Our Featured Speaker: Gregoria Smith, Ph. D.

The question our speaker intends to answer is this:   “In what ways may we make our diversity a positive aspect of our common life?”

Dr. Smith will present not only sociopolitical, economic “facts”–which she considers merely scholarly descriptions of populations. Digging deeper, she will draw our attention to each individual selected Asian woman’s story as unique. In Smith’s view, women’s journeys and contributions together make up a rich heritage of mixed identities.

Overview & Synopsis of Issues That Impact Women

Denny McGuire AAUW State Policy Chair

She is also our Liaison between the State Board and AAUW of Raleigh-Wake Branch.

Go Global NC

with speaker Carey Rudell

Learning to navigate a changing world is essential to North Carolina’s progress. Go Global NC, a non-partisan and nonprofit organization, empowers North Carolina citizens with the skills, understanding, connections, and knowledge to succeed in a global community.  Go Global NC’s overseas and domestic programs deliver transformative learning experiences which help business, policy, and education leaders position North Carolina for economic success.  Carey Rudell, program director of Go Global NC’s Global Leaders Program, will overview Go Global NC’s mission and initiatives and begin the conversation about possible partnership opportunities with AAUW .  She will also introduce the 2017 Global Leaders Program which will take women legislators, business executives, and community leaders to Germany to study international best practices that increase women’s participation in the work force. 

About the speaker:  Before joining Go Global NC in 2016, Carey Rudell was a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. In her most recent role at the State Department, she designed and managed International Visitor Leadership Programs (IVLP). Through IVLP, the State Department’s premier professional exchange program, foreign leaders examine U.S. approaches to international challenges and cultivate lasting relationships with their American counterparts. Carey previously served as the Portugal country desk officer, where she worked closely with the Department of Defense on the U.S. Air Force streamlining of its base in the Azores. Her first Foreign Service tour was in Mumbai, India, where she adjudicated nonimmigrant visas and provided consular services to U.S. citizens living and traveling in India.

Come & bring a friend to the meeting of your Raleigh-Wake Branch:
Where: The Junior League Center for Community Leadership
711 Hillsborough St, Raleigh 27603
When: Tuesday evening, November 15th, 2016
5:15 – Hospitality ~~ 5:30 -Program

The Center for Community Leadership is in the Junior League of Raleigh building. There is parking behind the building — enter from St. Mary’s St.

The Power of Women:  AAUW’s Grants, Fellowships & NEW Publication

In 2016, $3.7 million in funding for more than 230 fellowships & grants.

WHO gets funded? WHAT gets funded? What DIFFERENCE does it make?

Moderator:     Terry Wall    American Fellowship Recipient (1989-90)

Speakers:

(1) Beth Dehghan   Prospective CAG Recipient (2017-2020)

Beth will describe two active Women NC projects and ask for feedback on how well each is aligned with aspects of the AAUW mission.                     

(2) Brandy Burnett    Community Action Grant Recipient (2016-17)

Brandy successfully navigated the application process, tweaked her program to match goals laid out in her proposal, and is now making scheduled reports to AAUW. She’ll describe lessons learned to date.

Come & bring a friend to the meeting of your Raleigh-Wake Branch:
Where: The Junior League Center for Community Leadership
711 Hillsborough St, Raleigh 27603
When: Tuesday evening, October 18th, 2016
5:15 – Hospitality ~~ 5:30 -Program

The Center for Community Leadership is in the Junior League of Raleigh building. There is parking behind the building — enter from St. Mary’s St.

You Can Vote

Get an expert briefing on voting laws

Kate Fellman is the Program Director for You Can Vote. She has trained and mobilized over 650 volunteers in 2016 to educate 100,000 voters at a time when changes in the laws can be overwhelming. Kate has over 15 years of experience in community organizing and electoral politics.

YOU CAN VOTE is a non-partisan grassroots effort to Educate, Empower and EQUIP those eligible to vote in North Carolina. This volunteer coalition was formed by citizens and civic groups who wanted to ensure North Carolinians were prepared to vote and not disenfranchised as a result of multiple changes to our voting laws.

Ms. Fellman will facilitate a training for AAUW’s Raleigh-Wake branch. We are honored that she is investing her time and expertise so that we can ensure the education and registration of more voters before the general election in November.

Feel free to bring interested individuals along. Also, please RSVP so that our set-up will be adequate. 

We look forward to seeing members and friends of the branch after our summer hiatus!

Come & bring a friend to the meeting of your Raleigh-Wake Branch:
Where: The Junior League Center for Community Leadership
711 Hillsborough St, Raleigh 27603
When: Tuesday evening, March 15, 2016
5:15 – Hospitality ~~ 5:30 -Program

The Center for Community Leadership is in the Junior League of Raleigh building. There is parking behind the building — enter from St. Mary’s St.

Registration is open and seats are limited:

http://www.unwomen-usnc.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=119
USNC-UN Women’s NC 3rd Annual Luncheon, featuring ATHENA International founder, Martha Mertz, as keynote speaker.
https://www.unwomen-usnc.org/programs-and-events-0

Congratulations to our Brandy Burnett

for securing AAUW’s Community Action Grant for her “Smart Girls Smart Choices, Inc.” Project!

Community Action Grants provide funds to individuals, AAUW branches, and AAUW state organizations as well as local community-based nonprofit organizations for innovative programs or non-degree research projects that promote education and equality for women and girls.

Through Smart Girls Smart Choices, Inc. the goal is to provide girls with the opportunity to participate in workshops specifically designed to spark an interest in math, science, and technology, field trips, guest speakers and interactive contact with innovators to broaden the scope of interest and ambitions.  The balancing influences of meeting and interacting with high achieving women can help girls discover and take seriously their own passions. Goals will be meet through consistent participation in interactive workshops, monthly face to face contact and engagement with   mentors, who will include project staff, AAUW members, workshop presenters, community partners and members of the business and professional sector.  http://www.smartgirlssmartchoices.com/index.html

Smart Girls Smart Choices, Inc.  has been selected to receive an AAUW community Action Grant  for the 2016-2017 award year. Founded in 1881, AAUW is one of the world’s largest sources of funding for graduate women, due to the generosity and legacy of generations of AAUW members.  AAUW has chosen to fund this project because of the promise it holds for empowering women and girls. 

Laundromat Project

with speaker Dr. Christine Ganis, President

Southern Pines/Sandhill Branch

Laundromats can be boring places for kids, except in Moore County since 2014. The Southern Pines/Sandhills Branch of AAUW, advocated for early literacy by providing over 4,000 books in three locations, including two laundromats. Branch President, Dr. Christine Ganis, a psychologist, saw an opportunity in a local laundromat when children had nothing to do. What they did do was whine to their caretakers that they were bored, and push each other in carts, to the annoyance of patrons. Ganis reasoned, “If these kids had age-appropriate books to read, and could even keep them if they liked the subject, all the better.” So the branch embarked on a pilot project, using consignment books and small donations to fuel their efforts. Dr. Ganis will share her story with us and give us some food for good fodder as we continue to empower the young adults in our community.