Celebrating Women: Westmont Women’s Leadership Council

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Hundreds turned out for Westmont's 9th annual Women's Leadership Council Luncheon. 

The sold-out event at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort saw the celebration of three outstanding women.

Yvette Birch Giller and her mother, Sue Birch, were recipients of the Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree Spirt of Santa Barbara Award for their years-long contributions to the community through the Mosher Foundation. Birch Giller is the current President and CEO; Birch serves as Trustee.

Anja Manuel, Co-Founder and Principal in Rice, Hadley, Gates and Manuel, was guest speaker.

The consulting firm helps U.S. companies navigate international markets. Manuel, a former diplomat and foreign policy advisor, said she is always touched and inspired when meeting young people, especially women.

"They're enormously idealistic," said Manuel. "They take in the problems that we have -- all the things we're going to talk about today from what's happening in Iran to US-China relations to AI -- and they kind of take it in and say, 'OK, I'm going to try to do this in a more positive way.'"

Manuel said ethics, creativity and, critical thinking cannot be replaced by AI.

Westmont's Women's Leadership Council prides itself on helping empower women through mentorships and internships. In turn, the vast majority of those young women help elevate entire communities.