The theme of this 2012 Women’s History celebration is “Women’s Education – Women’s Empowerment.” Four community women will be honored who in their own unique ways have accomplished extraordinary work in the areas of educating and empowering women.
The Honorees are: Judy Albert, Kathy Lehner, Val Muchowski, and Debra Ramirez.

A native Californian, Judy Albert has devoted most of her professional life to the empowerment of women and girls facing challenging life circumstances. As a staff member of Project Sanctuary since 1984, she has served as director of the sexual assault and domestic violence programs. In that capacity, she counsels survivors of sexual abuse and violence and assists clients seeking to make a fresh start with housing, employment, and psychological support. Albert helped organize and remains active on the Sexual Assault Response Team in Mendocino County (SART).

Prior to coming to Project Sanctuary, Judy worked as a counselor for a group home for girls and as an administrative assistant for other non-profits. Outside of work, Judy volunteers as a mentor to a teenaged girl as part of the Mentor Partnership Scholar Program. Now, holding a Marriage and Family Therapy license and a M.A. Degree in counseling, Albert also maintains a part-time psychotherapy practice.

When asked about what she enjoys about working for Project Sanctuary, Judy Albert says, “I love working at this agency with the diversity of clients and staff. In addition to working from an empowerment model for clientele, we are always working to encourage our staff to understand individual concerns and to create flexibility in the workplace to support our challenges.”

Kathy Lehner is from Ottawa, Kansas. After obtaining an accounting degree from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, she practiced as a CPA for 12 years in Kansas, Arizona, and New Mexico. As a graduate student at the University of New Mexico, Lehner taught her first accounting class and says, ”I became hooked on the mission of educating others.” After the birth of her second child in 1983, Lehner went from teaching as an adjunct professor to full-time teaching at the University of Oklahoma. She began her community college career when the family moved back to Kansas, and she became an accounting professor mid-term at Dodge City Community College. She recalls how she found her niche: ”I personally identified with the community college philosophy and its goal of individual student success.”

Lehner entered administration in 1989, when the family moved to Colorado Springs, where she rose from faculty to an assistant dean’s position, and up the ladder to dean, and associate vice-president at Pikes Peak Community College. In 2003, she moved to Ukiah to become the Vice-President of Academic Affairs at Mendocino College; two years later she became Superintendent/President. Lehner says, “One of the most important characteristics I’ve found to being successful is to build relationships. I believe that the qualities of compassion, nurturance, support, and sincerity help women succeed in administration.”

Kathy Lehner says, “I have always been led by how I can help to meet the needs in a community.” To this end, she has been actively serving on community boards including: the Greater Ukiah Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development and Finance Corporation, the Rotary Club of Ukiah, AAUW-Ukiah, and the Community Advisory Committee for Ukiah Valley Medical Center.

Val Muchowski was born in Tucson, AZ, and following the death of her father, as an infant she moved to Buffalo, NY to be raised with her mother’s family, a household of women. She recalls, “My mother worked at Lockheed Defense, a real ‘Rosie the Riveter’.” With a teaching degree from SUNY, Buffalo, Muchowski left with her husband, Steve in a new 1963 Blue Sunbeam Alpine convertible sports car on a move to California, staying at the national parks along the way.

Living in Santa Clara, Muchowski’s teaching career was delayed by having three children in four years. In 1976 the Muchowski family moved into the geodesic dome house that Steve built near Philo. From January 1977 until her retirement in 2005, Muchowski taught in Anderson Valley. She recalls the inequities faced by Norma Bork in her 1980 Congressional campaign as what sparked her passion for supporting women in politics. Thirty years ago Muchowski led the formation of the first National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) in Mendocino County.  Reflecting on a highlight of her life, the 1983 NWPC National Convention in San Antonio with 500 feminists, she says, “I can still see the gondola going down the River with Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, and Ann Richards.”

Muchowski continues be a leader in fighting for equity and women’s issues. She says, “I’ve worked with women’s groups, Democrats and the California Teachers Association to promote women candidates and women’s issues. I find it exciting to recruit, train, endorse, and support women running for elected office.” She is also proud of the radio program, “Women’s Voices” on KZYX that she launched in 1989, and the Commission on the Status of Women in 1996. “I have been very fortunate,” says Muchowski, “to live in Mendocino County with incredible women who are passionate and interested in important issues. They have taught me and enriched my life. Working with our women for the past 30 years has been a joy and a privilege.”

Debra Ramirez is the Shelter Manager for Project Sanctuary. She has worked for Project Sanctuary for 22 years. She is a member of the Redwood Valley Little River Band of Pomo Indians and was raised in Mendocino County. Ramirez has dedicated her life to what she calls, “servant leadership.” During the 70s Ramireiz’s three-year old son was attending the Oakland Children’s Center, where she volunteered and became an Instructional Aide while completing her degree in Child Development at Merritt Community College. Ramirez became immersed working in an exceptional program including pre-school, nursery, and after school children representing 100 tribes with curriculum from parents and integral with tribal cultures.

Ramirez returned to her Redwood Valley Reservation in 1987 and began the on-site Child Care Center at Project Sanctuary in 1989. She took the volunteer training, worked weekends with emergencies, and became Shelter Manger in 1996. “One of the keys to reacting to clients in crisis,” says Ramirez, “is to realize that they need to be heard without being judged. We need to realize that they cannot make decisions on the spot but need to be empowered and offered options in a safe place.” She has dedicated her life to working with women to envision and create new possibilities for themselves and their families. She says, “I want to live my life as an example of self-empowerment and overcoming life’s obstacles, to have sensitivity and understanding, and to be a role model to women from all walks of life.”

Debra Ramirez is actively involved on local and national issues relating to women, health and domestic violence. Her previous leadership roles include: the Redwood Valley Little River Band of Pomo Indians Tribal Council for six years; past Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Consolidated Tribal Health Board of Directors; the California Tribal Advisory Committee for the Indian Health Services; and the Inter-Tribal Council of California’s Task Force on Domestic Violence. In 2010, Ramirez was among a delegation of Tribal Leaders who met with President Obama to address federal trust responsibilities.

By Katarzyna Rolzinski