
This International Women’s Day, ShelterBox USA held our annual panel in celebration of women’s cultural, political, and economic achievements worldwide.
Advancing Equity and Access For Women Around the World
Wednesday | March 8, 2023 | 5:30 PM
101 Innovation Place, Santa Barbara, CA 93108
Keep reading to learn more about our esteemed panelists and ShelterBox’s commitment to empowering women around the globe with the tools to rebuild their homes and lives after a disaster.
At this exclusive live event, you will hear from an inspiring panel of female leaders with diverse backgrounds on how women are leading the charge on building sustainable impact in their industries and communities.

Hannah-Beth Jackson
Founder & CEO, Hannah-Beth Jackson & Associates
Hannah-Beth Jackson is a former California State Senator, practicing attorney, educator and small business owner. Named one of 11 women “blazing new trails in American politics” by the Huffington Post and the “State Senator shifting California’s workplace culture” by the New York Times, she is a nationally recognized champion for women’s equality, the environment, internet privacy, and more.

Kathy Odell
CEO, Women's Economic Ventures
Kathy Odell is CEO of Women’s Economic Ventures, a 501(c)3 dedicated to the economic empowerment of women. Kathy joined WEV as CEO in 2019 after a rewarding career as a technology entrepreneur. As a serial entrepreneur, she has experienced firsthand the challenges of small business, and the need to educate the public on the huge contribution of small business to our economy and their role in creating and sustaining vibrant local economies.

Gwyn Lurie
CEO & Editor In Chief, Montecito Journal
A life-long writer, Gwyn Lurie began her career as a Journalist for ABC Network News in New York where she worked as the Executive Assistant to News President Roone Arledge, and later as an off-air reporter and associate Producer. In 1987 she was a producer on the award-winning documentary “Voices From the Attic” about her family’s years in hiding during the holocaust.
In 2019 Gwyn raised the capital through local investors to purchase the Montecito Journal and founded the Montecito Journal Media Group, for which she currently serves as CEO and Executive Editor of the Montecito Journal, The Montecito Journal Glossy Magazine, and The Giving List Santa Barbara, The Giving List Los Angeles and The Giving List Bay Area and The Giving List Women.

Katya Armistead
Assistant Vice Chancellor & Dean of Student Life, UC Santa Barbara
Katya Armistead is a student-focused administrator with over 30 years of experience. She currently serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor and Dean of Student Life (AVC/DOS) at UC Santa Barbara. As an executive manager in the Division of Student Affairs, Katya serves as the control point for 10 Student Affairs departments. In her campus leadership role, Katya demonstrates broad concern for issues that pertain to the quality of student life of UCSB students (especially outside of the classroom); facilitates problem-solving and crisis response; promotes inclusion in the campus community and equitable access to UC Santa Barbara learning environment by students of all identities and liaises between students and University administration by listening broadly to student input and representing student perspectives and interests.
WOMEN ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY DISASTER
As women around the world flee violence and face disasters, they are often left homeless and vulnerable.
Women experience higher death rates, increased gender-based violence, economic loss and loss of education. However, women are pivotal in the recovery process – they are often the first responders to a crisis and play a central role in the survival and resilience of families and communities.
Last year we reached thousands of women, delivering emergency shelter and supporting them to rebuild their homes and their lives.
Join us, stand with her, and help empower women around the world. #ShelterHer
HOW SHELTERBOX IS WORKING TO CHANGE THIS
At ShelterBox, we prioritize the most vulnerable families and communities and empower them to rebuild and restart.
By providing women and families with immediate emergency aid we can help them recover faster. Rebuilding their homes, caring for their families, resuming their livelihoods.
Learn more about how ShelterBox supports women
An estimated ONE IN FIVE female refugees have experienced sexual violence – actual numbers could be much higher
Violence against women increases in conflict settings, with more than 70% of women experiencing it in some crisis settings (ActionAid)
60% of preventable maternal deaths take place in settings of conflict, displacement and disasters (UNFPA)
TAKE THE #SHELTERHER CHALLENGE
You can help empower women who have lost everything to disaster or violent conflict. Take the #ShelterHer Challenge and give a monthly gift of $85.
Over the course of a year, your monthly gift of $85 can fund a complete ShelterBox to provide shelter, supplies, and a home for a displaced woman to take care of her family and rebuild her community.
Today only, your gift will be matched up to $20,000 thanks to generous ShelterBox supporters.
Pam Pine, long time ShelterBox supporter, Ambassador, and Rotarian generously increased our anonymous match from $10,000 to $20,000 in honor of her son, Jesse, and his commitment to sheltering families through his Ride for ShelterBox. Pam was especially moved to participate on IWD in light of the crisis unfolding in Ukraine.
(This match gift is) in honor of all women, especially those who struggle to keep their families together in times of displacement.”
Together, we can help families return to normal by providing women with the tools and training they need. Together we can empower women after disaster.