For Women’s History Month, Seattle is recognizing the women trailblazers who have shaped the city’s hospitality and cultural scene.
Back in 1926, Bertha Knight Landes made history as the first woman mayor of Seattle—and the first woman to lead a major American city. Today, women trailblazers continue to shape Seattle’s future in everything from arts and culture to hospitality, tourism and food and beverage.
So it’s not surprising that the city is celebrating Women’s History Month this year with a lineup of events and exhibitions to recognize the contributions of the women who have contributed so much.
The Women Who Shaped Seattle
Among the women-centric events held this month was a new stand-up comedy act, “My Life on the PTSD List,” by Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Kathy Griffin at Seattle’s Moore Theater; the home-opener game of the Seattle Reign FC women’s soccer team at Lumen Field; and a chance to experience a live recording session at KEXP Studios in Seattle Center, featuring Hinds, a Spanish Indie rock band featuring Carlotta Cosials and Ana García Perrote.
Among the many Seattle women of note is Lendy Hensley, who founded City Catering, one of the city’s busiest food businesses for 21 years. Like most in the catering industry, the pandemic hit City Catering hard, and the loss of 98% of its business meant it had to lay off more than 100 of its employees.
Within a month, Hensley had come up with a plan to keep the business afloat with a new service called Bite Society. This service, which offers gift baskets, cookies and snacks for delivery in packages created by tattoo artists, continues to thrive post-pandemic through an online shop and a stand at Seattle’s famed Pike Place Market.
Another female shining light is Stephanie Tranquille, who spun a career running flagship events for Amazon Web Services across the globe into a thriving speaker/coaching business called SpeakerStephSpeak. She draws from her international event management experience to help women face their challenges with confidence gained from emotional intelligence.
To learn more about Seattle’s many notable women, check out Visit Seattle’s Sea for She website.
