Women in Industry 2025

Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Time: 4:30 to 5:30 PM
Location: PYLUSD Performing Arts Center at El Dorado High School
1651 Valencia Ave, Placentia, CA 92870

Overview

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) is pleased to host its annual Women in Industry event — an enriching, future-focused experience designed to prepare and empower students to become tomorrow’s leaders.

This special event will feature an accomplished panel of professionals from a variety of fields who will share their educational journeys, career pathways, and perspectives on leadership. In keeping with PYLUSD’s commitment to student voice, Career Technical Education (CTE) Academy and CareerLink Pathway students will serve as hosts and moderators, fostering meaningful dialogue between students and panelists.

Following the panel discussion, a brief reception will provide attendees with the opportunity to engage with speakers, ask questions, and build connections.

Keynote Speaker

Lisette Martínez-Acebo, MSW
Program Director, Girls Inc. of Orange County

Lisette Martínez-Acebo, MSW, is a passionate nonprofit leader and social worker with more than a decade of experience advancing equity through community engagement, leadership development, and culturally responsive programming. She currently serves as Program Director at Girls Inc. of Orange County, where she oversees a team delivering innovative, research-based programming to more than 9,500 girls annually across over 30 sites.

Born and raised in Orange County, Lisette is deeply committed to investing in the very community that shaped her. Her leadership is grounded in the power of relationship-building and values centered on collective care, community voice, and belonging. Throughout her career, she has held key leadership roles across grassroots organizations, school districts, and higher education—always centering collaboration, equity, and systems change.

In 2024, Lisette was recognized as a Woman of Distinction in Nonprofit Leadership by California State Senator Tom Umberg for her dedication to uplifting youth, families, and underserved communities in Orange County. She continues to be a driving force for inclusive, people-centered leadership that cultivates lasting social change.

Martínez-Acebo, MSW

Panelists

Andrea Earl
Supervisor in CalTeach Program, University of California, Irvine

Andrea is a lifelong educator with extensive experience leveraging instructional technology to enrich teaching and learning. Over the years, she has taught elementary students in grades 1-5, middle school math, and a variety of electives. Andrea recently retired after 41+ years in K-12 public education. She is now working as a Supervisor in the CalTeach Program at the University of California, Irvine, and as an independent consultant specializing in the intentional use of instructional technology tools to increase student engagement. Andrea also serves on the Orange County Computer Using Educators Board of Directors. In her free time, Andrea loves to read, travel, hang out at the beach, and build and launch high-powered rockets.

Mariel Cisterino
Director of Finance, Girls Inc. of Orange County
Stephanie Mariel Cisterino is Director of Finance for Girls Inc. of Orange County and has over 20 years of experience in audit and accounting. Although she specialized early in her career in not-for-profit accounting, Mariel also worked in several industries and gained significant experience in real estate and manufacturing and has also led multiple organizations through process and systems conversions. Mariel earned her Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus in Accounting from the University of Arizona, and her Master of Accounting from USC and earned her CPA (inactive) in 2006.

Joanne Yang
Founder, Building Vital Score; Director of Operations, Building Networks Group

Joanne Yang is the founder of an emerging initiative called Building Vital Score. Its mission is to transform the construction industry by aligning financial incentives with quality, resilience, and long-term value — proving that building well is not only the right thing to do, but also the most profitable. She also serves as Director of Operations at Building Networks Group, an MEP engineering firm. She has led complex projects with a focus on integrity, foresight, and collaboration. Passionate about empowering the next generation of women, Joanne believes in showing that leadership means having the courage to create change, even when the path forward isn’t fully defined.

Tammy Pruitt
Principal Deputy County Counsel, County of Los Angeles; CSULA Adjunct Professor

Tammy Pruitt is a Principal Deputy County Counsel for the County of Los Angeles. As a trial attorney for the past 24 years, my job is to ensure children are safe from abuse and neglect. In addition to my work as an attorney, I am also an Adjunct Professor at California State University, Los Angeles, and have worked for 2 years teaching graduate students working on their master's in the school of Social Work.

Melody Gray
Registered Nurse, Miller Women’s and Children’s Hospital

Melody Gray was born in the Bay Area and moved to Southern California for college. She graduated from the University of California Irvine with a Bachelors in Biological Sciences and continued to pursue a career in nursing. She received her Master’s of Science in Nursing degree through an entry level Master’s program at Western University of Health Sciences. She has had her RN license since 2012 and has worked in Labor and Delivery since 2013. She is currently employed at Miller Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Long Beach which delivers 300-500 infants each month. She enjoys supporting those new to healthcare and routinely precepts nursing students and new hires. She is married and has a 7 year old son (James) who just started 1st grade as well as 2 cats (Mochi and Earl Gray). She loves to read, sing and travel.

Joyce Yang, Ed.D
Dean of the College of Education, Hope International University

Joyce Lee Yang is currently the Dean of the College of Education at Hope International University in Fullerton. She holds an Ed.D in PK-12 Educational Leadership from CSU Fullerton, an M.S. in Educational and Social Policy, School Administration from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, and a B.S. in Elementary Education with a concentration in Art from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Joyce has served as K-12 teacher, administrator, and educational consultant in traditional and charter public schools for the past few decades. Her life’s passion is to develop educators, pre-service and seasoned, so that students have the most effective teachers and administrators throughout their educational experience. Joyce’s family includes her husband, Jim, son and college freshman, Payton, and daughter, Mackenzie, who is a high school sophomore. In her free time, you’ll often find Joyce traveling somewhere abroad with her family and a good book or enjoying afternoon tea with her daughter. Joyce can also be found walking on a treadmill, usually while watching a KDrama.