Jacqueline Jacobs Caster Named 2017 Woman Of The Year For Senate District 26

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Senator Ben Allen (D – Santa Monica) has named Jacqueline Caster as the 2017 Woman of the Year for Senate District 26. Tuesday night, Jacqueline Caster was honored at a reception hosted by Senator Ben Allen at the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club.

The Honorable Michael Nash, Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Office of Child Protection, spoke of Caster’s significant role in improving Los Angeles County’s juvenile court system. Other speakers included Elizabeth Lopez, a Loyola Marymount student who had benefited as a youth from Everychild’s grant to Mar Vista Family Center where she attended after-school programs. Players from “Get Lit”, the arts enrichment program, also performed very moving personal stories.

Caster is the Founder and President of the Everychild Foundation, whose over 200 women members award an annual $1 million grant to nonprofit agencies serving vulnerable local children. Its mission is to “ease the suffering of children in the Greater Los Angeles area.” To date, grants from the Everychild Foundation total close to $16 million and have served over 1 million children.

Ms. Caster sits on the Los Angeles County Probation Commission with her most recent advocacy efforts being focused on alternatives to incarceration for juveniles. Caster is a graduate of Pomona College, holds a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and her Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award from Senator Allen recognizing women making a difference. The foundation has demonstrated the tremendous power women can have when they work together efficiently and strategically, and I thank Senator Allen for this great honor,” said Caster.