Serving Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles since 2011.

Look What SHE Did! Breakfast Celebrates Accomplishments of Women

Look What SHE Did! founder Julie Hébert welcomes guests to the organization’s  fundraising luncheon last Sunday at Jar Restaurant.

Last year we reported on Look What SHE Did! when the local non-profit presented four videos about accomplished women at the Ebell of Los Angeles as part of Women’s History month.

What started as a lark when Longwood Highlands resident Julie Hébert (an award winning writer/director of Man In the High Castle) and her friend, actress Jill Klein, served on jury duty together at the Clara Shortridge Foltz courthouse, wondering “who is Clara Shortridge Foltz?,” has now become a nonprofit media organization bringing to light stories of remarkable women who have changed the world, in the hope of inspiring women and girls to achieve their own greatness. 

Award-winning chef and owner of Jar Restaurant Suzanne Tracht. (photo by Kristin Anderson)

“After we found out who she was, we thought, “‘why didn’t we know that?” and “we need to tell people about this!,” Hébert told the Buzz. “I think a lot of people just aren’t aware of all the accomplishments of women, so we decided to make short videos and make them available online for anyone to see.”  (FYI: Clara Shortridge Foltz is credited with creating our country’s system of public defenders. You can watch the video and learn more about her.)

Wow, what a difference a year can make!

This year,  Look What SHE Did! hosted a benefit brunch last weekend at Jar Restaurant (owned by award-winning chef Suzanne Tracht) to celebrate its success and to raise funds to spread the word about the organization’s work creating short videos that tell the story of ground-breaking women who were largely left out of our common historical narrative.

Jim and Janna Bodek Harris, Hancock Park residents and cosponsors of Sunday’s brunch benefit.

“I learned about Look What SHE Did! at the Ebell of Los Angeles and was so impressed,” Hancock Park resident Janna Bodek Harris told the Buzz. “I thought they were fantastic and wanted to get involved. So when Julie asked me to help plan the benefit, I got involved.”

Harris said she was very pleased to see such a diverse group of people at the benefit last weekend, adding that it’s important to have support that reflects the women featured in the organization’s videos.

“One of our objectives is to reach out to young women with the message ‘if you can see it, you can be it.’ So it is really important that our supporters are diverse like the women and girls we are trying to reach,” explained Harris.

Look What SHE Did! is now a 501(3)c nonprofit media organization whose videos are free and intended to be widely shared and discussed. Last weekend’s benefit brunch brought the organization very close to reaching its fundraising goal of $50,000 during its annual Women’s History Month Fundraising Campaign to fund the small annual operation.

Harris and her husband Jim Harris were among the sponsors of the brunch, along with Hancock Park residents John & Marilyn Wells, through their family foundation. Other sponsors included Arleen Sorkin & Christopher Lloyd, Amazon Prime Video and Transform, Inc.

The brunch featured a conversation with Joan Blades (co-founder MoveOn.org) and member of the Look What SHE Did! advisory board, Dr. Jane Margolis (UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies) and Erin Aubry Kaplan (journalist and essayist) on historic inequality and the challenges presented by today’s highly polarized political environment. As writers, researchers and political organizers, the three women presented their own ideas and frustrations about how society can move toward systemic change that improves the lives of everyone.

Joan Blades, Erin Aubry Kaplan and Jane Margolis conversing at Look What SHE Did! benefit on Sunday at Jar Restaurant. (photo by Kristin Anderson)

Entertainment professionals who attended included: Lynn Hirshfield (SVP Participant Media), Jordan Sheehan (Executive VP, Scott Free), Robin Swicord (Academy Award nominated writer), Shelby Jiggetts-Tivony (Creative Vice President for Disney), Robin Weigert (Emmy nominated actress), Anna Thomas (Academy Award nominated writer), Kathy Baker (Emmy award winning actress), Dana Stevens (writer, producer), Gates McFadden (actress) and Arleen Sorkin (actress). Christopher Lloyd (Emmy award winning producer of Modern Family) and Devorah Moos Hankin (Producer, Catch Me If You Can and Patch Adams) were not able to attend.

Hancock Park resident Kelly Martin and Ebell members Cynthia Comsky, Marnie Bodek and Laurie Schechter were also in attendance.

Janna Harris with Laurie Schechter and Cynthia Comsky
Look What SHE Did! organizers, Julie Hébert, Jill Klein, Courtney Graham and Farel Levy. (photo by Kristin Anderson)

We can’t wait to see what next year brings. In the meantime, check out their video library with dozens of titles and a video of the brunch made by the talented 17 year old African American filmmaker, Aniya Wolfe below.

Look What SHE Did! 2019 Benefit Brunch EPK from Courtney Graham on Vimeo.

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Patricia Lombard
Patricia Lombard
Patricia Lombard is the publisher of the Larchmont Buzz. Patty lives with her family in Fremont Place. She has been active in neighborhood issues since moving here in 1989. Her pictorial history, "Larchmont" for Arcadia Press is available at Chevalier's Books.

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