The League of Women Voters of Santa Monica will honor four local leaders later this month at its annual Yellow Rose Award celebration, an event that blends history, civic engagement and community recognition.
The 2026 program, themed “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future,” takes place Wednesday, March 18, at the Brookdale Ocean House. The Yellow Rose Award draws its symbolism from the suffragists who wore yellow roses during the final push for ratification of the 19th Amendment. Each year, the League presents the honor to women whose leadership reflects that legacy of democratic participation and public service. You can get tickets for the event, here.
This year’s honorees represent a wide cross-section of Santa Monica civic life:
Gleam Davis, a former Santa Monica mayor and longtime City Councilmember, is being recognized for decades of public service. First elected to the council in 2009, Davis championed housing as a civil right, sustainability initiatives, education and workers’ rights. During her mayoral terms, she helped launch the city’s first Pride Festival, expanded Black History Month and Juneteenth celebrations, and convened Santa Monica’s first Wellbeing Summit.
Angela D. Scott, a past Co-President of the League, is honored for her commitment to voter education and accountable governance. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the city’s Public Safety Reform and Oversight Commission and previously helped guide the League through its transition to virtual engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carolyn Day, founder of Growing Hope Gardens, is celebrated for advancing food justice and sustainability. A volunteer Master Gardener, Day has helped cultivate and distribute more than 300,000 pounds of rescued and harvested produce, including through a pilot garden project at a local homeless shelter. Her advocacy is shaped by her lived experience with housing insecurity and hunger as a youth.
Dr. Monika White, an educator and eldercare leader with more than 50 years of experience, is recognized for her work coordinating health and community service systems for older adults. A past executive director of WISE & Healthy Aging and former president of the Santa Monica Rotary Club, White is also a Holocaust survivor who frequently shares her story to educate future generations.
League President Maria E. Rodriguez said the 2026 honorees “represent the very best of Santa Monica—women who have spent decades building a more resilient and equitable future for all of us.”
The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments, followed by the formal program at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through the League’s website.
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