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The 2026 class of inductees into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame reads like a Who’s Who catalog.
The general manager of the Golden State Valkyries, a community college district chancellor, the undersheriff of Alameda County and the chief medical officer of Bay Area Community Health are among the nine women being enshrined this weekend.
The lone Tri-Valley resident on the list? Livermore’s own Joan Seppala, founder and publisher of The Independent.
It’s not very often I get the chance to interview a “competitor”, and there are some who wouldn’t even broach the subject at the risk of giving “free publicity” to a “rival publisher”. But local journalism should be above that sort of industry posturing or community politics – plus I’m not one to shy from a tricky assignment.
To my delight, Seppala was very responsive when I emailed asking for her thoughts about entering the Women’s Hall of Fame.
“I believe that this award honors The Independent for more than six decades of service to the Tri-Valley. Our editors, reporters and staff have consistently been champions of the region’s identity,” she told me.
“The Independent continues its support of those serving our most vulnerable populations,” Seppala said. “We take pride in the Tri-Valley’s intellectual and cultural milestones, celebrating breakthroughs like the 2022 nuclear fusion at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the vibrant arts scene. This includes our advocacy for the founding of the Bankhead Theater.”
“By highlighting the community activists who turn these shared values into action, The Independent remains committed to a Tri-Valley that is as innovative and soulful as it is beautiful,” she added.
Seppala is a titan and a trailblazer in the news business in the Tri-Valley, and her contributions to her hometown and our industry are vast.
She shared with me the fascinating story of founding The Independent nearly 63 years ago in Livermore. She was an aspiring journalist with a handful of job offers after applying to Bay Area newspapers coming out of graduate school.
“However, this was 1962. Because I was a woman, they would only hire me to write on the society page. I was not interested,” she said.
“I realized then that to obtain a job as a news reporter, I would have to create my own newspaper. Since I was only 24 and without any money, this would be challenging,” Seppala added. “Luckily, I was invited to a Halloween party, and landed an investor for $20,000. He brought in three of his friends for the same amount, a total of $80,000. On September 21, 1963, The Independent was born.”
Even as she has become a lightning rod for controversy in recent years, and the way The Independent and the Weekly carry ourselves editorially differ, I respect all Seppala has accomplished over the years with her newspaper and giving back to her community.
There may well have never been the appetite for a Pleasanton Weekly without The Independent next door – and I know our Livermore Vine wouldn’t exist without it.
Congrats Joan.
I also interviewed Alameda County Undersheriff April Luckett-Fahimi about her Hall of Fame selection. Though not a resident of the Tri-Valley, she’s spent a lot of time in her administrative career working in Dublin.
“This moment is especially meaningful to me,” she said by email. “I am deeply humbled to be recognized alongside such an extraordinary group of women who have each made lasting contributions in their fields. Collectively, their stories demonstrate to women and girls across Alameda County, and beyond, that there are no limits to what they can achieve.”
“While our photos may hang on the wall of a county building, what matters far more are the paths that have been forged and the doors that continue to open for the women who follow,” Luckett-Fahimi told me. “Being included among the Women’s Hall of Fame inductees is a tremendous honor, and it reinforces the amazing things women can accomplish when we show up for one another.”
Rounding out the 2026 class are Tamara Chao, president and executive director of the Asian Pacific Fund; Peralta Community College District Chancellor Tammeil Gilkerson; Noreen King, founder and CEO of Evolve Manufacturing; Monica Lau, chief operating officer of Family Bridges, Inc.; Fredrika Newton, co-founder and president of the Dr. Huey P Newton Foundation; Golden State Valkyries General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin; and Dr. Harsha Ramchandani, chief medical officer of Bay Area Community Health.
Hall officials also honor young women whose legacies are still being formed. This year’s youth scholarships – $5,000 each, awarded through the Mary V. King / Wilma Chan Youth Scholarship Fund – went to seven graduating high school seniors pursuing post-secondary education.
The list includes two Tri-Valley teens: Inaaya Imran of Granada High School in Livermore and Sana Presswala from Dublin High School.
The winners were selected for the awards, which were named for two trailblazing former county supervisors, “based on their academic achievements, leadership qualities, and commitment to community service” as well as “for their efforts to mentor others and break barriers in their communities”.
The other recipients were Fremont students Sarah Adkar (Washington High), Anika Mangala (Irvington High) and Alyson Tan (Irvington High), Oakland Technical High School student Emily Ng and Berkeley High’s Naia Wahrhaftig.
The new class of Women’s Hall of Fame inductees and Youth Scholarship winners are set to be honored this Saturday (March 28) during a luncheon ceremony at The Club at Castlewood in Pleasanton. Learn more at acgov.org/whof.
Editor’s note: Jeremy Walsh is the associate publisher and editorial director for the Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. His “What a Week” column is a recurring feature in the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com.
Nighttime lane closures on I-580 near Pleasanton, I-680 through San Ramon ValleyMarch 25, 2026 2:05 pm