Public Bank LA’s Trinity Tran joins ShelterBox USA for an incredible panel event in honor of International Women’s Day 2025. Featuring Senator Monique Limon, LA Fire Department Captain Sheila Kelliher, and author Mindy Budgor. Moderated by ShelterBox USA’s President Kerri Murray.
Montecito Journal: In the quiet corridors of global progress, a sobering statistic echoes: 134 years. That’s how long the 2024 Global Gender Gap Report predicts it will take to reach gender parity worldwide. It’s a timeline that stretches beyond our lifetimes, a horizon we can glimpse but never reach unless something fundamental changes in our approach.
This is precisely why ShelterBox USA’s annual International Women’s Day panel carries such weight in 2025. Now established as Santa Barbara’s longest-running event celebrating this global day, this year’s gathering transforms the Music Academy of the West into an incubator of ideas centered around the urgent theme, “Invest in Women – Accelerate Action,” and the push for greater progress.
The carefully curated panel brings together women who don’t merely discuss change – they embody it. Captain Sheila Kelliher, the first woman to serve as Public Information Officer for Los Angeles County Fire Department, represents the front lines of gender barrier-breaking. Recently seen on the Grammy stage handing “Album of the Year” to Beyoncé, Kelliher has navigated the historically male-dominated firefighting profession while establishing a Women’s Fire Prep Academy, creating pathways for future generations to follow.
Senator Monique Limón offers a complementary perspective from the legislative sphere. As Vice Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus and representative of California’s 21st district, Limón crafts the policies that translate aspiration into structural change, particularly in advancing economic equality through pay equity legislation.
Community activist Trinity Tran brings yet another dimension to the conversation, focusing on economic opportunities for marginalized communities. Her work on the California Public Banking Act exemplifies how expanding access to financial systems can create cascading benefits for women and other underrepresented groups.
