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# Y’s Women of Year all doing their part
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/ys-women-of-year-all-doing-their-part/
- Published: 2004-01-31T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:42:25.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless, Homelessness

*Santa Monica hears the roar of Women of Year*

*By Daily Press staff*

The YWCA Santa Monica/ Westside has tapped a diverse foursome as their outstanding women of the year.

Architect Kristina Anderson, maintenance worker Manuela Mata, immigration expert Gloria Curiel Parker and attorney Christine Schanes will be singled out for their contributions to their respective communities on Thursday, April 1, at the annual Women of the Year dinner at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.

Anderson, an architect and entrepreneur, graduated from the Ball State University School of Architecture with a degree in architecture and environmental design. She was the lone woman in her graduating class.

In 1969, she then entered into the male-dominated field of architecture and has continually offered the city her services. She is a member of the board for Upward Bound House, which provides transitional housing for homeless children and their parents. As the chair of the Santa Monica Rotary Literacy Committee, she introduces second-grade girls to architecture and raises funds to buy school books.

Anderson is also a member of the Board of Trustees at the Santa Monica Methodist Church and serves on the Executive Board of the Santa Monica College of Associations.

In her spare time, she volunteers as building commissioner for the Executive Board of the Westside Economic Collaborative and serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Healthy Aging and the Government Affairs Committee of the Santa Monica Chamber.

Close to 30 years ago, Mata made a promise to care for the homeless and poor, and in 1987, she provided 30 burritos and coffee for those in need. News began to spread about the “Burrito Lady,” and Mata had Bear Stearns and Korn Ferry International employees and their friends and families chipping in. Caters soon started donating time, money and kitchens to help Mata feed the less fortunate.

Mata, who works as a housekeeping/maintenance worker, now provides meals every other Sunday and each Thanksgiving and Christmas to thousands of people. She also treks four times a year to a village beyond Tijuana to deliver food, clothes and other necessities to women and children.

Parker, an immigration law expert and motivational speaker, appears weekly on Univision-KMEX Channel 34 morning news to answer immigration questions for call-in listeners.

In 1989, Parker co-founded the annual Latina Youth Conference at Santa Monica College, which brings together 300 to 400 Latina students to hear motivational, female speakers who encourage them to stay in school, avoid teenage pregnancies and focus on their future.

Parker served on the Santa Monica Women’s Commission and as a chapter president at the Mexican America Political Association.

She is also active in the local chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizen, the Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles County and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Schanes, an attorney for the past 34 years, has worked as deputy attorney general for the California Attorney General’s Office and as senior attorney for the Atlantic Richfield Company.

Schanes earned a law degree from American University Law School — where she was on the Law Review — and her Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. She also has been featured in “Who’s Who in America” and “Who’s Who in American Law.”

In 1987, Schanes, along with her children Chrissy and Patrick, co-founded Children Helping Poor and Homeless People — an educational outreach program conducted by children and teens with adult advisors.

CHPHP’s goal is to help end hunger, poverty and homelessness and now involves thousands of children and adults and serves tens of thousands in California, Oregon, Colorado and Arizona.

As co-director of CHPHP, Schanes has received the “Daily Point of Light” award from the National Points of Light Foundation and letters of support from President George W. Bush, President George Bush and Sen. Diane Feinstein. She’s also received a commendation from Gray Davis, a Presidential Service Award Citation from Bill Clinton and features on local and national television, radio and print media.

For 75 years, the YWCA Santa Monica/Westside has provided community service programs to women and children. Proceeds from the Women of the Year dinner support community service programs.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 31, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/013104.pdf?ref=smdp.com)