International Women’s Day
In honor of International Women’s Day, we are celebrating women who are making waves in business, stepping into leadership positions and pursuing their passions. Women are changing the face of entrepreneurship and own 4 out of every 10 businesses in the U.S. As of 2018, women also own 12.3 million businesses in the U.S. The growth of women-led business ventures is reflected here at THE SANDBOX, where over 60% of our members are women. We actively work to create an inclusive and supportive environment for women to grow, learn and achieve while recognizing their accomplishments. This past year, THE SANDBOX collaborated with women-based organizations to host a number of events. We joined forces with She Ventures, a social enterprise supporting the overall advancement and wellbeing of women, and held an event that featured talks from inspiring women entrepreneurs, change-makers, and adventurers. We also had the opportunity to host the Women’s Adventure Film Tour, a film tour that celebrates the extraordinary things women are doing in the name of adventure. We are honored to have an incredible network of inspiring and passionate women from a variety of fields and interests.
To celebrate women in business we asked a few SANDBOX women to tell us about the accomplishments they’re proud of. Keep reading to learn more about our members and how they’re creating change.
Jennifer Zacharias: Founder of JZPR 
Jennifer is the Founder of JZPR, a full-service public relations firm specializing in lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality brands, as well as nonprofit and public service organizations in Santa Barbara. Jennifer’s monumental accomplishment: “Starting my own PR firm and having the opportunity to work with so many amazing clients in the Santa Barbara area. I love meeting all the remarkable people I have the privilege to represent and share what they’re doing, and what they’re passionate about with the rest of the world.”
Noushin Ketabi: Founder at Vega Coffee 
Noushin, along with her husband and a friend, is a founder at Vega Coffee, a company that’s reinventing the coffee supply chain. Vega Coffee is packaged and roasted by the same farmers who grew it and is delivered directly to you. Noushin’s monumental accomplishment: “When we got our first coffee delivery out of Nicaragua and into the homes of our first subscribers. There is nothing like that mix of triumph, anxiety, bewilderment, and excitement when you see something that started as a dream manifest into reality.”
Andria Martinez Cohen: Grow America Fund Loan Officer at National Development Council
At the National Development Council, Andria underwrites small business loans that focus on women, minorities, and businesses in low-income areas. They also assist with tax credits, affordable housing, and other federal programs. Andria’s monumental accomplishment: “I serve on the board for the Women’s Political Committee which is one of my sources of pride. We started a young feminist committee and do lots of different outreach trying to get younger women involved in politics. We also endorse and donate to candidates running for office.”
Heather Hochrein: Founder and CEO of EVMatch 
Heather is the founder and CEO of EVMatch, a peer to peer network for electric vehicle charging. Heather’s monumental accomplishment: “I’m really proud that we won the California Climate Cup competition in the energy transportation category. That was a cash prize and also allowed us to exhibit at the Global Climate Action Summit. For me, as a climate professional, that is a huge accomplishment. That’s one of the prizes you would want to win, the opportunity to exhibit at a climate summit.”
Sarah Fretwell: Multimedia Storyteller 
Sarah’s award-winning work explores the lives of everyday people with extraordinary stories and creates a human connection that engages people on a personal level. Sarah’s monumental accomplishment: “In the past few years, I really enjoyed working as the onboard correspondent for Tara Expeditions Foundation, documenting coral reef ecosystems in the context of climate change. It was just such an incredible life experience and challenge on every level – work, body, mind, and spirit. It was the largest Pacific coral reef research expedition that’s ever been done due to the size of the sample area we studied. The entire expedition took place across the Pacific Ocean for two and a half years. I was aboard for 4,000 nautical miles across the Western Pacific – Wallis/Futuna, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Chuuk, Guam, and Ogasawara. I was doing photography, writing, videos, shooting for French television, Japanese television, and Walt Disney Europe. It was probably one of the most intense experiences of my life where one moment you’re in the most idyllic beautiful location filming a scientist sample in crystal clear water and the next moment you’re seasick and under a crushing deadline editing something for Japanese television and it won’t upload via satellite. And the only resource I had to solve every issue was me, myself, and Google. I got to see this part of the world at a really unique moment in time where it’s changing forever and I feel like what we saw and the work we did can really impact humanity if it’s leveraged in the right way.”
