Five Receive Woman of the Year Awards from County Commission

Five women whose work has improved the lives of women and families received the Woman of the Year award Tuesday from the Riverside County Commission for Women.

The annual award recognizes contributions by a woman from each of the five supervisorial districts and winners received their awards Tuesday at the Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Award winners are recognized for far-reaching achievements to improve the lives of women and families, bring about social and economic change, and promote women’s equality. They also may serve as outstanding role models to women and girls, work on behalf of women’s issues or have demonstrated outstanding work in their profession to further advocate for women’s rights and improve the status of women in Riverside County.

The 2012-2013 Woman of the Year Award recipients were:

Ofelia Valdez Yeager, District 1

Ofelia’s commitment as a public servant took her to leadership positions in Little League and PTA, and in several community organizations within their committees and boards. She was elected to the Riverside Unified School District Board of Trustees in 1992, her first publicly elected position. She is the first Latina elected to the local School Board. She currently holds the position of president of the Latino Network and is one of the organization’s three founders. She is the founder of Latina Women’s Forum, director of Altura Credit Union, and serves as the honorary chair and funding leader for the Cesar E. Chavez Memorial of Riverside. She is a mentor to women and has demonstrated through her career and community service that she is a role model and innovator who women of all ages can admire and appreciate.

Jennifer O’Farrell, District 2

Last year, Jennifer O’Farrell helped lead a forum in Riverside County to raise awareness about human trafficking. She presented on behalf of Million Kids, a civic group dedicated to combat human trafficking. She is on the staff at SafeHouse and is a mentor, a volunteer and a leader for young women in Riverside County. With SafeHouse as co-chair of the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, she works alongside the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Her time is also spent providing intensive case management to victims, while providing education, collaborating and creating programs within Operation SafeHouse and the County. In all, she is currently serving some 16 different organizations that help empower youth and young women in Riverside County.

Trisha Shea, District 3

Trisha Shea’s life began with a very unhappy and abusive childhood. At 17, she got a job as a waitress, saved her money, and took extra classes in order to finish school early to become a teacher. Trisha graduated from college at 22 and began her teaching career at 23. As a result of her childhood, she developed a desire to give back to the community.

She started fund raising and speaking on behalf of foster care programs. She is passionate about working with children from all walks of life. She is on the board of InspireKidz, a non-profit organization that raises funds for foster-care programs. Trisha also works with teenage girls at Rancho Damacitas, a group home and campus for children who are recovering from abuse. Trisha says she has learned to be grateful for her life experiences because they led her on the path to the life she has today.

Lori Sarner, District 4

In 1986, Lori Sarner and her late husband Harvey, moved from Chicago to Palms Springs. When she first arrived in the desert, Lori combined her love of horses with her concern for the handicapped by taking over the reins at the Pegasus Riding Academy for the Handicapped. She began as program director, then moved to head instructor and then worked toward becoming president of the academy.

Over 12 years, Lori has developed therapeutic riding programs for autistic children, the blind, severely handicapped adults and children, and stroke victims. Next year she hopes to include Alzheimer patients in the Pegasus program. Lori has a deep commitment to Jewish causes and supports the Jewish Federation, Brandeis University, American Friends of the Hebrew University, American Red Magen David for Israel, the Anti-Defamation League and the Holocaust Memorial in Palm Desert. Lori and her late husband, Harvey, were honored by the state of Israel for their support of the Jewish people and in 1996 they received the prestigious Scopus Award from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem honoring their lifetime commitment to humanitarian causes.

Shor Denny, District 5

Shor Denny has been a volunteer for the Moreno Valley Unified School District since 2008. While driving with her child, she recognized the great need to make it safer for children traveling to school and began working hard to bring the national “Safe Routes to School” program to Moreno Valley. The program was awarded $477,000 to fund the infrastructure to make school zones safer for children. “Safe Routes to School” focuses on a safe walking/biking program to promote safety, healthy lifestyles and parent participation at schools. Her efforts brought together the city and the school district, which approved a policy to support the program early in 2012. The program was launched district-wide last fall.

—News release submitted by Riverside County Commission for Women