California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom Keynotes Women’s History Month in Pasadena Unified

Thurgood Marshall Secondary School hosts the ninth annual Pasadena Unified School District Women’s History Month Assembly in the Pasadena Unified School District on March 25 at 6 p.m. The event is free. We are excited to announce that the keynote is California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Additional addresses to the assembly will be from former Cornell Women’s Basketball Player and Senior Marketing Director for the Center for Healing and Justice through Sport (CHJS) Claire Perry, LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, and Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco. The theme of this year’s event is “The Power of Teamwork”. The event is live and will also be livestreamed.

Created in 2018 by Principal Lori Touloumian and Pasadena Unified School District Trustee Jennifer Hall Lee, the Women’s History Month Assembly has a yearly prompt for essays and art for middle school and high school participants.

Notable former keynotes include California State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, Congress members Judy Chu and Maxine Waters, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, labor activist Dolores Huerta, Tournament of Roses President Laura Farber, Pasadena Public Health Director Ying-Ying Goh, and more. In past years women’s rights activists from Pakistan have sent pre-recorded words to the students.

The 2026 prompt asks students to consider the following:

Women’s athletics—from professional leagues like the WNBA and NWSL to college and high school teams—are gaining unprecedented visibility, highlighting the power of teamwork. Teamwork, defined as individuals contributing together toward a shared goal, reflects values of care, collaboration, and mutual support often associated with women’s leadership. As NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson said, “Without a team, you’re just a person with an idea,” and “The success of every woman should inspire another.” Her words stress the importance of women supporting one another across many spaces—from sports fields to classrooms and workplaces. Examples such as the Hidden Figures, the Girl Scouts of America, U.S. Olympic women’s teams, and all-female leadership teams demonstrate the lasting impact of women’s collaboration.

Write about a time when you benefited from the teamwork of women. Describe the team, your role, how their collaboration influenced you, and how their support or leadership made a difference in your life.

Students also have the option of submitting an art piece to represent their response to the prompt.

Principal Lori Touloumian said, “We are thrilled to be holding our ninth annual Women’s History Month Assembly and have the honor of hosting California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom as our keynote speaker. First Partner Newsom visited Altadena following the Eaton Fire, offering support to our school communities as they navigated the aftermath of the tragedy. Her support, then and now, is deeply appreciated.”

Pasadena Unified School District Board President Jennifer Hall Lee said “The history of how the women’s liberation movement advanced our nation is worthy of being studied and Pasadena Unified School District is at the forefront of this type of academic innovation.”

The assembly is free and focuses on the changes brought by the women’s liberation movement in the United States and future of women’s rights globally.

Marshall Fundamental Secondary School, 990 Allen Ave., Pasadena. The event is free.