AAUW MARIN AUGUST 2022 NEWSLETTER

edited by Dottie Burk and Cherie Sorokin

AAUW Marin News

RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW

It’s time to renew your membership for the 2022-2023 year that started July 1 if you haven't already done so. Now, more than ever, it is critical that we support AAUW's advocacy for gender equity. (Have you noticed things seem to be going backwards for women lately?!) Dues are $107 for branch members ($67 for National, $64 of it tax-deductible, $20 for California and $20 for Marin). Honorary Lifetime Members pay nothing, and Lifetime Members pay only $40 for California and Marin dues. 

You can access the Dues Renewal Form from the branch website HERE or contact Membership Chair, Chris O’Neill, at coneill514@comcast.net or 415-847-0002 and she’ll email the renewal form that you can print, complete and send along with a check to our branch Treasurer, Sue Torres, 256 Marinda Dr., Fairfax, CA 94930. Don’t delay and get your renewal in today!

AAUW Marin Upcoming Programs

Wine and Flat Bread Pizza Party! In-Person! Outdoors on the lovely Dominican Campus! 

August 23rd at 4:30

Come join us for this annual summer gathering in a new location, Tuesday afternoon, August 23, 4:30 – 6:30 for wine and flat bread pizza appetizers on the patio of the Creekside Room at Dominican University, followed by optional dinner at Chalet Basque or La Toscana depending on how many sign up. 

Nicola Pitchford, Dominican University’s new President will be joining us, along with guests we’ve invited from the Women Leadership and Philanthropy Council at Dominican. Hoping we’ll be joined by a few young women students as well. WLPC and AAUW members share many interests: higher education, gender equity, leadership opportunities for women, as well as advocacy and philanthropy that advance these interests.

It will be a great opportunity to mingle with energetic, high-achieving women---old friends as well as new!  Cost for the wine and flatbread pizza gathering is $25 ($26 if paying via PayPal). Dinner will be no host (please bring cash!) Watch for the invitation to come shortly and please RSVP! The reception is limited to a total of 40 guests.

Fall Kick Off Meeting at Homeward Bound

September 10th at 11:00 am

Join us for a late morning continental breakfast with our 7 Tech Trek Girls who will join us to talk about their on-campus experiences with AAUW CA’s Tech Trek at Sonoma State this summer. Tech Trek is AAUW California's weeklong STEM camp, which this year took place on 5 university campuses in CA, plus we also offered two virtual programs. Tech Trek focuses on teens entering 8th grade. 

Paul Daubenmire and others from the College of Marin Stem Lab will also be speaking on Stem careers for women. 

Watch for the invitation to come in late August. Cost $20 ($21 if paying via PayPal.)

Save More Dates for Future Programs!

The list of our planned programs for the year can be found on our website! We have some great things planned, including monthly in person meetings (Covid permitting) as well as several bonus programs on Zoom. Take a look  Here



And Let's Not Forget July's Program!

35 or so of us had a great time on Sunday at the Summer Fling in Chris O'Neill's beautiful back yard. Take a look! Many thanks to Chris for hosting us, to Katherine Brinnier for doing all the shopping and salad making and to Amy Anderson, Nancy Van Horn, Mary Mossteller, Dottie Burk, Angela Nuckles for helping with set up and clean up! And thanks to all who attended for sharing something interesting about your lives during the ice breaker led by Cherie, so we all learned a bit more about each other! One of us is almost 92, several speak French, one back-packed in her 30s leaving her husband to care for the kids, one just walked El Camino de Santiago in Spain for her 80th birthday, one was a dorm mom for Tech Trek, one met two other branch members in Barcelona in June, two had Niagara Falls in common, one just finished painting panels of the Sistine Chapel, and many more interesting stories, and we all agreed on the importance of AAUW and its mission, of course! 

Woo Hoo! Marin Branch AAUW Fund Challenge Met!

A big thank you to our members who stepped up during these very challenging times for women and girls! With so much going on in the world right now, every dollar is crucial to advancing equity for women and girls. Pat yourself on the back! We in the Marin Branch can be very proud of our support of AAUW’s Greatest Needs Fund.

Due to the advocacy of our donors, we surpassed our 2021 Spring Matching Challenge total. The Marin Branch Angels generously matched the excess over the initial $5K challenge, giving us a grand total of $11,600!  The full list of our donors will appear on the AAUW Marin website in August.

In Memoriam

AAUW Marin member Kathie Henderson passed away at the end of July. She was the Vice President for Academic Affairs of Dominican University and the President of Point Park University in Pittsburgh before returning to live in Marin in 2007. She came out of retirement to take on the position of Director of OLLI, which she held for 14 years before her retirement in December 2021. Kathie was largely responsible for building OLLI into the high-quality organization it has become, always insistent on hiring only the highest quality instructors. She loved OLLI, she loved Dominican University, and she loved her job. Those of us who knew her, loved her.

We also regret to inform you that member Sue Schueler and former member Pat Calhoun also passed away this year. Sue was active in Behind the Headlines and Pat was active in several interest groups before she moved away.

Interest Group News

Our branch has lots of Interest Groups to join. See the complete list on our website HERE. Maybe you'll find a new one that piques your interest. Membership in a group is a great way to stimulate your mind and make new friends.

Interest Groups are just for members of AAUW Marin, but guests who may be thinking of joining are welcome to visit an interest group twice before being asked join. Invite your friends to check us out! Questions about a particular interest group should be directed to the group leader. For general information or to suggest a new group, contact Interest Group Chair, Vicki Samo at vickisamoster@gmail.com



AAUW CA Webinar on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

AAUW California presented an excellent webinar on the consequences of the Dobbs decision.  If you weren't able to join on July 7, a recording is available on the AAUW CA website Here. By the way, did you see the letter to the editor in the IJ on behalf of our branch also on the topic of the Dobbs decision? You can access it Here. 

AAUW National STEMed Program

AAUW National just completed the second year of STEMed, a national program aimed at encouraging young women in high school (especially those in underserved communities) to consider careers in STEM. Did you know that women in STEM careers earn about 28% more than women in other careers, but only about 11% of teen girls say they are interested in STEM careers compared to about 35% of teen boys? The great thing about this program is that it is offered by Zoom and can reach young women all over the country. It also has special modules to help parents understand the value of encouraging their girls to study science and math.

STEMed is funded by a legacy grant from Nancy Grace Roman, a now deceased AAUW member known as the "mother" of the Hubble Space Telescope, and one of the visionary founders of our civilian space program. Additional grants from the Arconic Foundation and other foundations, as well as member contributions to the AAUW Greatest Needs Fund also help support this virtual program for high school girls.

AAUW Marin members have a long history in helping with tutoring in our schools. Member Laura Phipps is helping introduce our members who are interested to Experience Corps, a tutoring group she has been working with for several years. Experience Corps is now recruiting volunteers for the upcoming school year to tutor first through third graders in reading. They provide training and support to folks 50 and older who are interested in tutoring. You provide your time — it doesn’t take much — and your life experience. Laura confirms that Experience Corps tutors really enjoy how they connect with their students and find that their time together makes a difference.

For information, contact Laura Phipps, tdppsc@comcast.net. Upcoming dates for orientation on ZOOM are either Wednesday, August 17 from 1 PM to 4 PM or Friday, August 19 from 10AM to 1 PM. If these dates are not convenient for you, more orientations will be planned for throughout the year.