Taking on male dominance at Carlsbad 'Galentine's' luncheon

Story, video and photos by Adrian Hedden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8itFB4WR7o

Kat Davis looked out at the125 women gathered at Carlsbad's Riverside Country Club and was united with the crowd by the need for equality.

Davis, who serves as executive director of nonprofit Carlsbad MainStreet, formed the Women for a Better Carlsbad in November, and the group held its second event Feb. 14 at the country club.

The group was made up of Davis and three other women: Jennifer Watson, who is the manager of local bed and breakfast the Fiddler Inn, Ekta Bhakta, and employee at Salado Isolation Mining Contractors which runs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant nuclear repository near Carlsbad, and Therese Rodriguez who retired from Carlsbad Municipal Schools in 2023.

The luncheon featured several presentations Davis said were intended to inform local women on the innerworkings of local government and nonprofits and encourage them to be more civically involved in their community.

A talk on women's health, specifically the lack of female subjects in clinical trials and the impact that has on treatment, was given by Dr. Amanda Ryan at Advanced Heart and Vascular Center of New Mexico. That was followed by an update on the ongoing Legislative Session given by former-Eddy County Commissioner Susan Crockett who now works as a lobbyist in Santa Fe.

Local women attend a 'Galentine's' luncheon hosted by Women for a Better Carlsbad, Feb. 14, 2025 at Riverside Country Club.

The featured non-profit was Affirming Heart Victim Services, which provides domestic violence counseling and support services to children and adults.

Davis said the group was inspired by a similar group in Artesia, and that the luncheon event was meant to educate local women or just give them a chance to meet other ladies in the community.

She said many women in Carlsbad work in male-dominated fields like oil and gas, meaning meeting other women at work can be difficult.

"I think if you look around at our civic make-up, or people in government roles or higher roles in companies, it's predominantly male," Davis said. "We would love to see more women at those tables, allow women to realize they have a seat at those tables."

Bhakta said the group's mission of informing local women on major pillars of the Carlsbad community could help encourage more involvement in either government or local charities.

"A lot of women want to volunteer, but they may not know where to start," she said. "We want this to be a starting point. It's a networking opportunity with like-minded women. We have a stronger voice when we're all together."