May and June 2020
Dear  ,


We were moved this month by President McCartney's June letter where she pointed out that "...  we must learn how to be more effective allies by truly reflecting on our privilege - and risking that privilege in moments that matter. Beyond vigils, beyond marches, we must commit ourselves to learning and to action." If you have thoughts on how to help the Peninsula Club become better supporters of our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community, please reach out to [email protected].

Upcoming Club Events

Upcoming Faculty Speaker! 
July 18th from 2-4 pm
One of our time-honored traditions is hosting a faculty speaker every year. We are delighted to welcome Erin Park Cohn, PhD ('00), Director of the Wurtele Center for Leadership, to do a presentation and workshop on "Reimagining Leadership in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous (VUCA) World." See more information about her here. The faculty speaker this year will be a virtual event on July 18th. If you are a member of the club, you will receive an Evite with the date, time, and Zoom link. If you are not a member yet, you can RSVP and receive a Zoom link by emailing [email protected]. If you're interested in becoming a member, join here:  https://www.peninsulasmithclubca.org/join-renew/membership 

Save the Date: Annual Club Meeting
The Annual Meeting will be held virtually on Sunday, September 13th from 2-4 pm. Save the date and stay tuned for more info!

Keep an eye out for new and upcoming virtual events posted on our facebook and instagram accounts! These will have the most up-to-date info as we create new virtual meet-ups throughout the month. Also, check out our website for all news relating to the club. 


Club News 

Seeking Volunteers for the Board Next Year!
All positions on the board last for one year and so, as we do every year, we are calling on all alumnae who would like to serve on the club board (starting September) to reach out to us! Our goal is to be representative of the Smithies in this area and so we are actively seeking a diverse group of volunteers from different socio-economic, cultural, racial, and religious backgrounds. We have posted all of the job descriptions on the website for your convenience. 

If you would like to apply, please reply to the club email at  [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed and candidates will be interviewed by the nominating committee that consists of a group of alumnae from the area (both club members and non-club members) who represent a diverse set of age, experience, and history with the club. This nominating committee will be responsible for reviewing all board applications and putting forward a slate to be voted on at our annual meeting which we will be holding virtually this year. If you are interested in being on the nominating committee, please also let us know.

NEW! Smithie Spotlights
In an effort to adapt our programming and bring our community together in this virtual world, we are contemplating a new series of virtual events where we spotlight our club members! Do you have something you would like to share with our community? Do you know a local Smithie who would be interested in showcasing their work with our community?

Farewells & Welcomes
For the last year, Sara Biyabani '84 served on the board as secretary and before that she hosted several club events, like the annual summer tea. We would like to extend our thanks to her for the time spent this year. Volunteers are the heart of this board and every hour spent feeds back into the strength of the Smith community in the Bay Area. 

Please join us in welcoming  Amy Gardner '92 and Indira Deonandan '08, who will be joining the board for the remainder of this year!

If you've joined any of our recent virtual happy hours, you will have met Amy! She is a fantastic addition to the board and we are delighted to have her expertise as she helps us become more tech-savvy. Amy will be focusing on writing the annual newsletter and will be leading the website and newsletter transition from Constant Contact to MailChimp.

Indira  is from the West Indies, originally from Guyana, but grew up in St. Lucia. She studied Engineering at Smith and went on to complete a Dual Masters in Aerospace and Technology & Policy at MIT. While at Smith, she was Cultural Chair, then President of the Smith African & Caribbean Students Association. She currently works as a Client Success Manager for Mendix, a technology company, and recently moved to the Bay Area from Boston. Truly an island girl at heart, she enjoys sunshine, the beach, great friendships and adventure. 



Book Club Events

Nine of us gathered virtually on Wednesday, May 20th, to discuss the graphic memoir "Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?" by Roz Chast. As usual, we had a variety of opinions, from "I couldn't get into it" and "I found the illustrations distracting" to "I loved it and am recommending it to friends" and "the illustrations made it easier to read and less depressing." Most felt we would have been unlikely to read it as text alone. For a number of us it reflected our own experience, at least in some regards, and for others it seemed an ominous foreshadowing of a possible future - so we were grateful for her humor, balancing the warts-and-all portrait of failing parents and struggling daughter.

"Back When We Were Grownups" by Anne Tyler provided the basis for discussion for nine book club attendees on Wednesday, June 17. Most of us found this midlife-crisis book interesting, with its theme of whether Rebecca is living her "true life" or is enmeshed in a mistake that she stumbled into by chance. We didn't like most of the characters but did like the distinctive dialog and descriptions; we felt the author was particularly good at conveying the everyday-ness of life.

Upcoming:

July 15: "Galileo's Daughter" by Dava Sobel
August 19: "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Books can be ordered online at keplers.com. Kepler's will mail to you, or you can pick it up at the store in Menlo Park.  You can also order at bookshop.org, which supports local, independent bookstores.

If you're interested in joining the book club, please contact  Sally Smith '64  for more information.


Stay tuned for more Smithie events and news next month.  Thanks!

Samantha Li '09
Newsletter Editor