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Advancing gender equity for women and girls
through research, education & advocacy
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Just In - Morgan Hill Branch Awarded
Branch Activity of the Year!
AAUW Morgan Hill received top recognition in AAUW California’s Branch Activity of the Year competition for its highly successful Young Women Leaders (YWL) program.
A state committee compared 18 submissions to see which worked best for branch members, the community, the future, and could be replicated.
Click HERE to read how our first place program works so well for everyone.
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- Upcoming Events
- President's Message
- Branch Business
- Here's what Happened
- Connecting with Our Members
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- Giving Back
- Other AAUW News
- Branch Links
- Our Advertisers
| | | Look at the bottom of this email. If this message appears, be sure to click where it says "View entire message" so you don't miss important information! | | |
Red Dress Exhibit, May 2-3, Morgan Hill Library. Click HERE for more information.
All-Member Spring Luncheon, May 17, Gilroy Old City Hall restaurant, noon. Cost is $20 cash. RSVP by May 11 to hospitality@aauwmh.org. For complete details about program speakers and meal selection, go HERE.
Board Retreat, June 13, Jackson Oaks Clubhouse. All members welcome. Contact Harpreet at pres-elect@aauwmh.org for details and to RSVP.
Meditation Workshop with James Morrison, June 7, at the Morgan Hill House, Villa Mira Monte. “Dealing with Uncertainty.” Information is available HERE. Contact is Carol at heart@aauwmh.org.
4th of July Parade walk or ride with AAUW. Watch the weekly email blast for details.
Candidate Forums, September 14, 21 and 28, in Morgan Hill City Council Chambers. Watch for more details.
Please read the Sunday Email Blast for more information.
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President’s Message
This is my final President’s Message for the newsletter, as my term concludes on June 30. On July 1, Harpreet Vittal will become the new President of the Morgan Hill branch of AAUW! It has been an incredible two years—truth be told, I had no idea what I was getting into—but I have truly cherished the opportunity to work with such an inspiring, creative, and intelligent group of women.
Read the full message HERE.
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Welcome New Members
Six women have joined AAUW Morgan Hill in the past two months: Jane Chipman, Charlie Kahn-Lomax, Kimberly Leiser, Debby Narcisso, Elizabeth Aleman-Sanidad, and Meenu Vaid.
Read about their varied backgrounds and careers (aviation mechanic, teacher, physician), their interests (birdkeeping, mahjong, gardening), their families, and more.
Five more women have also recently joined. Their bios will appear in the next newsletter. Branch membership now totals 214!
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New Officers Elected for 2026-2027
Balloting to choose our Elected Board Members closed as of April 15, with these final results:
- Harpreet Vittal - President
- Sheila Dunwoodie - Secretary
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These candidates have 100% of the 63 AAUW member responses/votes. This meets and exceeds our quorum requirements.
A big thank you to everyone who took the time to vote, and congratulations to our Elected Board Members!!
JoAnne Markowska, Governance/Bylaws Chair
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Wildflower Run 2026 Shines
Our annual run faced down light rain with smiles all around for the new, safer route and expanded use of the Finish Fest, all leading to financial success.
The photos will bring a smile to your face with memories of a delightful day.
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March Program - Speaking Across Differences
The March program, Tools for Speaking in Today’s World, was held at the Britton Student Union. Marcia Fishman and Susan Meyers led the participants in exercises on how best to have difficult conversations, especially with others who may not always see things as we do.
It was so successful, there were calls for a repeat.
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Young Women Leaders Conference 2026
The Young Women Leaders conference took place March 28 at Britton Middle School’s Student Union building. The participants – members and guests – attended three workshops (two led by YWL members), and enjoyed lunch.
| | | After lunch, they heard an inspirational tale of bold steps leading to a bright future by keynote speaker, Dr. Carmen Garcia, Superintendent of MHUSD and a branch member. The day ended with an hour of yoga, a raffle, and closing statements. These young women did a phenomenal job. | | CONNECTING WITH OUR MEMBERS | | | |
Goodbye to Janet
We bid a sad farewell to Janet McElroy, who has moved to Calabasas near Los Angeles to be close to family. Janet has been a very involved branch member since she joined AAUW in 2008, holding many board and committee positions and participating in numerous interest groups.
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Read about Janet’s moves from Hawaii to California and Morgan Hill and her various AAUW activities. She has been an excellent member and an even better friend. We will miss her.
Good bye from Janet on her move to Calabasas in Southern California, May 2, 2026:
“I will miss all of my friends in AAUW MH. It's been a good life here. I have met such amazing women!”
| | | | Suman Ganapathy for being named Woman of the Year for California District 28 by Gail Pellerin for her community volunteer involvement as chair of the Library Culture and Arts Commission, as well as her years of service with AAUW. | | | | |
Shellee Fisher, as the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce’s Volunteer of the Year for donating her professional photography skills to local organizations to help commemorate their events.
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Mary Cox on her retirement from Anaerobe Systems after 10 years. This is her second retirement, as she previously was head of the lab at the VA Hospital, Palo Alto.
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Lesley Miles, who has just published her book, All Things Hidden, on her experiences in a small Guatemala village in the 1970s at a time of violent political upheaval.
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Interest Group Spotlight: Meditation Groups
The two Meditation interest groups have a few spaces available for additional members.
Meditation is the practice of developing mindful awareness with the goal of calming the mind and developing inner peace.
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Pilgrims Process meets the first and third Wednesday afternoons each month. Contact Jane Devine, pilgrims@aauwmh.org.
The Seekers group meets the second and fourth Tuesday afternoons. Contact Joan Stempel, seekers@aauwmh.org.
If you would like to organize an evening group, support is available. Contact Harpreet, Interest Group Coordinator, pres-elect@aauwmh.org.
| | MH AAUW members performed at Carnegie Hall on April 1st. No foolin'! Valerie Chambliss, her husband David, and Linda Tarvin traveled to New York City to perform with fellow South Bay Singers along with various members of the Gilroy High School Choir and a few alumni under the talented leadership of director Jonathan Souza. It was Linda's first trip to the East Coast and she loved every minute of her experience. | | | | Elizabeth Mandel, Wendy Thowdis, and friends spent 2 1/2 weeks visiting Thailand. While the snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, and food were all incredible, the highlight was a week spent volunteering at an elephant rescue center near Chang Mai. | | | | | After Thailand, Elizabeth continued on to Singapore where she joined her family, including daughter Alexandra Mandel, their husbands, and Alexandra's 10-month-old baby. From there they cruised to Malaysia, Bali, Thailand, and back to Singapore. International travel with a baby is not for the faint of heart but, by the end of the cruise, baby Brynn had charmed hundreds of the boat's passengers and crew. | | | | |
Community Action Grant Helps Science Alive
In March, Gavilan hosted their 25th Annual Science Alive event, which was awarded a $500 CAG this year. The all-volunteer event had more than 170 middle-school-age attendees. Science stations included dissections, soap making, exoplanet models, and a telescope station.
For the first time in 25 years, because of federal grant cuts, they had to charge $20 per participant (up from $10). Our support was appreciated!
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Tech Trek Campers Announced
Nine of our Tech Trek girls and an alternate helped with the rainy Wildflower Run, handing out lap counters for the 2K and finisher ribbons for the 5k and 10K races. They made new friends who will also attend Camp Carson in July.
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Their Ice Cream Social will be May 31st at Villa Mira Monte. Camp Carson still needs a Dorm Monitor for July 12-18.
Susan Parodi, Tech Trek Coordinator
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