1 MARCH 2016 TRIAD THE WEBSITE: oml-ca.aauw.net AAUW Mission • AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research. Value Promise of AAUW • By joining AAUW, you belong to a community that breaks through educational and economic barriers so that all women have a fair chance. WE ARE MOVING! Starting in September 2016 Monthly OML meetings will be held at the Orinda Community Church Fellowship Hall 10 Irwin Way, Orinda Until then, our monthly meetings will continue to be held at the Holy Trinity Serbian Church Cultural Center 1700 School St., Moraga Proposed Slate of 2016-17 AAUW OML Elected Officers President Laura Wittenberg President- Elect Open Program VP’s Judy Helder and Pat Beckner Membership VP’s Mary Levey and Alison MacKenzie AAUW Funds VP’s Marie Bonilla and Peggy Cabaniss Corresp/Recording Secretary Maryellen Judson Finance VP Gail Chesler This slate of candidates will be presented to the membership at the March meeting before the start of the program on Cuba. Further nominations will be accepted from the floor, to be followed by a mo- tion to approve. The elected officers will be installed at the May Luncheon on May 17. TUESDAY, MARCH 15 GENERAL MEETING 9-11:30 am The Power of Community in an Isolated and Underserved Nation Laura Wittenberg and Mary Leigh Miller will share their travel ex- periences and observations from a two-week trip to Cuba in the spring of 2015, sponsored by the AAUW Oakland-Piedmont Branch. A panel will discuss what’s working and what’s not working in a country cut off from the United States for over 50 years, and how the people of Cuba have learned to support each other despite adversity and extreme shortage of worldly goods. Table Activity Discussions will include sharing your impressions of socialism – its best and worst aspects – and participating in an informal quiz. A short overview and PowerPoint slide show will focus on the history of Cuba and how it got to the place it is now with Q & A to follow. Join us for an very informative morning! The public is invited. Admission is free. Read about the PANELISTS on page 3 APRIL AWARDS MEETING SUNDAY, APRIL 17 3 - 5 pm Holy Trinity Serbian Church Join us as we celebrate and honor young women in our community.
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MARCH 2016TRIADTHE
WEBSITE: oml-ca.aauw.net
AAUW Mission • AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.Value Promise of AAUW • By joining AAUW, you belong to a community that breaks through educational and economic barriers so that all women have a fair chance.
WE ARE MOVING!Starting in September 2016
Monthly OML meetings will be held at the Orinda Community Church Fellowship Hall
10 Irwin Way, OrindaUntil then, our monthly meetings will continue to be held at the
Holy Trinity Serbian Church Cultural Center1700 School St., Moraga
Proposed Slate of 2016-17 AAUW OML
Elected Officers
PresidentLaura WittenbergPresident- Elect
OpenProgram VP’s
Judy Helder and Pat BecknerMembership VP’s
Mary Levey and Alison MacKenzieAAUW Funds VP’s
Marie Bonilla and Peggy CabanissCorresp/Recording Secretary
Maryellen JudsonFinance VPGail Chesler
This slate of candidates will be presented to the membership at the March meeting before the start of the program on Cuba.Further nominations will be accepted from the floor, to be followed by a mo-tion to approve. The elected officers will be installed at the May Luncheon on May 17.
TUESDAY, MARCH 15GENERAL MEETING
9-11:30 amThe Power of Community in an Isolated
and Underserved Nation
Laura Wittenberg and Mary Leigh Miller will share their travel ex-periences and observations from a two-week trip to Cuba in the spring of 2015, sponsored by the AAUW Oakland-Piedmont Branch.
A panel will discuss what’s working and what’s not working in a country cut off from the United States for over 50 years, and how the people of Cuba have learned to support each other despite adversity and extreme shortage of worldly goods.
Table Activity Discussions will include sharing your impressions of socialism – its best and worst aspects – and participating in an informal quiz. A short overview and PowerPoint slide show will focus on the history of Cuba and how it got to the place it is now with Q & A to follow.
Join us for an very informative morning! The public is invited. Admission is free.Read about the PANELISTS on page 3
APRIL AWARDS MEETINGSUNDAY, APRIL 17
3 - 5 pmHoly Trinity Serbian Church
Join us as we celebrate and honor young women
in our community.
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WEBSITE: oml-ca.aauw.net MARCH 2016
WORDS from GAIL ... BOARD MEETINGHIGHLIGHTS
February Board meeting was stimulat-ing. Good discussion took place and important work was accomplished. Nominating Committee has a few open-ings, but the slate looks strong for next year. There are opportunities for each of us to contribute to make the organization run smoothly. Everyone is excited with plans to rec-ognize the Volunteers of Burckhalter School who work now and have worked in the past. If you have participated at the school and think we MIGHT have missed your name, please contact De-nise Burian ([email protected]). Our February meeting will be very in-teresting to see college leadership. Do not miss the March meeting when we will see CUBA, this beautiful island country, in an interesting light.
We have all heard many stories so come and see if your stories match what is re-ally happening. Activities with our young girls is an important time for our teens. Expanding Your Horizons will be an introduction to science, technology, engineering and math for the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade girls. Outstanding speakers will lead the workshops.
College bound girls in our local high schools need to apply for scholar-ships.....$1000 or $5000. All our girls can use help to pay for school. Spring with AAUW OML is an exciting time of year. Please take part. Maryellen Judson Recording Secretary
This spring brings several events to our branch – events that we can be proud of and events in which we may enjoy participat-ing. I’m glad we provide such opportunities to our members.
It’s also true that we’re finished with some other events that brought laughs and good times. The Valentine Party by Scholar-ship at Peggy’s house was delightful. I love it when we get to hang out and chat with each other. We also learned a bit about Ikebana flower arranging. Scholar-ship has a busy month or so ahead of them selecting the recipients from Acalanes, Campolindo, Miramonte, and Saint Mary’s. The ladies of Tech Trek are similarly at work – interviewing 38 seventh grade girl candidates to find the fabulous 6 that we will send to Stanford for a fun-filled week of hands-on science, etc. There’s a big deal one-day EYH STEM conference for 125 girls that we are sponsoring on March 17th – the workshops are really interesting.
I had a fine time at the February general meeting where good discussions of women leaders and mentors and Nick-whistle took place (NCCWSL for college women student leaders). A bit more about that on page 6, and March brings new under-standings of CUBA – can’t wait.
You should also know about the up-coming Shred-fest in May (got a box or two of papers you don’t want to have to shred yourself?) and the Sunday meeting in April that allows us to congratulate the young women we are honoring. There is also a good eating event at the Moraga Country Club in May.
There is so much that’s pleasurable and important to many.
All the best to you. Sincerely, Gail Chesler
THE HUNTING GROUNDOn Thursday evening, March 17th, the film about college sexual assault, The Hunting Ground, will be shown at DVC as part of the college’s Wom-en’s History Month activities.
This important film should be viewed by ALL high school seniors before they leave for college.
The event is free and open to the public. Encourage any young women (and men!) in your family or neighbor to attend!
Sponsored by the AAUW Inter Branch Council and Diablo Valley College
!
THE HUNTING GROUND !A!FILM!BY!KIRBY!DICK!&!AMY!ZIERING
MARCH 17 7-9:50 PM
DVC Forum (library building)
No cost—Open to public
Sponsored by DVC & AAUW InterBranch Council of Contra Costa Co.
Triumpant...A stirring call to action”—Indiewire
“Terrifyingly True”—Newsweek
“An unblinking look at sexual assaults on campus”—The New York Times
“As frightening as any film I have seen since THE SHINING”—Newsweek
Save the Date - April 15 to travel by carpool to the ANDERSON ART COL-LECTION MUSEUM at Stanford. This collection is one of the largest and most outstanding private collections of 20th century American art in the world. We have a docent tour scheduled for 11:30AM followed by lunch purchased at the nearby Cool Cafe with seating outdoors in the Rodin Sculpture Garden. There is no cost for admission to the museum or for the docent tour.
Contact Elaine Gallaher at [email protected] or 925-254-3618 for further information.
No Foolin’! On Friday, April 1 the M u s e u m Mavens are going to the L A F A Y -ETTE COMMUNITY GARDEN, (3932 Mt. Diablo Blvd.) Meet us to cel-ebrate spring in this beautiful place built just a few years by local garden enthu-siasts. On our morning tour we’ll learn the history of the garden and check out new ideas and planting arrangements. Lunch at a local restaurant afterward is a definite possibility.
Contact Elaine Gallaher at [email protected] or 925-254-3618 if you are Interested in joining us.
WEBSITE: oml-ca.aauw.netMARCH 2016
FOCUS ON ... WOMEN MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOCUS ON ... SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
MUSEUM MAVENS
Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28, which authorized and requested the President to pro-claim the week beginning March 7, 1982, as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987, after being petitioned by the Na-tional Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9, which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”
Check out the Women’s History Month display in the Moraga Library lobby area, arranged by Diane Bell-Rettger who will be using materials provided by the National Women’s History Project. Their theme this year is: Working To Form A More Perfect Union – Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.
International Women’s Day is annually held on March 8 to celebrate women’s achievements throughout history and across nations. It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace. International Women’s Day events are held worldwide on March 8.
If you are interested in learning more about this honored day, there is an interfaith celebration being held on March 8 at the San Damiano Retreat Center, 710 Highland Drive, Danville. For more info, contact Jaleh Kilpatrick, [email protected].
CUBA EXPLOREDIT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE CARS...
Continued from the front page
We are excited to have a panel of local people whose knowledge of Cuba is extensive.
• Joseph Mutti worked in Havana as a radio journalist for eight years.• Leslie Balog organizes humanitarian-oriented trips to Cuba through the
Global Exchange travel division, located in Berkeley. She will talk about the educational system in Cuba.
• Eric Holt-Gimeniz, from Food First in Oakland, will lend his expertise on organic and sustainable farming.• Pierre LaRamee, from MEDICC (Medical Educa tion Cooperation with Cuba), a non-profit working to enhance cooperation between the US and Cuba, will address the Cuban healthcare program.
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MEMBERSHIP MEMOS
WEBSITE: oml-ca.aauw.net MARCH 2016
New MembersWe welcome two new members this month and one returning new member. Re-turning is Leslie Westphal who lives with her husband, Graham, in Lafayette. She is a self-employed artist with an interest in the Sister-to-Sister program. The new members are Janette Maher and Jin Yang. Janette is a retired teacher and librarian who lives in Moraga. She has an interest in helping with the Burckhalter program. Jin lives with her husband, Peter, in Orinda and is employed fulltime. She has a science background and is interested in Tech Trek and helping girls in science and engineering. Welcome to all!
Door prize goes unclaimed!The door prize for bringing a guest to the February meeting went unclaimed as no one in attendance brought a guest. Therefore, you have another chance to win. Bring a guest to the March meeting on Cuba and be entered to win a prize. Unlike the lottery, the prize will not get larger in the second month, but you and a guest still have a great chance to win.
New dues collection method is coming in MayFor those of you that hate to pay by check and can never find an envelope or a stamp, a new option for paying dues will be coming your way in May. During May you will get an e-mail from National that will allow you to pay National, State and Branch dues plus a contribution to AAUW funds by credit card on-line. More on this in future editions of the Triad.
Alison MacKenzie, Membership Co-VP
LAFAYETTE Asian Accents – Original Designs in Jewelry by K. de Groot* Creative Alterations – Josef Jamkochain DIABLO FOODSIndigo & Poppy – Fine California Living Matthew McLeod, Realtor – Dudum Real Estate Group Open Sesame Natural FoodsP & L Framing Persons Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery – Barbara Persons, MD FACS Ware Designs – Fine Jewelry
MORAGA AAAAA Rent-A-Space Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay King Florist & Gifts Massage Envy National Assoc. for Advancement of Female People – Diane Bell-Rettger* Neighborhood Computers New Delhi Bistro Royal Siam Thai Cuisine ShopMORAGAfirst.com – Moraga Chamber Terzetto Cuisine Café ViaVienté – Lana Reichick*
ORINDAJoan Evans* & Angie Evans Traxinger, Village Associates Real Estate La Piazza Pizzeria TrattoriaOrinda Books Piccolo Napoli Redwood Cottage Sea Ranch Vacation Rental – Elaine Gallaher*Shelby’s RestaurantSoraya Golesorkhi*, Realtor – Coldwell Banker
THE TRIAD StaffProof Reader Jeanne Melaugh, 954-1007 email: [email protected]
AAUW Association Website: http://www.oml-ca.aauw.netCalifornia AAUW Website: www.aauw-ca.org
President Gail CheslerPresident-Elect Laura Wittenberg Vice-President, Membership Alison McKenzie, Mary Levey Vice-Presidents, Program Diane Bell-Rettger, Judy Helder
Please mark your calendars and notify all incoming 2016-17 branch officers that the Interbranch Council will be sharing a day of leadership training so that officers get all the info they need to do their specific job as well as to know the role of the board as a whole. Others are also welcome.
Saturday, May 21 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Cal State East Bay, Concord Campus4700 Ygnacio Valley Rd., Concord
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WEBSITE: oml-ca.aauw.netMARCH 2016
STEM CONFERENCE
We are now in our last month before the conference; it is very exciting. The con-ference filled up fast, with 125 girls and 40 parents attending. Nearly 70% of the girls come from Joaquin Moraga and Stanley, followed by Orinda Intermediate with about 10%, and the remainder from schools in nearby communities and pri-vate schools.
We are busy now with the many logistical details for this big event to ensure that everything goes smoothly. We are working on parking details, conference map, safety procedures, nametags, certificates of completion, evaluation forms and other materials for attendees. Recently, Diablo Foods and Starbucks have kindly agreed to donate drinks for the conference, and we are asking Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s to help with snacks. Mary Leigh Miller is providing creative assistance for the program and for the tee shirts and tote bags. In addition, many people have offered to volunteer on the day of the conference, including 14 Tech Trekkers, 10 Saint Mary’s College students, 5 Saint Mary’s professors, 19 AAUW members, 5 Rotarians and 6 community members.
The parents will be attending the morning keynote session with the girls, and then they will be welcomed by the Dean of Science, Roy Wensley, PhD, who will talk with them about several accomplishments of some of the current female STEM majors and recent graduates at Saint Mary’s College, and he will discuss special op-portunities and challenges for girls interested in STEM. The talk will be followed by a tour of the campus that will be provided by several Saint Mary’s College students.
We want to extend a special thank you to Dr. Kristen Beck and Saint Mary’s College and its School of Science for their phenomenal support for the conference! And thank you to our mem-bers who have put together this conference in a very short time frame: Peggy Cabaniss, Gail Chesler, Stacia Cragholm, Jan Cushman, Sandy Fox-Sohner, Chris Laszcz-Davis, Heidi Mayer, Mary Leigh Miller, Marty Schimbor and Christine Walwyn.
AAUW OML Expanding Your Horizons STEM ConferenceSaint Mary’s College ~ March 19th
Inspiring girls to recognize their potential and pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
Past Tech Trek Girls Volunteer at STEM ConferenceAAUW OML Tech Trek scholarship winners from the past 4 years were invited to help out with our upcoming STEM conference at St. Mary’s College on March 19, and 15 girls signed up to help! These Tech Trekkers are not only passionate about science and math, but they are eager to mentor other young women interested in STEM.
March is a busy month for the Tech Trek committee. This year, teachers from our three local middle schools have nominated 38 outstanding young women for Tech Trek Camp Scholar-ships. Committee members, most with careers in STEM fields, will be inter-viewing the applicants in March. At JM, Lana Reichick, MJ Marggraff, Laura Halvorsen, and Carrol Foxall make up the interview team. At OIS, Jan Cush-man, Christine Walwyn, and Sara Laut-enbach will conduct the interviews. At Stanley, Marie Bonilla, Therese Tamaro, and Sandy Fox-Sohner will interview. The winning 6 Tech Trek girls will be honored at the Awards Ceremony on Sun-day, April 17. All AAUW-OML mem-bers are invited to come and meet these incredible young women, hear about their experiences in STEM and expectations for the future, and celebrate with us. Cup-cakes and party fare will be available for all. The scholarship winners will receive their certificates, flowers, AAUW journal to take with them to camp, and the famed Tech Trek Teddy Bear.
Sandra Fox-Sohner Co-Director, Tech Trek
TECH TREK NEWS
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WEBSITE: oml-ca.aauw.net MARCH 2016
Members Lisa Geary and Karen Mankowski supervised two very successful fundraisers for our Scholarship Committee. Working with Kaplan Testing at Mi-ramonte and Campolindo, Lisa organized two practice test dates, which raised approximately $1880 for future scholarships. Karen organized our wonderful Valentine Party Social, which raised almost $800 towards scholarships. Scholar-ship Committee members pitched in to help with these projects. Thank You Lisa, Karen and committee members who support our scholarship program and thank you to branch members who contributed to our scholarship fund.
We are accepting and reading applications, getting ready to interview and desig-nate our awardees. It is inspiring to meet these young women and learn about the contribution each made to her community. We look forward to our April Awards Meeting where we will present our 2016 student awards.
Mary Ann McLeod, Scholarship Co-Director
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS NEWS
VALENTINE PARTY!Many thanks to those of you who attended the Scholarship Committee’s Valentine Party. A very special thank you to our hostess, Peggy Cabaniss! We raised al-most $800 with your help. What a lovely
way to spend a February afternoon!
Nick-whistle (more about NCCWSL)
Our general meeting of branch members took place Tuesday, Feb 16th. The topic of discussion was the annual National Conference of College Women Student Leaders. This conference takes place in early June every year at the University of Maryland (near DC). Our discussion about the event went well.
Following that, a conference call the next Monday revealed some things we want to know. (1) A more extensive follow-up on the generations of college women student leaders may begin now that AAUW is the primary organizer and sponsor of this annual event. Prior agreements between organizations in-volved with the event kept this follow-up from happening. (2) Our branch has the opportunity to sponsor (probably) a northern California woman who is seek-ing a scholarship and wants to attend the event this June 2016. Your board will consider this opportunity on our behalf.
It continues to please me, though not surprise me, to hear of the many ways in which AAUW does indeed advocate for the opportunities of girls and women. We do it all the time.
Gail Chesler
Guests were treated to an Ikebana arranging demo by two trained artists.
Plenty of chocolates, plus a brownie tasting experience.Be sure to check out the brownie recipes on the OML website!
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WEBSITE: oml-ca.aauw.netMARCH 2016
OUR DISTINGUISHED WOMEN for 2016Request for Stories
or Pictures from Burckhalter Volunteers
It was announced in the February Triad that the 2016 AAUW OML Distin-guished Woman award would go to a dedicated group of volunteers this year – The Burckhalter School Volunteers. Since 1992, over 40 volunteers have worked at Burckhalter Elementary School in Oakland by tutoring students in reading or math or working in the library every week. Most volunteered for many years, and a few have 15-24 years of service.
The luncheon at which these volunteers will be recognized as a group is Tues-day, May 17th – OML’s annual May Luncheon, held this year at the Moraga Country Club. We encourage all cur-rent and former volunteers to attend the luncheon so that you may be honored by your peers for dedication and service.
We would also like to share your stories and pictures of the volunteers at work.
Perhaps you have notes the students or teachers have written to you or a story that demonstrates the impact of your work on a particular student (you don’t have to share student names). There will be a slide show at the event to display them. Please send a copy of your story and/or pictures to Denise Burian at [email protected]. If your photo is in a printed form, a digital copy can easily be made. Our hope is to feature every volunteer in the slide show!
If you have questions, contact me at (925) 285-1932.
Denise Burian, Distinguished Women Committee Chair
PUBLIC POLICYNow, more than ever, it is imperative that our voices be heard. As Ellen Tauscher pointed out at OML’s October meeting, AAUW has a strong presence and a strong voice. Let’s use it!
• In 2015 over 250,000 emails were sent by AAUW Action Network members to their legislators, both statewide and nationally. Our online advocacy efforts ampli-fied AAUW’s voice far and wide and across the nation. Each Thursday, when the AAUW Action Fund’s Lobby Corps hits Capitol Hill, they are able to show members of Congress how many of their constituents are AAUW activists. Our Action Net-work was a critical force in furthering our public policy priorities in the states and in Congress in 2015. If you have not yet signed up to be a 2 minute activist, do it!
• AAUW public policy priorities were included in the State of the Union Address. The President has urged Congress to support reforms that will provide concrete economic benefits to women and their families – working toward equal pay, ex-panding care tax credits, establishing paid sick days and paid family leave, making college more accessible and affordable, improving retirement savings, raising the minimum wage and making investments in education.
• The President’s February budget proposal increases spending by almost 5% with the funding of mandatory programs such as Social Security. Obama’s budget also includes many proposals that support AAUW’s policy priorities including increas-ing funds for computer science education, Title X family planning, and increasing the Dept. of Education’s Office for Civil Rights’ budget by $30 million to help it oversee Title IX compliance.
• AAUW joins the nation in mourning the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. His untimely passing has left a void at a critical time in the his-tory of the court and the country. The Supreme Court has pending cases that will greatly affect the everyday lives of women and their families. We must take ac-tion by urging President Obama and the U.S. Senate to rise above the partisan fray and simply do what the Constitution requires: fairly and expeditiously select and consider a qualified nominee to fill the vacancy. There is almost a full year – more than 320 days – before the next president takes office, more than sufficient time for an orderly and thorough confirmation process.
Lobby Day at the Capitol March 10The 2016 Legislative session in now in full swing. AAUW CA is a member of STRONGER California, a coalition of women’s organization supporting Equal Pay bills and other legislation affecting women economically. Stronger California is holding a Lobby Day on March 10 at the Capitol in Sacramento to draw attention to these bills. Details: Thursday, March 10, 10:00 am, Capitol steps on the L Street side • Press conference with legislators from the Women’s Legislative Caucus • Visits to legislators’ offices – there will be a brief training about the bills to be highlighted
Please contact Sue Miller ([email protected]) if you plan to attend so the legislative visits can be scheduled. Jan Coe, Public Policy Co-Director
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TRIADTHE
MARCH at a GLANCE AAUW-OMLDatabase Coord.3537 Springhill RdLafayette, CA 94549
MARCH 2016
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL SPECIAL INTEREST COORDINATORS
If your group decides to meet on a different day or time than normal or if you are no longer meeting, please contact our Calendar Coordinator, BONNIE GALLOGLY, so she can update the website calendar.
