Five Women Inducted into Marin Women’s Hall of Fame

Marin County Post

“Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18 Weekly Edition. Mar. 19-25, 2014 www.postnewsgroup.com

Five outstanding women – Claudia Asprer, Joan Brown, Patricia Gibbs M.D., Bettie Ruth Hodges, and Elissa Giambastiani (posthumous) – will be inducted into the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame for their contributions to the welfare of Marin County.
They will be honored at the 2014 Marin Women’s Hall of Fame Gala Banquet on Thurs¬day, March 27, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Events Center of the Peacock Gap Golf Club, 333 Biscayne Drive in San Rafael.
The Marin Women’s Hall of Fame was founded in 1987 to recognize outstand¬ing women in Marin and has now grown to include 127 honorees, whose lives have been recorded in a variety of media. This archive is a rich resource for scholarship, in¬spiration and prosperity. The YWCA Marin is the steward of the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame.
This year’s honorees each have devoted their time to helping the Marin commu¬nity.
Claudia Asprer has been a foster parent for over 90 chil¬dren in Marin, and has ad¬opted nearly a third of them. She founded Moving On Up to provide support for eman¬cipated foster children. As a result, more foster children are graduating from college and leading healthy, safe and productive lives.
Joan Brown created Marin County’s internationally ac¬claimed Civic Center Vol¬unteers (CCV) and served as director for over 32 years. The program has grown from zero to more than 8,500 volunteers in 2011 when Brown retired, and also increased services that year to Marin residents by more than $10.5 million. Brown also maintained ex¬cellent collaborative relation¬ships with unions, line work¬ers, and management.
On Valentine’s Day in 1994, Dr. Tricia Gibbs, along with husband and co-founder Dr. Richard Gibbs, opened the doors to the San Francisco Free Clinic, which has pro¬vided free medical care to the uninsured, while training and encouraging other physicians and medical providers to do the same.
Bettie Ruth Hodges is a pil¬lar of the Marin City commu¬nity. As President and Execu¬tive Director of The Hannah Project Partnership for Aca¬demic Achievement, Hodges has helped countless young people in Marin City and other underserved communities to achieve their full potential. The Hannah Project uses cul¬ture and the arts to undergird its educational programming, build community, and pro¬mote the value of achievement among low-income Black and Brown youth in Marin.
Elissa Giambastiani served as CEO of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce from 1987 to 2005, and transformed it into one of the top chambers in the state. She made sure that the business community had a strong voice in addressing many of the city’s issues, such as affordable housing, educa¬tion, and health care. Giam¬bastiani also helped establish the Marin Economic Commis¬sion, the city’s first Economic Conference, and the San Ra¬fael Leadership Institute.
Tickets for the banquet start at $80 and can be purchased at www.mwhf.org. For more in¬formation, contact Jane Win¬ter, Executive Director of the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame at jane@ywcasf-marin.org or call (415) 760-1344