Donate to the AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund.

It's not too late to respond to the fund-raising letter from Scholarship Chair Laura O’Malley sent in November. Your donation will support our local college scholarships and awards as well as Tech Trek sponsorships and enabling college students to attend AAUW's National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL).

• Donate via PayPal (debit or credit card) by clicking HERE. Use the drop-down menu to designate how you want your donation to be used.  If you want to designate more than one target, repeat the process. OR
• Send a check made out to the AAUW Marin Scholarship Fund.to Laura O'Malley, 32 Maplewood Dr., San Rafael, 94901. Indicate in the memo section of your check how you want your donation to be used. You can target your donation to local college scholarships, Tech Trek sponsorships, college scholarship endowments, or "unrestricted."

Fold a gift card holder

Are you giving gift cards this year? Learn how to fold this attractive gift card holder. Join us on Thursday, December 14 at 10 A.M. at Dottie Burk’s home, 41 Bayview Terrace, Mill Valley. For a $20.00 donation to the Scholarship Fund, you will take home 3 flapping bird envelopes. Guests are welcome. We will help each other so everyone will be successful. All materials will be provided. 

Reserve your spot with Amy Anderson, or text 415-259-8892

Nancy Finston Does it Again!

Perfect timing. Thanks to Nancy, AAUW Marin had another Giving Marin ad published in the IJ. The ad which appeared in the November 26 issue, was sponsored by the Marin Independent Journal. The same ad which promotes our college scholarships program is expected to run again in December with sponsorship by the College of Marin. How appropriate as we are major donors of scholarships to women at COM. See our November newsletter for a picture of the ad Nancy created for Tech Trek.



And speaking of Tech Trek....

Maggie Kepler

"Tech Trek was truly so fundamental in my passion in the sciences and building confidence as a woman in STEM."

Did you meet Maggie at our October Tech Trek event? She attended Tech Trek Camp in 2011, graduated from Redwood High School, and then from from Cal Poly with a major in Biochemistry and minor in Biotechnology. Following graduation, Maggy worked in the laboratory at J. Lohr Vineyards assisting with harvest fermentation science and quality control before moving to SF as a clinical patient navigator with Spring Fertility. Maggy is currently pursuing a Masters in Genetic Counseling at UCSF.

Just look at how Tech Trek can motivate a young woman to pursue the sciences. If you haven’t already done so, please donate to the Scholarship Fund.

Sally Williams

Sally was born in England and moved to the US in 1979. She was a registered nurse in both places. Taking early retirement, she and her husband sailed the world in their own sailboat! Their first sail was from Sweden to Rhode Island, with 2 more transatlantic crossings, including recreating Columbus's sail from Spain to the Bahamas. Sally currently lives at Villa Marin where she is very active on committees and the Board. She enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren in Marin, and continues to travel, although no longer on a sailboat! She is looking forward to participating in AAUW and we are looking forward to her joining us.

You may remember that a featured item in our 2021 fundraising auction was an offer by member Janet Quin-Harkin (AKA Rhys Bowen) to include the winning bidder as a character in one of her upcoming books. Two members shared the winning bid. The first book, The Paris Assignment, is out now and features Mary Fran McCluskey. Another one featuring Nancy Van Horn will be published in the spring. Thank you again Janet!

Former branch president Ginny Pabst passed away on November 3, 2023. Ginny was a proud president of AAUW Marin from 1979-1981. Her obituary was published in the November 26 edition of the Marin IJ.

Hiking Group

Our next hike is planned for December 5, weather permitting. We plan to go to the (seasonally appropriate) Pumpkin Ridge, near Bon Tempe Reservoir. The hike will be about 5 1/2 miles. Please contact Ann Vercoutere if you are interested in joining us.

Also, there seems to be, from the luncheon today, a great deal of interest in setting up a walking group- doing 3-4 miles, fairly flat. Email Ann if interested and we'll get you all connected.

LitWits Reading Group

We do not meet in December. In January we begin reading a trio of novels by English author J.G. Farrell, known as “The Empire Trilogy”, about the political and human consequences of British colonial rule. The January read is Troubles, Ireland in 1919. This is the first in the trilogy.

Reading Arts

Reading Arts meets on Thursday, December 14 at 1PM to discuss  Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of a Trailblazing Architect by Victoria Kastner. Like to join us? Please contact group leader Ann Jessup for more information. 

What Are You Reading?

What Are You Reading book group will meet on December 11 for the group’s annual pot luck holiday luncheon and a discussion of books members are giving as gifts, or wish someone would give them as a gift. 11:00 at the home of Cherie Sorokin. Contact

Cherie Sorokin or 415 730-0204 if you wish to join the group. 

Happy Hour Group

No December meeting is planned- see you next year!

Meet Me at the Movies!

In November we saw film festival award winner, Radical, at the Rafael. Radical is docudrama about an innovative educational approach in a very disadvantaged community in Mexico. We really enjoyed the film and would recommend it to others. We plan to see our last movie of the year on December 12; Freddie will pick that movie a few days before we meet and will email members with her selection, time, theater and dinner spot. Contact Mary Mossteller or Freddie Greene if you would like to join the movie group.

Handcraft Circle

With the busy holiday season, we combined and moved our November and December meetings and met for our last meeting of the year on November 28. We will return to our regular third Tuesday in January. Contact Mary Mossteller if you would like to join the Handcraft Circle group.

Play Mah Jongg?

Join us for our weekly games on Wednesdays in members' homes 1:30 to 3:30. If you are interested in joining or would like to get on the list, email the group leader Chris O'Neill. We play American Mah Jongg. You need the card to play and should have a basic knowledge of the game. Chris can also give you information on where to take lessons if you'd like to learn to play. Come join us!

November 11 Book Passage Program

December 2 Holiday Lunch

Tuesdays in January: Pioneering Women in U.S. Art. OLLI (Osher Life-Long Learning) at Dominican is offering a course on women responsible for some of the most outstanding art collections in the U.S. Per the OLLI catalogue, these women brought old masters as well as modernist impressionist works to the U.S., commissioned art and ran salons, founded museums and art organizations, ran galleries, and introduced contemporary public art. Sylvia Laudien-Mao is the instructor and classes will be held Tuesdays at 2:00 pm via Zoom from January 9 to January 30. You can register on the OLLI site. The course is $80 and there is a $20 session registration fee on top if you aren't already signed up for classes through Olli this term.

Sunday, January 28, 2024, 2:00-4:00: Gun Violence Protection. Save the date and plan to join the AAUW Petaluma Branch at the Lucchesi Center in Petaluma for this program on Gun Violence Protection. Congressman Jared Huffman is one of the speakers. Contact Jean Reed for more information or to RSVP. Click on her name to email her. Jean Reed

• February 24: Our annual Tri-Branch meeting with a speaker on Building a More Equitable Community. 10-noon at the Key Room at Homeward Bound. Petaluma Branch is the host this year.

AAUW women make an impact on women and girls.

Word of mouth is the best way to recruit new members! 

Why Join? AAUW offers multiple ways to stay engaged with our mission of advancing equity for women and girls, as well as to develop friendship with others who understand that the fight for equality is still critical! Excellent national webinars! Engaging monthly branch programs! A wide variety of interest group meetings! Energetic, intellectually curious friends! A mission that is more important than ever! 

Wondering what to give your daughter/granddaughter/niece for the holidays?

How about the experience of being an AAUW member? You say she is busy working or rising a family or doesn't have time. I bet she has the time to read our emails and newsletters.CONTACT Chris O'Neill for membership information.