Over 150 business and community leaders gathered at the Regent Santa Monica Beach Hotel for the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce’s Power of Women in Leadership Luncheon, an afternoon that celebrated female leadership, while also reflecting on Santa Monica’s economic recovery and next chapter. The event honored Janet Rimicci of UCLA Health, Inessa Udovchenko of Shore Hotel, and Althea Tupper of Snapchat, with speakers emphasizing the role women are playing across healthcare, hospitality, technology, and civic life.
“This was a dynamic and vibrant event for our business community,” said Judy Kruger, President and CEO of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, who said this year’s luncheon was about elevating “all the good things that we have going on in Santa Monica” and bringing people together around women in leadership.
Kruger said that while new businesses are joining the Chamber and opening in Santa Monica, the organization’s central focus over the last year has been helping existing businesses recover from lost sales and revenue. “The focus this last year has been on economic recovery with programming building a pipeline of economic recovery, and also helping businesses grow their businesses.”
The luncheon’s awards portion recognized three women whose leadership reflects the breadth of Santa Monica’s business community. Rimicci of UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center, who worked over 20 years at UCLA Health, was recognized for a career spanning quality and patient safety, emergency and trauma services, and leadership across multiple parts of the hospital.
Shore Hotel's Udovchenko was honored for her operational leadership and for mentoring and elevating team members. Snapchat's Tupper, director of operations, was recognized for overseeing global teams focused on user safety and platform integrity, while also helping amplify women’s voices within the company.
Dr. Philip Levin, chief medical officer at UCLA Health, praised Janet's range and steadiness, saying Santa Monica was fortunate to have her, especially because she stepped into leadership at the onset of COVID. Shore Hotel's Owner & CEO Jon Farzam said Udovchenko represents the kind of leadership that extends beyond a single workplace and into the broader city. “Today is a reminder of the amazing leadership that we have in this city,” he said. “Many of them are women.”
A fireside conversation between Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis and Kruger gave the event its strongest civic frame, moving from personal leadership to Santa Monica’s recovery, business climate, and future opportunities.
When asked who inspired her most, Torosis pointed first to her mother, a full-time working mom who later went to medical school and taught her early that women belong at the table. She also urged women to step into leadership even when they feel uncertain.
“You always feel like you’re the least qualified person, the least prepared person, but you have to somehow overcome that and say to yourself, I can do this, because I offer a lived perspective that no one else brings to the table,” said Torosis.
Torosis also spoke about the importance of direct and transparent communication in public life. “People want honest brokers in their lives,” she said. “Especially at this age of misinformation and disinformation, it’s really hard to cut through the noise.”
On the city’s future, Torosis said the City Council has been “laser focused” on making Santa Monica clean and safe, while also using that work as the foundation for a broader comeback. “Our real vision is to usher in this recovery for the city,” she said.
Torosis pointed to a city leadership team aligned around that effort and said Santa Monica wants to make it easier to do business locally. She described a five year vision that includes full storefronts, stronger restaurants and retail, more visitors, and a city that remains affordable and welcoming for residents.
She also highlighted a growing pipeline of major events and economic development opportunities, including the Santa Monica International Jazz Festival, the city’s Route 66 centennial celebration, FIFA World Cup related programming, and future Olympic opportunities. She said the city has updated its realignment plan, is working to streamline permits and entitlements, waive certain fees, and invest in tenant improvements to help attract new commercial uses. "We’re back, we’re here, we’re fine, we’re thriving,” Torosis said.
Others echoed the event’s broader message about collective leadership. Misti Kerns Santa Monica Travel and Tourism's President & CEO said women bring a real and often underrecognized impact to the community. Councilmember Lana Negrete framed the afternoon as a reminder that women’s leadership is strongest when it is shared. “It’s not about one woman’s power,” Negrete said. “It’s about the collective power of all of us together in a room.”
That collective power was the clearest throughline of the afternoon. At a time when Santa Monica is working to rebuild confidence, support local business, and reassert itself on the regional and global stage, the Chamber’s luncheon made one thing clear that women are not simply part of that story, they are helping lead it.