NAWBO-CA October 2021 Newsletter

#NAWBO CALIFORNIA NEWS

President's Message

Dear NAWBO leaders, members, and friends,

It is hard to believe we’re wrapping up October. NAWBO recognizes and celebrates women-owned businesses every month, and National Women's Small Business Month gave us even more reasons to connect with and support women business owners across California.

Many of us had the chance to catch up at the all-member mixer. It was great to hear about your plans for the end of 2021 and so many expansion and growth plans for 2022! I can’t wait to see what we accomplish as we support one another. Please keep an eye out for another mixer after the holidays.

October also brought us the NAWBO National Women’s Business Conference. It was a pleasure to see many of you virtually and to hear first-hand NAWBO National’s increased commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. For any members who were not part of the conference, NAWBO HQ did send out dedicated communications to members October 27th and more on new DEI&B offerings on the 28th.

As you know, NAWBO California is devoted to celebrating the greatness of diversity and uplifting all women business owners. I would like to encourage all of us to join the Courageous Conversations hosted by NAWBO and the National Federation for Just Communities (NFJC) of WNY. You’ll find more information and registration links in the newsletter below. No matter how far we’ve come, I’m a firm believer we can all do more.

I’m excited to announce we have dates for Propel 2022! Please save May 16-17th to join NAWBO members from across California in Sacramento to advocate for our fellow women business owners. If you are interested in serving on the Propel planning committee, please respond to this email or reach out to me directly and we will get you looped in!

In sisterhood,

Amber Wallace

NAWBO-CA President

President & CEO, Dowitcher Designs

Past President, NAWBO Santa Barbara

PROPEL 2022 IS COMING!

Please circle May 16-17, 2022 on your calendars for Propel 2022!

More information will be available as the date approaches.

NAWBO-CA Advocacy & Public Policy report

The decision to recall Governor Newsom was made on September 14th with a healthy

majority of voters granting him the ability to finish out his term. With the recall behind him, Governor Newsom focused on taking action on the 836 bills sent to his desk. Of the 836 bills, he signed 770 (92%) and vetoed 66 (7.9%). In pre-pandemic times, the Governor could expect to see about 2,000 bills at his door. After meeting his October 10th deadline to take action on bills, the Governor is expected to focus on the 2022-23 Budget that he will submit to the Legislature in January.

The 2019-20 and 2021-22 sessions were certainly historic and remarkable years in terms

of how the Legislature was able to operate under the 2020 COVID-19 shutdowns and the

State Capitol’s closure in 2021. The 2020 legislative session was the shortest one in history. The legislature met in the Capitol for a total of three months, unlike the 9-month legislative cycle in a non-COVID year. The shortage of hearing rooms to accommodate the state’s social distancing requirements, staff forced to work remotely, and the strict 12 bill limit enforced by the Senate and Assembly leadership, made it nearly impossible for many of the bills to be

granted a hearing.

Interestingly enough, the 2021 year produced a budget surplus, thanks to a healthy stock market and the grants and loans received from the feds. The surplus enabled the Governor and Legislature to pass a $262.6 billion budget package that included preschool for all children 4 years or older, health insurance for low-income undocumented immigrants age 50 and older, and $600 in stimulus payments for just about all Californians. Also included in the budget package was a $115 million incentive for Californians to enter into weekly million dollar sweepstakes upon receiving their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.

Read the full report here

See the outcome of tracked bills

Meet an inspiring 2021 Pathways Program graduate!

Dr. Giovanna Brasfield serves as the Senior Supplier Diversity and Community Inclusion for Flatiron Construction's Southwest Division and the Vice President of

Project Diversity & Inclusion. She also serves as the

Inclusivity Manager for LINXS JV on the Los Angeles World Airport’s Automated People Mover project. In her role, Dr. Brasfield assists the Southwest District Manager and the Division Manager in meeting contractual requirements on current and upcoming project pursuits that engage

women, diverse businesses, local workforce, and

youth engagement.

She has been named the 2020 Mujer del Año by the Regional Hispanic Institute as part of the Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, identified by Autodesk’s construction industry bloggers as one of the 2020’s and 2019’s “Top 50 Construction Influencers” across the United States, by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a finalist for the Rising Star Award, and by Diversity Professional Magazine as a “Game Changer.”

Courageous conversations are the start of any healing process. Join NAWBO and the National Federation for Just Communities (NFJC) of WNY, Inc. for a monthly virtual series of DEIB Circle events starting in November designed to empower, encourage and support you in your diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEI&B) journey.

We’ll explore:

Ways we communicate with one another
How to become better listeners (a skill we need now more than ever!)
Social issues that impact our ability to empathize
How to understand our differences

Become an active participant in overcoming the many divides that separate us! Each session will bring our community closer together in a DEIB Circle format for respectful dialogue with the goal of learning from and with one another. Sessions begin with large group discussions followed by facilitated small group conversations.