MiraCosta College Superintendent/President Sunita “Sunny” Cooke is among North San Diego County women recognized Saturday, March 14, by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner (D-77th District) for their contributions to the region.
Ten community members from across the 77th District were honored at Boerner’s annual Women of Impact event in celebration of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, her office announced in a news release. Nominations were open through Jan. 30.
The award for Cooke comes as she prepares to retire after a decade with the Oceanside-based MiraCosta district. She received the award in the education category for her nearly 40 years of work in higher education.
Woman of the Year went to Coronado resident Julie Ducharme of Lead and Empower Her SHE Talks.
Other North County recipients were Rebecca Nussbaum for community service as chief program officer for the Community Resource Center in Encinitas; California Highway Patrol Officer Kerri Rivas in the advocacy category; and military community award honoree Laura White Ludvik, president of the Support the Enlisted Project. Cathedral Catholic High School student Isabella Hook received the young leader award.
In remarks Saturday, Boerner noted the impact of this year’s honorees and other nominees.
“It is such an honor and privilege to be able to shine a light on the incredible women in my district making an impact in our community. Every year, I am overwhelmed by the incredible stories that are submitted with each nomination,” she said in the news release. “With a record number of submissions this year, we wanted to find a way to recognize more of these deserving women publicly, so we are adding an honorable mention category to celebrate an additional 40 women doing outstanding work in the 77th Assembly District.”
The 10 honorees
Civic Engagement: Dr. Marcella Bothwell (Pacific Beach) — Pacific Beach Planning Group
Education: Sunny Cooke, PhD (Encinitas) — MiraCosta College
Woman of the Year: Julie Ducharme, PhD (Coronado) — Lead and Empower Her SHE Talks
Young Leader: Isabella Hook (Carmel Valley) — Cathedral Catholic High School
Health & Human Services: Meredith Kennedy (University City) — American Academy of Pediatrics
Community Service: Rebecca Nussbaum (Encinitas) — Community Resource Center
Arts & Culture: Susanna Peredo Swap (Point Loma) — Vanguard Culture
Advocacy & Activism: Kerri Rivas (Carlsbad) — California Highway Patrol
Business & Entrepreneurship: Cristin Smith (San Diego) — Saffron and Sage
Military Community: Laura White Ludvik (Carlsbad) — Support the Enlisted Project
