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August 2024

It is time to create new branch directories for this year. Please be sure the  AAUW California address is correct. The current address is P.O. Box 160067, Sacramento, CA 95816. The phone # is, 916-389-0220. Please include the AAUW California website address, aauw-ca.org and the password, aauwca.  If you include the president’s name it is now Charmen Goehring.

The AAUW California and AAUW Oregon Online branches are collaborating to create a virtual program on National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL). They are seeking recent attendees to participate in the program. If your branch has sponsored a student to attend NCCWSL within the last three years please contact Cathy Foxhoven at (aauwfox@gmail.com). Thank you.

Quick Links

                        Committee News

 
 

Public Policy

  

Charmen's Chat

Charmen Goehring, President, AAUW California, statepresident@aauw-ca.org

In a few weeks, about 50 members who answered the call to join a state committee will gather in San Diego for Committee Day. Here, the committees will decide on priorities and activities for the year and engage with the leadership team and each other. Then, based on the committee feedback, the leadership team will create the 2024-2025 Success Plan.

The regular B2B, with committee updates, will be back in September.

Peer Groups
We will continue to connect the committees with branches though our peer groups. Branch leaders will have the opportunity to meet with others in similar positions to receive job resources, share best practices and receive tips from others who do similar work in our branches. Each peer group leader will announce their meeting schedule in September. The Branch Officer Reporting (BOR) mailing lists will be used to contact the appropriate leaders in your branch. Confirm you are on the correct list by visiting the online directory. Send an email to webteam@aauw-ca.org if you need to be added to a list.

 

Peer Groups

Leader

Branch Mailing List from the BOR

Finance

Kathy Ford

Finance

Branch Development

Rebecca Gomez

Sigrid Moranz

IBC or District leads, President, Membership

Technology 

Michelle Baer

Donna Holmes

Webmaster, Newsletter Editor, Social Media, or Technology Coordinator

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Lata Muri

DEI Coordinator

AAUW Fund

Deanna Arthur

AAUW Fund

Governance

Marty McKnew

Governance

C/U

Susan Bangasser

Membership, C/U

Speech Trek

Cathy Foxhoven

Speech Trek

Public Policy

Amy Hom

Melissa Maceyko

Public Policy

Tech Trek

Mary Isaac

Tech Trek

 

Membership Support
We still have some California-shaped pins with poppies and the letters AAUW available for purchase ($3.25 plus shipping). These could serve as a great token of appreciation for member contributions, volunteering or even as a welcome gift for new members. Purchase them on our website HERE.

Student Engagement
Tech Trek and one last statewide Speech Trek will return this year. Materials are being prepped. Unfortunately, we have not found a leader for Gov Trek so this program will have to be put on hiatus. Updates will be announced here and in peer groups as they become available.

Public Policy
We expect lots of opportunities for you to engage in mission-based actions. Get Out The Vote (GOTV) activities will be shared including an opportunity to assist our friends in states where an abortion ban is on the ballot. The School Board Project will be looking for branches to take up the call of monitoring local boards and finding education and equity minded folks to run for office.

AAUW Fund Fellows
We will continue to have the opportunity to learn from the Fellows who are studying in California. More information will come shortly.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
The leadership team has begun looking at cultural humility and what that means for us and AAUW California in general. We hope to encourage branches to join us in using the DEI Strategic Plan HERE and the tools provided on our website as well as the National site HERE to help your branches become more accessible and welcoming to others.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to each of you. The leadership team and I recognize that we are all volunteers with very busy lives, yet we value AAUW and our branches enough to step up to help us stand together in equity. We appreciate your dedication of your time, skills, and resources to ensuring women and girls are better able to lead equitable and fulfilling lives.

 

 

Committee News
 

PUBLIC POLICY TOP

Amy Hom and Melissa Maceyko, Directors, Public Policy Committee Co-chairs, publicpolicy@aauw-ca.org

PUBLIC POLICY PRIORITIES AND THE ELECTIONS

Welcome to another presidential election year in the United States! We have you covered with All The Resources.

In September, the Public Policy Committee will:

  • Present a webinar on Get Out the Vote. More details to follow soon.
  • Provide information on the California ballot initiatives that we are supporting.
  • Provide Candidate Comparison Guides for competitive Congressional races in California. These guides will focus on the races where an incumbent whose values are consistent with our public policy priorities is in danger of losing their seat, and where an incumbent whose values are not consistent with our priorities is being challenged by a candidate whose values align with ours. The guides will serve to educate voters on the candidates’ positions on AAUW-supported issues. The competitive districts we have identified thus far are Districts 13, 22, 27, 45, 48, 49, 41.

During the current election cycle, the Public Policy Committee will be putting out a series of election resources. As part of these resources, we will highlight some AAUW California Public Policy Priorities (PPPs) that are rising as central issues in the upcoming election and give you the tools to do your own candidate assessments. 

The first PPP we highlighted is Title IX Protections; see the August issue of Public Policy News for more information. 

Although the 2024 legislative session won’t end until this fall, the governor has already started to sign bills. We are excited to let you know that three bills on our agenda have already been signed, AB 1955, AB1790, and AB2608. Hooray!

AB 1955 will prohibit school districts from requiring staff to notify parents if a student uses a different name or pronouns or identifies as a different gender than what is on their birth certificate. California is the first state in the nation to ban forced outings of transgender students.

AB 1790 will strengthen protections against sexual assault and harassment at California State University (CSU) campuses by requiring two reports from CSU on the status of their implementation of the State Auditor recommendations.

AB 2608 will require the California Community Colleges and the CSUs, and request the University of California, to provide educational and preventive information on sexual violence and harassment, including how to recognize if someone is at risk of drug-facilitated sexual assault. 

A school board candidate questionnaire is now available, courtesy of the AAUW Fallbrook Branch. This is an excellent vetting tool. If a candidate approaches you for an endorsement or other support, ask them to complete this questionnaire, which also can be found on the Public Policy website in the School Project toolkit.

B2B Bonus: Quick Tips for Things to Try

Learn how to reduce polarization through talk. Check out THIS GUIDE, written by Missy, to learn more about how you might approach difficult conversations during election season.

 

What I need to know: AAUW’s Public Policy’s election plan has been outlined above.

What I need to do: Promote the upcoming webinar to your branch.

Should I include this in my branch newsletter? Yes, because many members have been following these bills. 
     

 

 

  AAUW California
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PO BOX 160067
Sacramento, CA 95816
United States
916-389-0220

 

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