Yessenia Echevarria, founder and Executive Director of Mujeres de Acción, has been named Assemblywoman Dawn Addis' 2026 Woman of the Year by the California Legislative Women's Caucus.
Echevarria was honored at a reception Monday, March 16, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, followed by a formal recognition ceremony on the Assembly floor.
The honor recognizes her decade of grassroots organizing protecting immigrant families, advancing healthcare equity, and building Latino civic power across San Luis Obispo County.
"It's an incredible honor to be recognized by Assemblywoman Addis and the California Legislative Women's Caucus," Echevarria said. "This recognition belongs to the thousands of families who have trusted Mujeres de Acción to stand with them during their darkest moments. Every immigrant mother fighting for her children's education, every woman seeking healthcare in her own language, every family facing ICE enforcement — they are the true heroes of this work."
Echevarria, a Paso Robles community organizer and daughter of immigrant parents, founded Mujeres de Acción in 2014.
The organization has grown into a countywide effort supporting immigrant and working-class families through health education, food distribution, language access, and crisis response, serving more than 3,000 families.
Among her accomplishments, Echevarria led advocacy that resulted in a U.S. Department of Education civil rights investigation, which forced the Paso Robles school district to improve Spanish translation services and include Latino parents in decision-making.
She also created the first Mexican Independence Day Festival in Paso Robles history, which grew from more than 700 attendees to thousands and is now an officially city-sponsored Hispanic Heritage celebration.
Over 10 consecutive years, Echevarria directly educated thousands of Latina women in breast cancer awareness, addressing healthcare disparities in a community where mammogram prevalence among Hispanic women stands at 60%, compared to 64% among non-Hispanic white women.
She also co-founded Paso People's Action, helping 4 of 5 endorsed candidates win local elections and significantly increasing Latino civic participation across San Luis Obispo County.
Echevarria was previously honored as Congressman Salud Carbajal's 2021 Congressional Woman of the Year. She also attended the 2026 State of the Union address last month as the guest of Congressman Jimmy Panetta.
Our community reporter Leslie Molina spoke with Yessenia after she attended the State of the Union you can watch the full interview here: https://www.ksby.com/paso-robles/founder-of-mujeres-de-accion-shares-experience-attending-state-of-the-union
