There are countless outstanding women who call Stanislaus County home, but the County’s Commission for Women plans to pay tribute to 13 who stand out from the rest — two of whom are from Turlock.

Family law and immigration attorney Harleen Wahid-Dail and Turlock Unified School District’s Director of Communications, Family Engagement, and Outreach Marie Russell will both be representing Turlock amongst those honored as Outstanding Women this year.

As the executive board chair for United Way of Stanislaus County, Wahid-Dail demonstrates inclusive leadership by advancing equity and working to amplify women’s voices in organizational decision-making. She also co-chairs United Way’s annual Power of the Purse event, raising funds for community programs and celebrating women as community leaders. A Turlock native, Wahid-Dail is vice-president of the community organization called Letters to Santa, supporting children and families in need. She is active in the Turlock Sikh Temple and has been a liaison for Valley Children’s Hospital. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Stanislaus County Bar Association.

In addition to overseeing all district communications for TUSD, Russell oversees the Family Resource Center, providing resources, programs and services based on the needs and interests of TUSD’s diverse families, such as supporting school readiness, meeting basic needs, hosting parent workshops, supporting at-risk youth, and helping refugees and newcomers. The FRC also partners with community organizations such Second Harvest, Legacy Health Endowment, Stanislaus County BHRS, Kiwanis of Greater Turlock, Amazon MCE1, and more to support families. Russell also leads the Turlock chapter of the CA Ivy League Project helping under-represented Central Valley students visit and apply to the most prestigious universities in the country.

The Outstanding Women Awards began as a way to honor women who have demonstrated exemplary service to the community in ways that relate to the SCCW’s objectives, which include promoting issues that concern women of all ages and backgrounds, promoting knowledge of women’s strengths, resources and choices, validating achievements of women throughout the Stanislaus County and supporting legislation that addresses the needs of all women and children.

The 2026 Outstanding Women of Stanislaus County event will be held at 10 a.m. March 14 at Greens on 10th in Modesto. For tickets, go to: https://www.stanislauswomen.net/about-1

Other honorees include:

• Amy Collier Carroll — Carroll has dedicated her career to the community through nonprofit marketing and development, public sector communications/legislative affairs and most recently healthcare public relations and advocacy. She serves on the board of directors for the Modesto Symphony, the Stanislaus Family Justice Center, and the Stanislaus Education Foundation. She is a Rotarian and a member of the League of Women Voters.
• Angelina Ceja — Ceja works as Vice President and Chief Education Officer at AgSafe, where she develops training for farmworkers across the US that enables them to work safely in agricultural settings and return home healthy to their families each day. She serves on the board of Golden Valley Health Centers Foundation, is the Vice President of the League of Women Voters of Stanislaus County and serves on the boards of Protected Harvest and Ag Innovations Network.
• Jocelyn Cooper — Cooper serves on the board of the Modesto Peace/Life Center and volunteers for its local radio station, where she organizes volunteers and assists the general manager.  She is currently President of the Board of Directors for West Modesto Community Collaborative. She is also the president of Parents Leading Change, working with Modesto City Schools to inform parents about school and local resources, increasing parent engagement to improve graduation rates and reduce suspensions and expulsions. At Project We Care 4 U in Ceres Unified School District, Cooper provides curriculum and teaches classes in financial literacy, college and career readiness, and community service to expose students to new experiences and inspire them to achieve their goals. She is Executive Administrator for Central Valley Black Chamber of Commerce.
• Jessica Trompetter Godden —Trompetter Godden is the Executive Director of Stanislaus Partners in Education, where schools and community partners collaborate so students can learn about careers in their communities, envision their future, and set goals for pursuing academic and career opportunities. She has board roles with the State Theatre of Modesto, Modesto Children’s Museum, and Mocse Credit Union, as well as service on the Juvenile Justice Commission.
• Nancy Martinez — Martinez is the CEO of Debrief, a community engagement organization dedicated to improving quality of life in the Central Valley. She is an active volunteer Girl Scout troop leader, serves on the board of Empower 8 and most recently West Modesto Community Collaborative, a leader in the Stanislaus Latino Giving Circle, and serves as the part time Community Prosperity Lead at BEAM Circular.
• Patty Ramirez — Ramirez is a founding member of The Modesto Children’s Museum, serving on its board and helping to shape the museum from the start. She co-led the charge in organizing the museum's first Launch the Adventure event that propelled the museum's capital campaign. Ramirez works as an art educator for Riverbank schools, where previously she taught Spanish immersion.
• Dr. Andrea Silva — Silva is a family physician, addiction medicine specialist, educator and nonprofit leader in our county. She is a co-founder of Valley Streetz, a nonprofit that delivers essential healthcare directly to women experiencing homelessness.  Silva also co-founded the Rainbow Clinic, a resident-run clinic specializing in LGBTQ+ and gender-affirming care, creating a safer and more inclusive healthcare environment for women and gender-diverse individuals. 
• Zoey Byron — A senior at Oakdale High School, Byron is a poet, a musician, a tennis team member, a leader and academically gifted. Byron is the founder of the Oakdale PREVIEW, an art journal and digital media portal for poetry, reviews, editorials, videos, and other art forms; she has participated for several years in the Poetry Out Loud annual recitation contest for high school students; published her own work in local journals; and otherwise shares her commitment to creativity.
• Sabrina Clendenin — Clendenin is a graduate of Gregori High School, a former MJC student, and a current student at UC Davis. In the speech and debate program at MJC, she competed across an unusually wide range of events including informative speaking, persuasive speech, and oral interpretation, demonstrating rigorous research, analysis, and the ability to communicate complex ideas in accessible ways. Her topics often focus on issues specific to women and girls, including the need to prioritize women in scientific research, bisexual erasure, women’s embodied experiences through “The Vagina Monologues,” and the impact of social media and eating disorders on young women. She was an active Girl Scout until recently and earned all four of the organization’s top honors all of which require substantial community service.
• Lily Li — Li, a senior at Gregori High School, has both a heart and the soul of a mathematician. While navigating top math classes, she has brought her love of math to her classmates by successfully campaigning to establish a Math Olympiad team which is now thriving. She has even extended her teaching efforts by volunteering to coach students in SAT math, Calculus AB and BC as well as English through Schoolhouse.world Li recently won 1st place for the Alternative team in the 2026 Stanislaus County Academic Decathlon, is a National Merit Scholar, and will be attending MIT in the fall with a full scholarship.
• Magdalena Siordia-Tapia — Siordia-Tapia has worked to expand access to music in all communities as the president of the United Sound chapter at Johansen High School for the past three years. This organization pairs school musicians with students with special needs, enabling all students to access music and performance. She has also worked with Tuolumne River Trust as a student representative helping to write constitutions for park use and helping to design signage for Tuolumne Regional Park. She is also the president of JoHo 4 Change, a club that beautifies the campus with sustainability and native planting as core pillars.