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Advocate: Cristina Spencer, ShineOnWomen
Website: ShineOnWomen
About: Cristina is a college graduate from Harvard with a degree in Women’s Studies with an emphasis in American Women's History. Women’s studies, rights, and female empowerment has been a passion ever since she can remember. Right out of college she worked in the book publishing industry. After living in the east coast, Cristina moved to California in 1997 to work for a booming online company called Excite.com. There she helped launch the first free email, chat, and instant messenger website! Since then she has moved on to bigger and better things such as having two children and organizing the ShineOnWomen event called “Celebrate the Power of Friendship.”
Her Mission:

“We are a group of women united by friendship who believe that taking care of ourselves and the world is the same.”

Respect Rx: What inspired you to get into women’s advocacy?
Cristina: After having graduated with a Women’s Studies degree and having been involved with Women’s Media Cristina was exposed to many problems women face today around the world. She was drawn to women’s advocacy especially after “becoming a mom, the experience took [her] back in [her] interest of women’s issues.” The parenting experience allowed her to see how “unsupportive this culture is of parenting” because of the high childcare costs which she believes “women take the hit for.”

What strikes you as the most pressing issue women face today?
First of all “it is important to see women’s issues as everyone’s issues because where women are struggling it’s a sign that the culture is off balance.” Cristina laughs and says “there’s so much to say, I am a strong believer that most women have a set of strengths and feminine qualities” that our “corporate-driven” culture needs to acknowledge. Our culture needs to “realize that there is more at stake than just money.”

How do you/your organization combat that problem?
My girlfriends and I “have been through everything” and we use that as a “resource to draw on” the support we receive from one another, especially after starting ShineOnWomen. We “feel a part of a larger group, and draw on that strength; the wellspring of friendship.” We knew that “doing something fun to celebrate women would be a good benefit for women” so we organized the “Celebrate the Power of Friendship” event which is designed so that all proceeds gathered will go to the Global Fund for Women.

What advocacy accomplishments are you most proud of?
“This project [ShineOnWomen, the event being held this month] because it is the most risky, most public advocacy project I have done. It still remains to be seen how successful it will be, but I am proud to be part of the group of people who are following this and are excited about [ShineOnWomen].”

What other advocates or organizations do you admire? “I admire Respect Rx and Moms Rising! I am just at the beginning of this, it’s not really where I’m coming from because I’ve been working in Business and Media. I am just learning right now, I’m a beginner.

What would you say to someone who wants to get involved in girl/women/advocacy but isn’t sure where to start?
“Talk to somebody you admire, a woman you admire, that’s a good way to start. There is a lot of resources online you can check out, you will find various things that will spark your interest. Also try and find a woman mentor, it’s so important to talk to them, ask them questions, and be connected to them.” Cristina explains that high school years are where you are in a “weird age island” and you need to go out and socialize with older people and organizations so that you can you can “see that those years are an experience and life will be so much bigger, interesting and complicated than what you are experiencing in these years.”

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