2011: September Hill

The Junior League of Los Angeles

With her unbounded energy and singular dedication, Rising Star September Hill of the Junior League of Los Angeles has demonstrated a tremendous potential for community leadership in a manner consistent with the mission and values of The League. In just three years of Active membership, Hill has demonstrated her initiative and her drive on several fronts, ranging from public policy and advocacy to women’s mental health, diversity, and education.

As the co-creator of the internationally recognized and award-winning Public Policy Institute, Hill cultivated relationships with city, county, state, and federal officials, and secured vital internship opportunities for the program. As a result of her efforts, her League inspired Leagues in other cities to establish their own public policy institutes, which have graduated more than two dozen women, many of whom have gone on to careers in public policy.

Inspired by the success of California SPAC’s Perinatal Depression Awareness campaign, Hill joined the mission with gusto, enlisting a graphic designer and spearheading a branding campaign that resulted in an attention-catching “Speak Up When You’re Down” logo and slogan, as well as information cards detailing signs and symptoms. In addition, she used her social-media connections to garner coverage for the initiative by major media outlets including the Los Angeles Times and Huffington Post.

Hill also laid the foundation for the Appointments to Boards and Commissions Institute by securing seed funding and shoring up support from Sustaining members. Thanks to her efforts, this new initiative, which is designed to encourage League members to pursue appointments on California’s many public boards and commissions at all levels of government, has trained two dozen women and gained resounding support from the membership.