Read more about each finalist.
Ruthie Honey :: Cook at Grocery Store
About Ruthie
Ruthie is the most devoted and thoughtful mom. She brings health, kindness, and spirituality into her children’s daily lives. She is an amazing chef. She cooks flavorful vegan meals for her family. She makes customers so happy at the grocery store with her prepared and made to order meals. Ruthie has adult children out of the house and two school-age children at home as well as an elderly roommate. Through all this, her focus has been keeping her family and roommate safe and bringing cheer and comfort to her community. In her free time (not sure how she has any!) she has been creating a newsletter with resources to help people feel better during this difficult time. She is a hands-on amazing mom and a great friend.
Why is Ruthie a Super Mom On the Frontlines?
When the pandemic began and they closed her section Ruthie started helping disinfect and stalk shelves without a complaint. After schools closed she took some time off to help get her kids situated with their distance learning and make sure they felt loved and supported.
Cynthia Wong :: Teacher
About Cynthia
Mrs. Wong is a phenomenal 2nd grade teacher at Kinetic Academy in Huntington Beach, who regularly goes above and beyond to make sure every student of hers does not fall through the cracks and gets the very best of her teaching ability every single day. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, her car would regularly be the last one in the school parking lot as she often stayed late planning fun lessons and reviewing schoolwork. And she has been known to buy supplies for her classroom and needier students out of her own pocket. Mrs. Wong is also a wife and mother to a first grader.
Why is Cynthia a Super Mom On the Frontlines?
When the Coronavirus pandemic hit, Mrs. Wong did not skip a beat. Already a super star teacher, she quickly learned how to use zoom, google classroom, flipgrid, loom, flocabulary, mathseeds, shared docs, and every other new-fangled technology she has had to adapt to in order to keep teaching her students remotely. The kids literally did not lose a single day of education thanks to her incredible work ethic and commitment to teaching. She’s been hosting daily live zoom calls with her class, planning online lessons five days a week, responding promptly to parent messages/requests, and reviewing online homework submissions with the same enthusiasm and care that she has always brought to the classroom. She and her husband both work in education and have had to juggle working from home with making sure her own child is keeping up with her own remote learning as well, in addition to all the other things moms are responsible for maintaining at home (which are too many to list here).
So while she could have used the pandemic as an excuse for doing a less than stellar job at teaching during this challenging time (and it would be hard to blame her if so), she has continued to deliver academic excellence and much-needed consistency for her students. (And by the way she is incredibly humble and has no idea she’s being nominated for this prize). The love Mrs. Wong has for her students and the passion she has for education hasn’t stopped during this global crisis, and for that reason she absolutely deserves the title of Super Mom On The Frontlines!
Geeta Gupta :: Physician / Professor of Medicine at UCI
About Geeta
Geeta is the most selfless and caring individual I know.
As a professional, she is caring, meticulous, and dedicated. As a healthcare worker on the front lines fighting COVID-19, she dedicates herself to her patients. She specializes in infectious diseases and treats some of the most at-risk and vulnerable patients in Orange County, saving lives every day. As an infectious diseases expert, she has valuable insights and information about this health crisis, and has been supporting the greater community. She works to further Public Health goals in Orange County and beyond, and has spent her professional career educating the next generation of doctors.
As a mom, she is generous, genuine, and always there for anyone who needs her. She is the glue, the backbone, and the cheerleader that keeps our immediate and extended family together, always infusing energy, strength, and enthusiasm into every situation. Her advice has never steered me wrong, and her willingness to listen exemplifies her compassion.
As a person, Geeta is able to make friends with anyone. She goes out of her way to help others and ensure people are doing the best that they can be, which also makes her such an effective physician. Even during this time, her positive attitude and outlook on life are affecting those around her. When not working, she loves to dance, spend time in the garden, go for walks down the HB beach path, and travel (hopefully, traveling will be permitted in the near future!).
Why is Geeta a Super Mom On the Frontlines?
Geeta should win the Grand Prize for her outstanding contributions to the healthcare community, the medical education community, and her personal community. She spends early mornings and late nights on Zoom calls or at the UCI Medical Center, and on weekends she prepares lectures for the following week. She was originally planning on retiring, but the COVID-19 crisis has changed these plans. Although the shift to “online” may have resulted in less work for some of us, my mom, and other essential workers, are putting in the maximum possible effort to keep our society functioning as best it can be during these unprecedented times. They all should be recognized, thanked, and appreciated for their selfless service and invaluable contributions — not just during this crisis, but always.
Rachelle King :: OB/Postpartum Nurse at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital
About Rachelle
Rachelle is a OB/Postpartum RN at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and an incredibly caring and empathetic woman. In addition to working long shifts in the hospital helping to bring babies into this world, Rachelle is a wife and mother of two. She also has a sincere interest in child development and serves on the board of her children’s co-op preschool.
Why is Rachelle a Super Mom On the Frontlines?
Since well before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rachelle has put in long hours as a registered nurse at the FV Regional Hospital, including night shifts. She has continued to work tirelessly in the labor and delivery ward through the pandemic, despite the potential risk of exposure to herself and her family. Rachelle has been providing the highest level of care for both mama and baby, pouring her heart and soul into this important work, all while juggling the same concerns at home that we have all had about remote schooling our children and providing the basic necessities for our family at home. More than all this, Rachelle is kind. She is good. And she absolutely is a super mom!
Alicia Green :: Registered Nurse
About Alicia
Alicia is a hard working mom of 4 who has been working the frontlines, then coming home and homeschooling her kiddos. Add to that her husband is active duty Air Force, who has been manning the front lines at March Air Force Base, and this mama deserves some love!
Why is Alicia a Super Mom On the Frontlines?
Alicia is a mom of 4, a Registered Nurse, a military spouse, and a Girl Scout Troop Leader. This mama has been doing it all this quarantine, and she and her family deserve to be recognized.
Gina Rae :: Postpartum Nurse at St. Jude
About Gina
Gina is simply amazing!! Not only is she an incredible mom who works tirelessly to make sure that her family’s physical and emotional needs are well taken care of (which is a full-time job in itself). She also helps moms in this precious first moments of becoming a mother for the first time or a mother again! What stands out to me about Gina was a conversation we had at the beginning of COVID-19, where she mentioned how deeply she felt for those mamas who could only have one support person in the room and how the siblings of this new baby had to wait to meet them. She shared how her deep empathy for these mamas who have dreamed of this moment for so long of their babies, families, and friends all meeting looks so different than you hoped. On top of bringing new life into this world, Gina also has 2 elementary school-aged kids which means she is also a full-time teacher now. She does all of this with grace and continues to be a positive voice to so many moms and just people – reminding us that we are doing a good job and that we are stronger than we think.
Why is Gina a Super Mom On the Frontlines?
I think Gina should win the Grand Prize because in a true mother life fashion she is busy caring for others around her! I would love for her to win this prize so she could have something that was just for her and to show her what she is doing in this world matters and to continue to fight the good fight! And oh…she does all of this with great humility too! Truly am awestruck!
Sarah Roth :: 1st Grade Teacher at McPherson Magnet School
About Sarah
Sarah is my son’s first-grade teacher and probably one of the most incredible women I have met. When our school moved to distance learning she made the transition to this new way of teaching with confidence, patience, and the ability to offer calm in the storm. Sarah has been our daily constant the last 8 weeks and quite honestly I don’t know if we would have been able to survive without her guidance and care. My son was struggling with distance learning and she took the time to meet with him one on one just like she would have in person. She has gone above and beyond to create some sense of normalcy for her students and support and encouragement for us parents who were NEVER meant to be teachers!! I will be forever grateful how well Sarah has loved my son long before quarantine and am deeply grieved that he will never sit in her class again but I know that she has set him and us for success!
Why is Sarah a Super Mom On the Frontlines?
Sarah should win the Grand Prize because on top of caring for 30 other kids she also has an elementary school child herself. Before quarantine and distance learning hit, Sarah and her family were in the middle of the process of selling their home. They sold their home, moved to a part-time home, and then into their new home – all while teaching her own child and all of ours! I think this superhero needs a break and something that is all for her! She truly is molding young minds for the future and does it effortlessly. And she always has time to put up with my shenanigans and silly comments and makes our family (my son included) feel like we are her number one priority! I’d love for her to have this gift and let her be the top priority!
