March is Women’s History Month—an observance that grew from a 1978 Women’s History Week organized in Sonoma County, California, and later gained national recognition through congressional action in the 1980s. In honor of Women’s History Month, here are three inspiring local women improving our area through their daily work.
ISAURA ARREGUIN
Executive Director for the Salinas Community Science Workshop, Founder and President of Latina Professionals Central Valley, and Member of the Salinas Valley Health Board of Directors
Isaura Arreguin moved from Michoacán, Mexico, to California at age 17. She served for over 11 years in various roles at Hartnell College, worked as Global Development Coordinator for the nonprofit Creative Commons, and was Development Manager-Stewardship for First Tee—Monterey County. She earned her bachelor of science degree in sociology from Grand Canyon University while simultaneously working full-time and raising two daughters.
Arreguin has deep experience across the community, including most recently working first as the Development Director and then as Executive Director for the Salinas Community Science Workshop, Founder and President of Latina Professionals California Central Valley, and joining the Salinas Valley Health Board of Directors in 2025. “As a Latina who has now lived in Salinas for over 20 years, I understand how powerful it is for young women, especially young Latinas, to see someone who looks like them serving in leadership. This role allows me to advocate for equity, access, and thoughtful policy decisions that create long-term, tangible impact. Healthcare touches every parent, every child, and every household,” she shares.
As part of her advocacy for Latinas and underrepresented students and families, Arreguin has supported programs including Girls Inc., Monterey County Migrant Education, Alisal Union School District, and Monterey County Adult Schools. She is an active member of Alisal Rotary and also serves on the board of the Democratic Women of Monterey County, the national board of Latina Professionals, and the advisory board for the Community Foundation Monterey County Siembra Latinos Fund. She participated in Leadership Monterey County 2025 and is currently participating in Leadership California. Her leadership positions reflect her belief that “leadership should reflect the diversity, strength, and values of our community.
“My days begin early and intentionally,” says Arreguin. She centers herself for busy days by waking up at 6 a.m. for skin care, coffee, and either walking or lifting weights before getting ready at 7 a.m. Her typical workdays run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Evenings (sometimes until 8 or 9 p.m.) and sometimes weekends are often dedicated to board meetings, community events, or Rotary gatherings. “Serving in multiple leadership roles requires discipline, focus, and strong time management,” she adds.
For students interested in a similar path, Arreguin recommends getting involved early: “Join student government, volunteer with local nonprofits, attend community meetings, or intern with organizations that serve the public. Leadership grows through participation and consistency.” Valuable classes include communications and public speaking, public policy, public health, finance and budgeting, business administration, and nonprofit management or similar.
Leadership books she recommends are My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor, More Than Ready by Cecilia Muñoz, The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama, and Dare to Lead by Brené Brown. Some favorite podcasts include Latina to Latina, How I Built This, and A LA LATINA.
“Most importantly, seek mentors, ask questions, and stay rooted in your values. Leadership is not about a title: It’s about service, responsibility, and creating opportunities for others,” says Arreguin.
DR. RENEE PENALVER
Assistant Professor of Quantitative Methodology in Psychology at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) and President of CSUMB’s California Faculty Association
Dr. Renee Penalver realized she wanted to be a psychologist around age 17: “My father was working as a correctional officer at the time and often came home with stories about the men he encountered, many of whom were struggling with serious mental health issues inside a system that was not designed to support them. Those stories stayed with me, making it clear early on that mental health is not just an individual issue; it is shaped by institutions, power, and systems.” Penalver holds an associate of arts degree from Bakersfield College, a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from California State University, Bakersfield, and a PhD in social cognitive neuroscience with an emphasis in quantitative methodology from the University of Texas at El Paso.
At Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, she worked as Assistant Professor, co-directed the Psychology Internship Program, and supported community-engaged pedagogy as a Faculty Fellow. While there, she was recognized with the the 2018 Rising Star award from the Junior League of Cedar Rapids 2018–2019 Engaged Scholar Research award, and 2020 Iowa Campus Compact’s President’s Civic Engagement Leadership Award for strong community partnerships.
Now at CSUMB’s Applied and Basic Cognitive Research Laboratory, Dr. Penalver is currently focused on exploring language, memory, and aging related to bilingualism and published work at the 2025 Leadership in Higher Education Conference. “Bilingualism is frequently treated as a deficit in US education and psychology, but my research challenges this perspective by emphasizing the strengths, resilience, and adaptability of bilingual individuals,” shares Dr. Penalver. She also received the 2024 Faculty Senate Award for Excellence in Professional Applications.
She serves as President of CSUMB’s California Faculty Association, receiving the 2024 Monterey Bay Central Labor Council Unionist of the Year, and stays engaged outside work. In 2021, Dr. Penalver was honored with the Outstanding Active Member award from the Junior League of Monterey County, and from 2023 to 2025, she was the league president. In 2024, she earned a mini MBA Professional Certificate from Miami University and was selected to the Top 40 Under 40 by the Association of Junior Leagues International.
Dr. Penalver notes that her weeks are full, teaching research methods, conducting research, mentoring students, and serving on campus committees, with evening faculty leadership or community commitments. She was recently voted Best Professor in the annual Monterey County Weekly Best Of Readers Poll and received CSUMB’s Outstanding Teaching Award. Beyond work, she loves spoiling her nieces, Aviana and Zakaiyah, and her three dogs. “While the pace can be demanding, it is deeply meaningful,” she adds.
For students interested in similar work, Dr. Penalver says, “Stay curious and stay connected . . . Get involved in undergraduate research as early as possible. Research teaches you how to ask meaningful questions, sit with uncertainty, and think carefully and critically.” She also urges prioritizing guidance from multiple mentors: “One mentor might help you think through research questions, another might support your professional growth, and another might simply help you navigate uncertainty or self-doubt. That mix of perspectives is essential.”
“Careers are not straight lines, and it’s okay not to have everything figured out. What matters most is building relationships, asking thoughtful questions, and allowing yourself the time and space to grow and reflect,” concludes Dr. Penalver.
SARA RUBIN
Editor of Monterey County Weekly and Monterey County NOW and Proud Cat Mom
For over 15 years, Sara Rubin has served the local community through providing high-quality information and news. She has personally been awarded many honors, including the 2024 California Journalism Awards first place for investigative reporting from the California News Publishers Association, several years of statewide recognition for her column “The Local Spin” (2021–2024), and additional awards for coverage across youth and education and enterprise reporting.
Very early on, Rubin first started out writing poetry and fiction, including plays. “Especially as a young person, writing true stories (for campus publications in high school and college) felt like a very meaningful way to bring attention to issues that I thought deserved attention, but the grown-ups were ignoring. When it really worked to get them to listen to what students thought, I realized quite quickly that journalism could really make a difference.” Part of her mission is to follow the journalistic mantra by asking tough questions to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
After graduating from Colorado College with a degree in comparative literature and a minor in environmental studies, Rubin worked as Research Coordinator at Chipotle Mexican Grill, visiting farms and food manufacturers that supply the restaurants. She did journalism internships at the Forward in New York and The Atlantic in Washington, DC, then joined Monterey County Weekly in 2010, serving in various roles before becoming editor in 2016. Rubin says that each day at work varies, but there is “reliably a mix of finding stories and conducting interviews with interesting people, reading various reports and documents, reading and editing stories by my amazing team, and writing.” In the fast-paced, high-feedback environment, Wednesday bring editorial meetings, and the weekly flow ends with finalizing the paper on Tuesdays, but they also produce daily online newsletters.
Since the Monterey County Weekly newspaper was founded in 1988, it has won over 100 national, state, regional, and local awards, including General Excellence in California in 2023 and 2024 from the California News Publishers Association.
For students interested in similar work, Rubin encourages paying attention to spelling, grammar, and punctuation, “reading great writing” and analyzing it, and practicing. “Write your own stories, then rewrite them and see if you can make them land differently,” urges Rubin. She also highly recommends getting experience through joining a school publication or doing a journalism internship: “The best way to learn what it feels like to produce writing on a deadline is to do it—then put it out into the world and get feedback, and do it again. Writing for an audience of public readers is really different than writing a paper that maybe only your teacher will read, and there is a lot of accountability in it.”
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