Women of Distinction
Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris hosted a celebration on Thursday April 21, 2022 naming six women from the 74th Assembly District as the 2022 Women of Distinction. They were recognized for their distinguished service and leadership within our communities. This year's awardees are:
Dr. Ginger Osborne, Laguna Beach
Ginger T. Osborne, is a retired psychology professor at Santa Ana College. There she was honored as the Distinguished Faculty Lecturer and served as the national vice-president of Psi Beta, the community college honors society for psychology students.
Additionally, Ginger is a community leader in Laguna Beach, where she simultaneously served as presidents of both Village Laguna, the largest civic organization in the city, and The South Laguna Civic Association, which has a membership of nearly 300 people.
Currently, she is best known for cofounding and co-leading the Laguna chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, an international organization. Ginger has lobbied Congresspersons on Capitol Hill in support of The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.
In Laguna Beach she has secured endorsement of this measure from the current mayor of her city. Six times a year Ginger and her husband, Tom, prepare and serve dinners to the city’s unsheltered at the Alternative Sleeping Location. Her numerous marathons, including running in the Boston Marathon (3:18:57), attest to her stamina to accomplish all of the above.
The Honorable Judge Frances Munoz, Newport Beach
She was appointed in 1978 by Governor Jerry Brown to the Orange County Harbor Judicial District as the first Mexican female judge in California. The fifth of eleven children, Judge Muñoz was the first to graduate from high school, but without the necessary financial resources to attend college, she went to work in business. In 1972, after ten years of night school and at the age of 41, Judge Muñoz received her Juris Doctorate from Southwestern University School of Law.
Judge Muñoz has focused on the issues she is passionate about, including immigration, education, diversity in the legal system and family. Her commitment to the Latino community has also led her to found various organizations including the Hispanic Education Endowment and The Ralph Luevano Scholarship Foundation, and along with a small group of Latino attorneys she co-founded the Hispanic Orange County Bar Association. After 28 years on the bench, Judge Muñoz retired, but continues her public service on the bench as an assigned judge.
Judge Frances could not be with us today and will be honored in absentia.
Ms. Cece Sloan, Laguna Woods
For more than a decade CeCe helped women celebrate International Women's Day in March along with National Women's History Month and honored women who fought and died for women's rights. Since 2017, CeCe directed the play reading of SEVEN, written by seven female playwrights about seven women from 7 different countries who suffered physical and psychological struggles and rose above them to become leaders in their nations.
She directed an east coast cast as well and performed at the UN during the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN for women's rights. In 2020 just before Covid she designed a day devoted to the 100 years of women's right to vote.
Also Cece has maintained the attendance of a large theater group to the local professional theater South Coast Repertory to keep theater alive in Orange County.
During the pandemic lockdown, Cece continued her lifelong love of art and activism and produced programs on zoom. Once things began to open up, Cece began producing in-person events and got people out again. Cece has served our community for years. The list of her activities since April 2020 is testament to her energy and enthusiasm for bringing issue awareness and cultural enjoyment to our community.
Ms. Debora Wondercheck, Costa Mesa
Debora Wondercheck is a corporate leader with seventeen years of experience in strategy development, program management and implementation, with a focus on culturally sensitive and inclusive afterschool artistic training and education for all children in k-12 schools, particularly those who are under resourced. As the founder of the nationally acclaimed Arts & Learning Conservatory (ALC), Wondercheck has a proven track record in fundraising, public education, executive leadership, non-profit governance and program development.
Wondercheck’s relationships have created artistic experiences for over 40 schools throughout Southern California. She is particularly proud of her recent partnerships with the Orange County Department of Education and the YMCA of Orange County. Her extensive expertise in arts education (professor/cellist/orchestral conductor), combined with her ability to build solid partnerships across the public and private sector, has delivered powerful results throughout her career, impacting thousands.
She is committed to use her experience to broaden access to high quality education by supporting innovation, reducing barriers to entry, and building strong communities. Debora counts it a true privilege to serve Orange County with successful and inspiring programs that continue to develop confidence and creativity for life.
Ms. Wondercheck could not attend in person today, so here to receive the award on her behalf is Mr. Chris Baiocchi and Ms. Patrice Holloway.
Dr. Bonnie Castery, Huntington Beach
Dr. Bonnie Castrey is an internationally recognized specialist in dispute resolution. She began a private practice and expanded her dispute resolution practice to include facilitation, training, factfinding, arbitration and systems design.
As a result of Ms. Castrey’s work in Educational System Organization, she devotes considerable time to numerous committees for the enhancement and support of public education. She is proud of her role as an elected Trustee of the Huntington Beach Union High School District since 1985. She has become the vocal advocate for connecting students to “school” through a comprehensive program rich in co-curricular activities, athletics, and an award winning VISUAL and PERFORMING ARTS program.
Ms. Castrey was appointed as a Commissioner with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. She was appointed by the President to a five-year term as a member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel. The President re-appointed her as Chair of the FMCS.
In Dr. Bonnie’s role as a Trustee for HBUHSD, she has served 10 terms as President of the Board and currently Vice President. She has also served as the President of the Orange County School Board Association and currently a member of the California School Board Association’s Delegate Assembly continuously since 1987.
Dr. Marnie Baker, Irvine
Dr. Baker is a board-certified pediatrician with Memorial Care Medical Group, practicing general pediatrics in Irvine for the past 18 years. She loves taking care of patients from birth through adolescence and is seeing her first cohort of newborns in her practice graduate high school.
Dr. Baker is also a leader at Memorial Care, serving as the pediatric department chair and on the board of the Memorial Care Physician Society. She has served her community in Irvine by volunteering at COVID vaccine clinics and on the City of Irvine COVID task force. Dr. Baker has earned honors as a Southern California Super Doctor and Orange County Physician of Excellence.
