history project in a Public History course, she saw her own experience reflected in the lives of those who came before her. Read more >

Top Teacher: Annalouisa Gonzalez-Ortega ’96

Named a Teacher of the Year by the Contra Costa County Department of Education, Annalouisa Gonzalez-Ortega has spent over two decades championing first-generation students in high school. It's all about showing young people their potential, she says: “They just need to see that it’s there.” Read more >

Holly Joshi in front of mural that says STOP YOUTH VIOLENCE IN OAKLAND

Meritorious Service Award: Holly Joshi MA ’16, EdD ’22

Holly Joshi has enacted deep and expanding service to the Bay Area, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, social justice, and building equity. She has led roles in law enforcement and nonprofit, social justice organizations, including Glide SF and the MISSEY organization, designed to support commercially sexually exploited youth. She was recently named the City of Oakland's Chief of Department of Violence Prevention, which addresses root causes of violence. And in 2021 she was featured in the documentary Still I Rise for her pioneering work in the anti-trafficking movement. Read more >

Building a Better Future in Politics: Saint Mary’s is the First West Coast University to Join Women’s Leadership Network

The SMC campus will host a timely conference in June for undergraduate women on how to become involved in politics—and why it matters. Myrna Santiago directs the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Saint Mary’s. Through the National Education for Women’s (NEW) Leadership National Network, she says, “Saint Mary's will be able to make new opportunities available for undergraduate women from throughout the region to learn about the many paths there are to get involved in politics, make a career in the field, and consider running for office in the future.”
Read more >

Scholar at Work: How Sunayani Bhattacharya Turns the Focus of Literary Analysis onto the Reader, Connecting Past with Present

‘The Novel in Nineteenth-Century Bengal’ by Sunayani Bhattacharya traces development of a new form of literature in Bengal, revealing how society and reading itself changed. It’s a work of scholarship and personal history that pays tribute to the women who opened a path for her. Bhattacharya is also leading work on a project by SMC faculty to transform curriculum in the humanities.
Read more >

Molly Dreher ’24 to Recognized at ESPYS as a Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award Honoree

In June 2023, Molly Dreher ’24 was recognized for using the power of sport as a catalyst for change. The STEM major has helped captain the Cross Country and Track Team and shown leadership on Capitol Hill.
Read more >

Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art (SMCMoA) New Exhibitions Expand Multiple Narratives

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