In celebration of March as International Women’s month, Zonta International annually recognizes exceptional women in service, advocacy and education.

On Thursday, March 26, Malden Catholic Girls Program Principal, Lisa Cenca will be honored as one of the 2020 Women Making a Difference by the Zonta Club of Malden at Anthony’s of Malden at 5:30 p.m. for the social reception and 6 p.m. for dinner. In addition to Cenca, Naomi Brave, President of Malden Arts, Marsha Manong, MA Senior Action, Mei Hung, Executive Director of Chinese Cultural Connection and State Rep. Kay Kahn, will also be recognized for their outstanding achievements.

“I am honored to be recognized by Zonta International this year along with four other amazing women who have made tremendous contributions in women’s advocacy. For me, this honor symbolizes the importance the community is placing on service leadership in all areas. Having the opportunity to vision a school where leadership is the primary focus has been an incredible experience. In just two short years, the results are already evident in the young women attending Malden Catholic,” stated Cenca.

“MC launched a new-to-the-world training program to develop emerging leaders and Lisa has been foundational in establishing the leadership-based curriculum that is now enriching the lives of our students. None of this would have been possible without the incredible legacy foundation established at Malden Catholic over the past 88 years, and now these leadership skills are being enhanced and refined for both boys and girls in our codivisional model,” added John Thornburg, Headmaster of Malden Catholic. 

Founded in 1919, Zonta International has envisioned a world in which women’s rights are seen as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential. Over the past century, Zonta has made international service trips to advocate and assist in developing women’s rights and has raised over $19.2 million for projects benefiting women in 35 countries. Zonta officials have spoken at United Nations meetings regarding women’s advocacy and in 2012 Zonta started the annual ‘SAYS NO’ campaign which advocates against the violence towards women. 

In addition to service and advocacy, Zonta has provided roughly $12.8 million worth of scholarships to help women obtain equal opportunities throughout the world. 

The 2020 Women Making A Difference dinner will be held on Thursday, March 26, at Anthony’s of Malden starting at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase for $50 per person and include dinner.  Please contact Mary Jo Koizumi at mjkoizumi@gmail.com if you are interested in attending.