Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Nury Martinez has dedicated her life to her community, working to create good-paying local jobs, keeping our communities safe and advocating for our children and students. A neighborhood watch captain, homeowner and a mother, Nury is currently the only woman sitting on the Los Angeles City Council. As a School Board Member, she successfully fought to keep the aviation mechanics school at the Van Nuys Airport open. As an executive director of a local non-profit, Nury helped clean up a former toxic waste site and turn it into the Pacoima Plaza shopping center that only hires local workers from the community. Nury has also helped obtain millions of dollars to expand community health clinics and has opened up more opportunities for seniors to participate in recreational programs. We are delighted to have Nury as our special guest for our holiday party!

Hostess: Barbi Appelquist

In 2011, Barbi was invited to the launch of The Women in Public Service Project in Washington, D.C. Barbi is a former candidate for California State Senate, District 26. She completed her Masters in Public Policy at Pepperdine University, School of Public Policy where she was Valedictorian, served as President of Pepperdine Women in Public Policy, and an editor of and contributor to the Pepperdine Policy Review. She loves spending time with her husband and their 6-year old daughter in Santa Monica and training for the next half marathon with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team-in-Training. We are delighted to celebrate our holiday party at Barbi's Santa Monica home and thank her for her generous support of our caucus!